Riley Mackey Odoms (born March 1, 1950) 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 ...

for 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 ...

of 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 ...

at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, where he had a highlight year in 1971 with 45 catches for 730 yards and eight touchdowns after playing sparingly the two seasons prior. Odoms played his entire NFL career with Denver. He was drafted fifth overall in the

1972 NFL draft The 1972 NFL draft was the 37th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft was held on February 1 and 2 at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overal ...

, which tied him with Hall of Famer

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka ( ; born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former professional American football, football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year, UPI NFL R ...

for the highest drafted tight end ever in the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. That record stood for 49 years until the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

, where

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Kyle Pitts Kyle Anthony Pitts (born October 6, 2000) is an American professional football tight end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators, where he was named a unanimous All-America ...

was selected fourth overall by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. Odoms was a four-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection and was a two-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

. He finished his career with 396 receptions for 5,755 yards and 41 touchdowns. Odoms is the grandson of

Baseball Hall of Famer The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

Biz Mackey James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey (July 27, 1897 – September 22, 1965) was an American catcher and manager (baseball), manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs, New York Lincoln Giants, Hilldale Daisies, Philadelphia Roy ...

. Odoms was inducted into the Broncos' Ring of Fame in 2024.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

* 1950 births Living people People from Luling, Texas American football tight ends Houston Cougars football players Denver Broncos players American Conference Pro Bowl players 20th-century American sportsmen {{Tightend-1950s-stub