Najeh Davenport
refer to caption
Davenport with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006
No. 44, 49
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1979-02-08) February 8, 1979 (age 45)
Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:247 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school:Miami Central
(West Little River, Florida)
College:Miami (FL)
NFL draft:2002 / Round: 4 / Pick: 135
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing attempts:394
Rushing yards:1,819
Rushing touchdowns:13
Receptions:54
Receiving yards:538
Receiving touchdowns:3
Player stats at NFL.com

Najeh Trenadious Monté Davenport (born February 8, 1979) is a former American football running back in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft.[1] He played college football at the University of Miami.

In addition to the Packers, Davenport played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts.

College career

Davenport attended the University of Miami, where he played primarily as a halfback. Chosen as the offensive captain, he won an NCAA Division I-A national football championship as a member of the Hurricanes in 2001. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre with a minor in education at the University of Miami. He was chosen by the Packers in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft with the 135th overall pick.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

During his NFL career, Davenport struggled with fumbles and with injuries that kept him off the playing field. Davenport's abilities exceed a fourth-round selection, but as many scouts predicted, Davenport was plagued by injuries throughout his career. In his rookie campaign, he rushed for a respectable 4.7 yards per carry average before fracturing his left eye socket.

In 2003, injuries were minimal and he rushed for 5.45 yards per carry, good for the second highest in the NFL, and 30.1 yards per kick return. However, in the 2004 season, Davenport started the season with a lingering hamstring injury that kept him out for a month. On November 29, 2004, Davenport, in his first NFL start, rushed for 178 yards, third highest debut start yardage in the NFL for the past 20 years. Later that year, Davenport broke his ribs, resulting in playing at far less than 100 percent.

In 2005, after starting running back Ahman Green went down with a quadriceps injury, Davenport took over as starter. In what would be his only start of the season, versus the New Orleans Saints, Davenport scored two first-half touchdowns before breaking his ankle. He was subsequently placed on injured reserve, effectively ending his season.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Davenport was released by the Packers on September 2, 2006, when the team made their final roster cuts. Six days later, on September 8, 2006, however, Davenport was signed to the roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He finished the 2006 season with a total of 221 rushing yards.

After the Steelers signed veteran running back Kevan Barlow, Davenport was facing competition with Barlow for the second and third string positions. However, Barlow was cut during training camp, and Davenport assumed the second-string responsibilities for Pittsburgh's opener against Cleveland. Davenport rushed for 43 yards on eight carries in the Steelers' 34–7 win.

Arguably his best game with the Steelers came on Thursday, December 20, 2007, against the St. Louis Rams. Davenport had 24 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown, as well as two catches for 44 yards and another touchdown. Davenport came into the game to relieve Willie Parker, who broke his fibula in the first quarter.

The Steelers released Davenport on June 28, 2008.[2] He was re-signed on September 30 following injuries to Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall and Carey Davis.[3] The Steelers released him again on November 8, only to re-sign him on November 27 due to the injury to Parker. Davenport was released once more on December 2.[4]

Indianapolis Colts

Davenport was signed by the Indianapolis Colts on December 9, 2008.[5] In two games with the Colts, he had eight rushes for 26 yards and caught four passes for 54 yards. He was released on January 3, 2009, after the team elevated offensive tackle Michael Toudouze from the practice squad.

NFL statistics

Rushing Statistics[6]

Year Team Games Carries Yards Yards per Carry Longest Carry Touchdowns First Downs Fumbles Fumbles Lost
2002 GB 8 39 184 4.7 43 1 8 1 1
2003 GB 15 77 420 5.5 76 2 18 4 1
2004 GB 11 71 359 5.1 40 2 16 0 0
2005 GB 5 30 105 3.5 24 2 9 1 0
2006 PIT 13 60 221 3.7 48 1 9 1 0
2007 PIT 15 107 499 4.7 45 5 37 1 0
2008 PIT 4 2 5 2.5 3 0 2 0 0
2008 IND 2 8 26 3.3 8 0 1 0 0
Career 73 394 1,819 4.6 76 13 100 8 2

Receiving Statistics[6]

Year Team Games Receptions Targets Yards Yards per Reception Longest Reception Touchdowns First Downs Fumbles Fumbles Lost
2002 GB 8 5 - 33 6.6 13 0 2 0 0
2003 GB 15 6 - 38 6.3 12 0 2 0 0
2004 GB 11 4 - 33 8.3 12 0 1 0 0
2005 GB 5 2 - 3 1.5 2 0 0 0 0
2006 PIT 13 15 21 193 12.9 32 1 9 0 0
2007 PIT 15 18 27 184 10.2 32 2 6 0 0
2008 IND 2 4 4 54 13.5 33 0 2 0 0
Career 73 54 52 538 10.0 33 3 22 0 0

Returning Statistics[6]

Year Team Games Kickoff Return Attempts Kickoff Return Yards Kickoffs Returned for Touchdown Longest Kickoff Return
2002 GB 8 6 130 0 27
2003 GB 15 16 505 0 60
2004 GB 11 14 286 0 27
2005 GB 5 10 189 0 27
2006 PIT 13 21 448 0 40
2007 PIT 15 7 123 0 29
2008 PIT 4 10 217 0 27
2008 IND 2 5 107 0 26
Career 73 89 2,005 0 60

Personal life

Burglary and criminal mischief charge

Prior to entering the NFL, Davenport allegedly broke into the dorm room of a Barry University woman and defecated in a laundry basket on April 1, 2002.[7] A woman sleeping in the room told police she was startled by a strange grunting sound and observed Davenport in a squatted position, evacuating his bowels and voiding into a laundry hamper in her closet.[8][9] In a plea bargain, his felony charge of second-degree burglary and misdemeanor count of criminal mischief were dropped in exchange for his completing 100 hours of community service.[10] Davenport maintained his innocence after the hearing, demanding outside of the courthouse, "Where's the evidence? Where's the manure? I know I didn't do it – I just wanted to get it over with."[11]

During his career, Davenport was given the nicknames "Dookie"[12] and "The Dump Truck."[13] While playing for the Packers, a portable commode was placed inside of his locker during training camp as a rookie hazing prank,[14] and a spirited letter writing campaign to the Green Bay team equipment manager asked in jest that he be issued jersey Number Two for practice,[15] which was referenced for many years during the opening of the "D-List" show on WAUK ESPN 540 in Milwaukee before the station flipped format from sports talk to progressive talk.[16] All are plays on the incident.

Alleged domestic violence

Davenport was charged in Cleveland with domestic violence, endangering, and unlawful restraint in an October 2007 incident involving the mother of his five-year-old son. He entered a plea of not guilty days later and the case went to trial on April 4, 2008.[17] After a four-day trial, an eight-member jury spent three and a half hours deliberating before finding Davenport not guilty of all counts.[18]

Race-based Discrimination in NFL Concussion Settlement

On October 25, 2020, Davenport and another ex-NFL player, Kevin Henry (cousin of professional wrestling great Mark Henry and coincidentally also an ex-Steeler), filed a lawsuit[19] against the NFL [20] stating the NFL used "race-norming"[21] as a factor to determine neurocognitive impairment as part of the NFL's Concussion Settlement. The complaint stated that Black players' neurocognitive impairment score was adjusted by making an assumption that Black players started with a lower cognitive ability than a non-Black player. This adjustment made it more difficult for Black players to prove cognitive decline compared to non-Black players. On October 21, 2021, the NFL and lawyers for thousands of retired NFL players reached an agreement to end race-based adjustments in cognitive testing related to the NFL's Concussion Settlement. [22]

References

  1. ^ "2002 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  2. ^ Dulac, Gerry (June 29, 2008). "Steelers release Davenport, three others". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  3. ^ Bouchette, Ed; Gerry Dulac (September 30, 2008). "Steelers sign Davenport, likely to add Russell". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  4. ^ "Pittsburgh Steelers Transactions at NFL.com". www.nfl.com.
  5. ^ "DOOKIE LANDS IN INDY". December 9, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c "Najeh Davenport Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  7. ^ Delio, Michelle. "Much Ado About Pigskin Poo". Wired.
  8. ^ Brandt, Andrew. "'He Did What?!' True Tales from the NFL Dead Month".
  9. ^ "Packers FB Davenport charged with burglary, mischief". CNN.
  10. ^ "Davenport agrees to community service". The Associated Press. October 29, 2002.
  11. ^ "Davenport agrees to community service". CNN.
  12. ^ "Najeh Davenport". USA Today. December 1, 2008. Archived from the original on July 13, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
  13. ^ Gallo, DJ (October 16, 2006). "Time to put fantasy into trades". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  14. ^ Kolb, Garret L. (June 1, 2006). Spoiled Sports: Comical and Disturbing Stories of the 21st Century. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 9780740757044 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ Erinpatricia (November 9, 2008). "ErinPatricia: The Dump Truck Gets Dumped".
  16. ^ "The "D-List" show on ESPN 540 Milwaukee". Archived from the original on February 1, 2014.
  17. ^ Caniglia, John (April 4, 2008). "Steelers running back on trial in Cleveland". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  18. ^ Finder, Chuck (April 10, 2008). "Steelers' Davenport is not guilty on 3 charges". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  19. ^ Vielmetti, Bruce (August 25, 2000). "Former Packer says NFL concussion settlements discriminate against Black players". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  20. ^ "Class action complaint" (PDF). District court. August 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  21. ^ Norman, Marc A.; Moore, David J.; Taylor, Michael; Franklin, Donald; Cysique, Lucette; Ake, Chris; Lazarretto, Deborah; Vaida, Florin; Heaton, Robert K. (August 2011). "Demographically Corrected Norms for African Americans and Caucasians on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised, Stroop Color and Word Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test 64-Card Version". Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. 33 (7): 793–804. doi:10.1080/13803395.2011.559157. PMC 3154384. PMID 21547817.
  22. ^ "NFL, players agree to end 'race-norming' in $1B settlement". October 19, 2021.

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