Josh Doctson (born December 3, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at

Texas Christian Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Discip ...

and was drafted by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

in the first round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft be ...

. He has also been a member of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

and New York Jets.

Early years

Doctson attended Mansfield Legacy High School in Mansfield, Texas, where he was a three-year letterman in both football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. In his first season of football as a junior, he saw action in six games and hauled in 18 passes for 220 yards with a long of 25. As a senior in 2010, he caught 35 passes for 558 yards and 5 touchdowns in nine games, earned first-team All-District 5-5A honors and was voted a team captain, as well as being selected Legacy's Most Valuable Player. Doctson was rated by '' Rivals.com'' as a three-star recruit. He committed to the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyomin ...

to play college football on December 14, 2010, choosing the Cowboys over

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

and

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

College career

Doctson had 35 receptions for 393 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games as a true freshman at Wyoming in 2011. After the season, he transferred to

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...

(TCU). After sitting out 2012 due to NCAA transfer rules, Doctson played in 12 games with six starts in his first year at TCU in 2013. He had 36 receptions for 440 yards and four touchdowns that season. As a junior in 2014, Doctson had 65 receptions for school records of 1,018 yards and 11 touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Washington Redskins

Doctson was drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, by the

in the

. Doctson sat out the preseason due to an

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

injury. He made his first career reception in the season opener in a 16–38 loss on

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...

to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

. During pregame warmups in Week 3 against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

, Doctson aggravated his Achilles injury keeping him sidelined until October 21, 2016, when he was placed on injured reserve. In a 2017 game against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

, Doctson recorded his first career touchdown on a 52-yard reception. He recorded an 11-yard touchdown reception in the win over the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. Doctson made an essential diving 38-yard reception against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

with less than two minutes and setting up the Redskins at the one yard marker in Seahawks' territory. The following play running back Rob Kelley scored a touchdown winning the game for the Redskins with a final score of 17–14. In the Thanksgiving game over the

, he scored the final touchdown that gave the Redskins both the lead and win. In 2018, Doctson played in 15 games with 12 starts, finishing as the Redskins second-leading receiver with 44 catches for 532 yards and two touchdowns. On May 1, 2019, the Redskins declined the fifth-year option on Doctson's contract, making him a free agent in 2020. On August 31, 2019, the Redskins released Doctson.

Minnesota Vikings

On September 2, 2019, Doctson signed with the

on a one-year deal. He was placed on injured reserve on September 12, 2019. He was designated for return from injured reserve on October 30, 2019, and began practicing with the team again. He was activated on November 15, 2019 prior to Week 11. He played seven snaps without making a reception in the Vikings' 27–23 comeback win over the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

, but was waived on November 26, 2019.

New York Jets

On February 22, 2020, Doctson signed with the New York Jets. On August 6, 2020, he announced he would opt out of the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. According to reports, Doctson was set on traveling to Africa for a humanitarian mission, because he “feels that his calling is to help the underprivileged at this time.” Doctson was released on May 7, 2021.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 3, 2021, Doctson signed with the practice squad of the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...

. He was released on October 12, 2021.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctson, Josh 1992 births Living people People from Mansfield, Texas Players of American football from Texas Sportspeople from the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex American football wide receivers Wyoming Cowboys football players TCU Horned Frogs football players All-American college football players Washington Redskins players Minnesota Vikings players New York Jets players Arizona Cardinals players