Edward James Dickson (born July 25, 1987) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and was selected by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

in the third round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

Early life

Dickson played

Bellflower High School Bellflower High School is a six-year public high school located in Bellflower, California, as part of the Bellflower Unified School District (BUSD). Demographics and class size As of 2023, Bellflower High School serves 2,070 students from the co ...

and played on both offense and defense, playing

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. Dickson led his team in receiving yards and

quarterback sacks In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the ...

during his senior season, and by his performance he was named Southeast-South Coast Lineman of the-Year by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. Dickson's high school awards include Best in the West Honorable Mention tight end/linebacker by the

Long Beach Press-Telegram The ''Press-Telegram'' is a paid daily newspaper published in Long Beach, California. Coverage area for the ''Press-Telegram'' includes Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, L ...

, First-team All-Suburban League and First-team All-league pick (offense and defense).

College career

Dickson enrolled at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

and was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman year. He spent time with the defensive ends, but ended up as the

in the team's depth chart behind

Dante Rosario Dante Santiago Rosario (born October 25, 1984) is an American former professional football tight end. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football at Oregon. He was also a member ...

. He played 13 games as a defensive lineman in 2006. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, Dickson was selected to the preseason watch list for the

Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, ac ...

, given out to the nation's best

. On September 27, 2009, Dickson was named the national player of the week by the

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit ...

. He earned the honors after catching 11 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns in an upset of the #6

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

. Dickson earned his degree from Oregon in Family and Human Services.

Awards and honors

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

offensive player of the week for the week of September 26, 2009 *2008 Second-team All-Pac-10 *2008 3rd-Team Pacific-10 All-Conference (

Phil Steele Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, pro ...

)

Professional career

Pre-draft

Dickson was regarded as one of the best tight ends available in the

Baltimore Ravens

Dickson was selected in the third round (70th overall) by the

. The pick was one of three that the Ravens acquired in a trade with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

on the first night of the draft on April 22. The Broncos received a first-round pick which was used to select

Tim Tebow Timothy Richard Tebow (; born August 14, 1987) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. Tebow played college football for t ...

. Dickson signed a three-year contract on July 2, 2010. As a backup to veteran Todd Heap, Dickson recorded 11 receptions, 153 yards, and one touchdown. However, the following year marked big changes for Dickson. Heap was released, and Dickson found himself in a battle with Dennis Pitta for the starting job. Also, Dickson switched from #83 to #84 after Lee Evans (American football), Lee Evans became a Raven. Dickson was the main starter in 2011, and caught five touchdowns. During the Ravens Super Bowl championship season in 2012, Dickson saw his role in the passing game decrease in favor of Pitta, though he often found himself on blocking duty. During the 2013 season, however, Dickson was the starter for most of the season as Pitta suffered a hip fracture injury before the season began.

Carolina Panthers

On April 10, 2014, Dickson signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers.. Dickson signed a three-year, $6.8 million contract extension on March 11, 2015. During the 2015 season, the Panthers won 15 games, which set a team record for victories. On February 7, 2016, Dickson was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the 2015 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10. On October 8, 2017, Dickson posted an impressive performance with 175 receiving yards as the Panthers won 27–24 over the Detroit Lions.

Seattle Seahawks

On March 16, 2018, Dickson signed a three-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks worth up to $14 million, with the first year fully guaranteed. He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on September 1, 2018. He was activated to the active roster on October 27, 2018. On September 2, 2019, Dickson was placed on injured reserve. He was designated for return from injured reserve on October 30, 2019, and began practicing with the team again. He was activated on November 20, 2019. However, he was placed back on injured reserve two days later. On March 31, 2020, Dickson was released by the Seahawks. He officially announced his retirement as an active player on November 17, 2022.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Oregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, Ed 1987 births Living people American football tight ends Baltimore Ravens players Carolina Panthers players Oregon Ducks football players Players of American football from Bellflower, California Players of American football from Inglewood, California Seattle Seahawks players