Danny Trevathan

Danny Eugene Trevathan (born March 24, 1990) is an American football inside linebacker who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kentucky, where in 2010, he was named an All-American by ''College Football News'' and was a first-team all- SEC selection.

College career

Trevathan attended and played college football at the University of Kentucky under head coaches Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips. In 2010, Trevathan led the Southeastern Conference in tackles with 144 on his way to being named a first-team all-conference by a number of national organizations, including the SEC coaches themselves. Following the 2010 season, Trevathan completed the 2011 NFL Draft evaluation process but chose to return to Kentucky for his final season. In 2011, despite leading the SEC again in tackles through 9 games, he was not named a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, the top honor for college football linebackers.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos selected Trevathan in the sixth round (188th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. He was the 25th linebacker selected in 2012.

2012

On May 22, 2012, the Denver Broncos signed Trevathan to a four-year, $2.2 million contract.

Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as an outside linebacker against Wesley Woodyard, Nate Irving, Mike Mohamed, Cyril Obiozor, Steven Johnson, and D. J. Williams. Head coach John Fox named Trevathan a backup weakside linebacker behind Wesley Woodyard and newly acquired veteran free agent Keith Brooking.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Denver Broncos' season-opening 31–19 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The following week, he made his first career tackle on running back Mike Goodson in the fourth quarter of the Broncos' 37–6 win against the Oakland Raiders. On November 4, 2012, Trevathan recorded a season-high six combined tackles and made his first career sack on quarterback Andy Dalton during a 31–23 victory. Trevathan finished his rookie season in with 33 combined tackles (22 solo), three pass deflections, and a sack in 16 games and 0 starts.

The Denver Broncos finished atop the AFC West with a 13–4 record and secured a playoff berth and first round bye. On January 12, 2013, Trevathan played in his first career playoff game and made one tackle during their 38–35 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional round.

2013

Entering training camp, Trevathan was the favorite to earn the starting weakside linebacker role after Wesley Woodyard was moved to middle linebacker. Trevathan saw mild competition from Nate Irving, Steven Johnson, and Stewart Bradley. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio named him the starting weakside linebacker, opposite Von Miller, to begin the regular season.

He made his first career start in the Denver Broncos' season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens and recorded four solo tackles, two pass deflections, and made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback Joe Flacco in their 48–27 victory.
In Week 5, Trevathan made five combined tackles, broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass by Tony Romo to lead to the game-winning field goal during the Broncos' 51–48 victory at the Dallas Cowboys. On November 24, 2013, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles during a 34–31 loss at the New England Patriots. He finished the season with a career-high 128 combined tackles (88 solo), a career-high ten pass deflections, three interception, and two sacks in 16 games and 16 starts.

He started his first career playoff game and recorded four combined tackles in their 24–17 win against the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Divisional round. On February 2, 2014, Trevathan led the Broncos with 12 combined tackles (seven solo) as they lost 43–8 to the Seattle Seahawks