Kelvin Benjamin


Kelvin Benjamin is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He also played for the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
After totaling over 1,000 receiving yards in his rookie season, Benjamin missed his sophomore year with a torn ACL. He returned in 2016 and caught 941 yards and seven touchdowns. Midway through 2017, Benjamin was traded to the Bills and appeared in six games with the team. With his play continuing to decline and his effort being called into question by coaches and the media, the team released Benjamin during the 2018 season. He subsequently signed with the Chiefs, but made just two catches in three regular season games and did not appear in the team's playoff run.

Early years

Benjamin was born to an American mother and a Jamaican father, who he has stated, was deported to Jamaica when he was two. Benjamin attended Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, Florida, where he played football, basketball and ran track. In football, he played as a wide receiver. He was named First Team All-Palm Beach County by Sun-Sentinel and was selected to the Palm Beach Post All-Area First Team. As a senior, he hauled in 30 catches for 551 yards with six touchdowns, although he just played in eight games. In track & field, Benjamin competed in the jumping events. He got a personal-best jump of 1.84 meters in the high jump at the 2009 FHSAA 2A District 13, where he tied for third place. At the 2010 Glades Central Invitational, he took gold in the long jump event, recording a career-best leap of 6.48 meters. He was deemed ineligible in his senior year in high school due to his age, graduating high school at 20 years of age.

Recruiting

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Benjamin was ranked as the No. 7 wide receiver and the No. 60 overall player nationally in his class. Scout.com ranked him as the No. 12 receiver in the nation, while ESPN.com had him as the No. 23. According to 247Sports.com, he was the No. 13 wide receiver and the No. 89 player nationally. He chose Florida State University over scholarship offers from Auburn, Florida, Miami, and Virginia Tech, among others.

College career

After being redshirted in 2011, Benjamin played in all 14 games in 2012, recording 30 receptions for 495 yards and four touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2013, he had 54 receptions for 1,011 yards and 15 touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown against Auburn in the BCS title game with 13 seconds remaining. Sports Illustrated named Benjamin to their All-American first team and he was also selected to the All-ACC Second Team by the coaches and All-ACC Third Team by media. After the season, Benjamin decided to forgo his final two years of eligibility to enter the 2014 NFL Draft.

Professional career

Despite forgoing two years of eligibility, Benjamin was still given a first-round grade by the NFL Draft Advisory Board, which is typically conservative with underclassmen draft entrants, and was widely considered one of the top wide receivers in the 2014 NFL Draft. Benjamin's size, physicality, and high-pointing ability drew parallels to players including Alshon Jeffery and Plaxico Burress. While many scouts were concerned about his hands and a current lack of precise route running at this point, many projected him as a first-round pick due to his potential. Benjamin was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the 28th pick of the first round. NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock praised the Panthers selection of Benjamin after it occurred. "He's 6-foot-5, 240 pounds with 35-inch arms, and you're talking about a catching radius." Mayock then went on to compare Benjamin to other college wide receivers that only had one year of college production. "However, there's one thing about wide receivers with only one year of college production and it's a little sobering when you look at the names on that list: Stephen Hill, Greg Little, Devin Thomas, Anthony Gonzalez," Mayock said.

Carolina Panthers

2014: Rookie year

After losing Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell, Ted Ginn, and Domenik Hixon in the offseason, the Panthers chose Benjamin high in the draft. Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said to reporters Benjamin's tape reminded him of a young Plaxico Burress. During training camp and the preseason, Benjamin was in a competition for the Panthers No. 1 receiver spot with former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery. On June 4, 2014, Benjamin signed a four-year $7.66 million deal.
During his debut performance on September 7, 2014 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Benjamin recorded 6 receptions for 92 yards and one touchdown; quarterback Derek Anderson had a 152.1 quarterback rating when throwing towards Benjamin. With his touchdown reception, Benjamin joined Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson, AJ Green, Demaryius Thomas, Percy Harvin, Brandin Cooks, and Mike Williams as the only rookie first-round wide receivers to catch a touchdown reception during their debut performance. Additionally, Benjamin's 92 yards were the seventh-most for a wide receiver in the first game of his rookie season behind Anquan Boldin, Randy Moss, Eddie Royal, DeSean Jackson, Julian Edelman, Demaryius Thomas, and Allen Hurns. Benjamin was voted the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for his Week 1 performance. In a Week 2 win over the Detroit Lions, Benjamin recorded 2 catches for 46 yards. In Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Benjamin recorded his first 100-yard game, catching 8 passes for 115 yards and one touchdown.
Through the first three weeks of the season, Benjamin was targeted seven times in the deep passing game, tied for sixth in the league. Additionally, during this span, ProFootball Focus ranked Benjamin 22nd in the NFL in receiving efficiency. During Week 4 against the Baltimore Ravens, Benjamin recorded 5 receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown. With the touchdown reception, Benjamin became the only rookie wide receiver in the past 10 years to record a 25+ yard receiving touchdown in three of the team’s first four games, joining Randy Moss, who accomplished the feat in 1998. Furthermore, Benjamin and Marques Colston were the only rookies in 30 years to gain 300 receiving yards and catch three touchdown passes in their team's first four games. On October 2, 2014, it was announced that the NFL named Kelvin Benjamin the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for September.
In the Panthers Week 8 matchup against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, Benjamin racked up 94 yards against the All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, the highest yardage total Sherman allowed since Week 4 of 2012. Benjamin finished the season with 73 receptions, 1,008 yards receiving, and 9 touchdowns. He and teammate Greg Olsen became the first receiving duo to amass 1,000 receiving yards in the same year for the Panthers since Muhsin Muhammad and Patrick Jeffers in 1999. Benjamin became only the 11th rookie wide receiver in NFL history to record a 1,000-yard season. During the Panthers playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Benjamin recorded 7 catches for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns.

2015 season

Benjamin came into training in the best shape of his football career, according to Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. In August, Benjamin tore his ACL in a joint practice with the Miami Dolphins, ending his 2015 season. The Panthers placed him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. Without Benjamin, the Panthers won 15 games, which set a franchise record.
On February 7, 2016, Benjamin's Panthers played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10.

2016 season

After missing the whole 2015 season with a torn ACL, Benjamin returned in the season opener game against the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. Benjamin had six receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown in his return at Denver, and followed that with seven receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers. He had no receptions in Week 3, and though he caught a pass in every remaining game that season, his yardage totals were erratic and never again broke 100. Nevertheless, he ended the season leading the team with seven touchdown receptions, and second to tight end Greg Olsen with 63 receptions for 941 yards.

2017 season

On May 2, 2017, the Panthers exercised Benjamin's fifth-year option.

Buffalo Bills

2017 season

On October 31, 2017, the Panthers traded Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills for a 2018 third round draft pick and the seventh round draft pick that was previously acquired from the Los Angeles Chargers. Benjamin suffered a torn meniscus in the right knee against the Los Angeles Chargers. The injury sidelined Benjamin for two weeks. Upon returning against the Indianapolis Colts, Benjamin scored his first touchdown with the Bills, an 8-yard pass from Nathan Peterman. However, he tweaked his injured knee in the third quarter and left the game afterwards. Against the New England Patriots in Week 16, Benjamin had a touchdown catch overturned due to a controversial ruling. He finished the game with 5 receptions for 70 yards, but the Bills wound up losing 37-16.

2018 season

On December 4, 2018, Benjamin was released by the Bills. He finished the season playing in 12 games, starting 10, recording 23 receptions for 354 yards and just one touchdown. Prior to his release Benjamin had a catch rate of 35 percent, the worst in the league. It was also noted by fans and sports commentators that his effort had noticeably declined.

Kansas City Chiefs

Two days after being released by the Bills, Benjamin signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Benjamin made just two catches in three regular season games with the team, and did not appear in their two playoff games.

Career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Career accomplishments

Panthers franchise records

's NFL off-season, Benjamin held at least ten Panthers franchise records, including: