Jeffrey David Maehl (born March 16, 1989) 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

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

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 College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

and was signed by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2011. He also played for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Early life

Maehl played for the

Paradise High School Paradise High School (PHS) is a public high school in Paradise, California, United States. It is part of the Paradise Unified School District. The school's curriculum is organized into 13 subject area departments, and students can take up to s ...

Bobcats in

Paradise, California Paradise is an incorporated town in Butte County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada foothills above the northeastern Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 4,764, a decline of over 80% from the 26,218 ...

, where he wore the #15 jersey. He played in the 2007

Lions Club Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...

District 4C-1 All-Star Game along with former rival at Pleasant Valley High School quarterback

Jordan Rodgers Jordan Edward Rodgers (born August 30, 1988) is an American sports commentator, television personality, and former professional football player. Rodgers signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent quarterback in 2013, and a ...

College career

Maehl played

with the University of Oregon Ducks. As a senior in 2010, Maehl caught 77 passes for 1,076 yards while helping Oregon to the

2011 BCS National Championship Game The 2011 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game to determine the national champion of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

. In that game, quarterback

Darron Thomas Darron Varnell Thomas (born May 23, 1990) is an American former American football, football quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the University of Oregon football team that reached the 2011 BCS National Championship Game and won the ...

and Maehl combined to set the record for the longest pass play from scrimmage in a championship game: 81 yards. Prior to the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

, Maehl was predicted to be a late-round draft pick by draft analyst

Mel Kiper Jr. Mel Kiper Jr. ( ; born July 25, 1960) is an American analyst covering football for ESPN. Kiper has appeared on ESPN's annual NFL draft coverage since 1984. He has been widely credited for establishing mock drafting and is regarded as one of t ...

Professional career

Pre-draft

At the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, Maehl had a strong performance. He measured in at 6'1" and 190 lbs and had a slower than average 40-time of 4.62 seconds. However, in the measures of quickness - 20-yard shuttle, 60-yard shuttle, and 3-cone drill - Maehl finished 2nd, 1st, and 1st respectively. Maehl's 6.42 second 3-cone drill was not only the fastest in this year's draft, but the fastest it has been run in six years. He still holds the current record as of the end of 2021 Combine.

Houston Texans

Maehl went undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft, but he was selected with the final pick of the 2011 UFL Draft by the

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 season. They played their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The t ...

. Maehl was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent on July 25, 2011. Despite being waived by Houston on September 3, 2011, Maehl was signed to the Texans practice squad on September 4, 2011. On December 13, 2011, Maehl was signed to the active roster following the release of fellow wide receiver

Derrick Mason Derrick James Mason (born January 17, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Tennessee Oilers in the fourth round of the 1 ...

. Maehl was cut on September 1, 2012, while the Texans were trimming their roster to 53 men, signed by Texans to the practice squad on September 4, 2011, signed from practice squad to active roster by Texans on December 13, 2011, and signed by the Texans to Reserve/Future contracts on January 24, 2013.

Philadelphia Eagles

Maehl was traded to the

for

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

Nate Menkin on August 12, 2013, where he was reunited with his former college coach

Chip Kelly Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as a college foo ...

. In week four of the 2013 season Maehl came in during a blowout loss to the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter and caught a touchdown. In the 2014 season, he appeared in eight games.

Personal life

Maehl lives in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, with his wife Britnee. Maehl has a full

sleeve tattoo A sleeve tattoo or tattoo sleeve is a large tattoo or collection of smaller tattoos that covers most or all of a person's arm. The styles and themes of tattoo sleeves vary. Types The term "sleeve A sleeve (, a word allied to '' slip'', ...

on one arm and a half-sleeve on his other. Maehl has many other tattoos, with some matching his wife's. He has one on his right arm that says "Paradise California", his hometown, Paradise is now burned to the ground, and features a row of pine trees, and more scripture and design. There is a tattoo on his left arm in honor of drowned former teammate Todd Doxey, who died in 2008.Oregon's Jeff Maehl Plays With Fallen Teammate Todd Doxey on His Mind
AOL News, January 9, 2011 Doxey was a close friend and roommate of Maehl.

References

External links

Oregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maehl, Jeff 1989 births Living people People from Paradise, California Players of American football from Butte County, California American football wide receivers Oregon Ducks football players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Philadelphia Eagles players