Chris Givens (born December 6, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver. He was selected in the fourth round, 96th overall by the St. Louis Rams in the 2012 NFL draft. He played college football at Wake Forest.

Chris Givens
No. 13, 19
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1989-12-06) December 6, 1989 (age 34)
Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Wylie (TX)
College:Wake Forest (2008–2011)
NFL draft:2012 / round: 4 / pick: 96
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:107
Receiving yards:1,779
Receiving touchdowns:5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Givens attended Wylie High School in Wylie, Texas, where he was a two-sport star in football and track. He suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in September 2007 to bring an early close to his high school football career. Rushed for 247 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries against Hebron in the second game of the 2007 season, but injured his knee the following week in the first quarter against Richardson Berkner.

Givens was regarded as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com,[1] and was a teammate of Patrick Witt.[2]

Also an outstanding track & field athlete, Givens won the District 9-5A 100 meter title in 2007. He was third in the district meet in 2007 in the 200-meter dash with a 22.29 clocking and a member of the district champion 800 meter relay team (1:28.33). He ran a 10.44-second 100-meter dash (electronic) at the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays in 2007. In late January 2008, just 15 weeks after ACL surgery, he clocked a 10.70 in the 100 meters. Also ran a 10.03 100m during the 2008 Region 2-5A meet. He was ranked as high as the fourth fastest in the 100 meters in the Texas high school ranks.

College career

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Givens played college football at Wake Forest University from 2009 to 2011.[3][4][5] He totaled 629 receiving yards as a redshirt freshman in 2009 and 514 as a redshirt sophomore in 2010. In July 2011, he was placed on the watchlist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award.[6] After catching six passes for 101 yards in Wake Forest's October 2011 win over Florida State, Givens was named the Offensive Receiver of the Week by the Atlantic Coast Conference for the second consecutive week.[7][8] In the first seven games of the 2011 season, Givens had 46 receptions for 866 yards and eight touchdowns.[9] As of October 23, 2011, Givens's 886 receiving yards during the 2011 season ranked fifth among NCAA Division I FBS players.[10]

College statistics

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Receiving Rushing
Season Team GP Rec Yds Avg LNG TD Att Yds Avg LNG TD
2009 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 12 45 629 14.0 54 8 15 98 6.5 17 0
2010 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 12 35 514 14.7 81 4 16 63 3.9 22 2
2011 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 13 83 1330 16.0 79 9 14 77 5.5 13 0
Total 37 163 2,473 214 21 45 238 52 2

[11]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
5 ft 11 in
(1.80 m)
198 lb
(90 kg)
31+14 in
(0.79 m)
8+14 in
(0.21 m)
4.41 s 1.52 s 2.51 s 4.23 s 6.97 s 33+12 in
(0.85 m)
9 ft 10 in
(3.00 m)
19 reps x
Values from NFL Combine [12]

St. Louis Rams

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2012 season

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Givens was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the fourth round (96th overall) in the 2012 NFL draft.[13] On June 1, 2012, he signed a four-year contract with the Rams worth $2.6 million.[14] Through the first two games of the regular season, he was held without a reception or a target from the quarterback. Givens would not catch a pass until Week 3 against the Seattle Seahawks, when he beat Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman for a 52-yard reception.

In a Week 5 win against the Arizona Cardinals, Givens caught a 51-yard pass, resulting in the first touchdown of his NFL career. He would go on to catch a pass of 50-plus yards in five consecutive games from September 30 to October 21, 2012, an NFL rookie record for most consecutive games with a 50-plus yard reception. The receptions came against the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers, and New England Patriots.[15] During Week 10 of the regular season, Givens was suspended along with fellow rookie Janoris Jenkins for reportedly violating teams rules.[16] Both players were sidelined and the specifics about their suspensions were never revealed. In Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals, Givens logged his first 100-plus yard receiving game of his career.

Givens ended his rookie campaign with 42 catches for 698 yards and 3 touchdowns, leading all Rams receivers in receiving yards.

2013 season

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Despite high expectations heading into the 2013 season, inconsistency at quarterback and poor play by Givens himself resulted in him having a down season. He finished the year with 34 receptions for 569 yards and no touchdowns.

Baltimore Ravens

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On October 3, 2015, Givens was traded to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2017 seventh round draft pick.[17] In a Week 10 game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, Givens caught a 14-yard touchdown pass for his only score of the season, finishing the game with four catches and 37 receiving yards, but the Ravens lost the game 22–20. Givens would finish the season with 20 receptions for 353 yards and was cut by Baltimore during the offseason.

Philadelphia Eagles

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Givens signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles on March 16, 2016.[18] Before the start of the 2016 season, he was released by the team on August 28.[19]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

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Givens played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2017.[20]

Memphis Express

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In 2018, Givens signed with the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football for the 2019 season.[21] He did not make the final roster.[22]

NFL statistics

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Year Team GP GS Receiving Rushing Fumbles
Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2012 STL 15 12 42 698 16.6 65 3 3 12 4.0 14 0 0 0
2013 STL 16 13 34 569 16.7 47 0 3 8 2.7 16 0 1 1
2014 STL 14 0 11 159 14.5 47 1 1 4 4.0 4 0 0 0
2015 STL/BAL 15 6 20 353 17.7 48 1 4 18 4.5 24 1 0 0
Total 60 31 107 1,779 16.6 65 5 11 42 3.8 24 0 1 1

References

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  1. ^ "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
  2. ^ "Texas High School Football News, Scores, Rankings: Dallas Morning News". SportsDayHS. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012.
  3. ^ Bob Sutton (October 7, 2011). "Catching on: Wake Forest receiver Givens gives foes fits". The Times-News (Burlington, NC). Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  4. ^ Dan Collins (October 4, 2011). "Givens Back in Good Graces". Winston-Salem Journal. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  5. ^ Dan Collins (September 18, 2009). "Givens is giving Deacons offense: Slotback has recovered from serious injuries to his knees in high school". Winston-Salem Journal. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  6. ^ "Givens on Biletnikoff Watch List: Wake receiver considered among best in nation". Wake Forest University. July 21, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  7. ^ "Givens Earns ACC Player of the Week Honor: Wide receiver named POTW for the second consecutive week". Wake Forest University. October 10, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  8. ^ "Wake's Chris Givens Earns ACC Honors". WFMY News. October 10, 2011. Archived from the original on November 17, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  9. ^ "Chris Givens". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  10. ^ "NCAA Division I-A Player Receiving Statistics - 2011 (Receiving Yards Leaders - All Players)". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  11. ^ "Chris Givens Stats".
  12. ^ "NFL Combine Tracker - Chris Givens". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  13. ^ "2012 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  14. ^ "- NFL Team Contracts - Rotoworld.com". www.rotoworld.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  15. ^ "Chris Givens". ESPN.com.
  16. ^ "Rams scratch Jenkins, Givens for rules violation". November 11, 2012.
  17. ^ Patra, Kevin (October 3, 2015). "Ravens trade for Rams wide receiver Chris Givens". NFL.com. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  18. ^ "Chris Givens Added To Eagles WR Corps".
  19. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (August 28, 2016). "Eagles release Rueben Randle, Chris Givens". NFL.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  20. ^ "Chris Givens". statscrew.com. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  21. ^ Benjamin, Cody. "What is AAF football? Teams, coaches, notable players, schedule for new Alliance of American Football league". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  22. ^ Munz, Jason (January 30, 2019). "AAF: The Memphis Express set their initial 52-man roster. Who made the cut?". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
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