Dan Wilkinson

Daniel Raymon Wilkinson (born March 13, 1973) is a former American football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons.

He was only the second Ohio State defensive player to go No. 1, after Tom Cousineau in 1979.

He led a rushing defense which allowed fewest yards per game (102.7) since the 1983 Bengals allowed 93.7.

He opened the year with a season-high eight tackles, a sack and five quarterback hurries against the St. Louis Rams on September 1.

He made his first career interception against the Baltimore Ravens on November 3, picking off a Vinny Testaverde pass.

Also described as "maybe the best defensive line prospect since Reggie White [in 1984]," Wilkinson drew a lot of interest from around the league.

Wilkinson received an athletic scholarship to attend Ohio State University, where he played for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 1991 to 1993.

During his freshman season in 1991, the Buckeyes coaches redshirted and placed him on the scout team.

At the time, Wilkinson weighed 348 pounds and played offensive tackle.

During the season, he lost 48 pounds and began to play defense.

Lining up next to Alonzo Spellman during his sophomore year, Wilkinson earned All-Big Ten honors after he had 46 tackles, 10.5 tackles-for-loss, and 6.5 sacks.

Several teams were willing to trade with the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 1 draft pick, including the New England Patriots, who reportedly offered their first-round pick (4th overall), plus several players including offensive guard Eugene Chung (their first-round choice in 1992), and the Arizona Cardinals, who offered their pick plus running back Garrison Hearst (their 1993 first-rounder).

Eventually, the Bengals decided to keep the pick, and decided not to select a quarterback, since they already picked David Klingler in 1992.

Becoming the third defensive lineman in four years—after Russell Maryland and Steve Emtman—to be selected first overall, Wilkinson was chosen by the Bengals.

Playing under tackle next to nose guard Luke Fickell as a junior in 1993, Wilkinson finished with 44 tackles and 13 tackles-for-loss.

He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.

Nicknamed "Big Daddy", he played college football at Ohio State, where he received consensus All-American honors, and was selected first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1994 NFL Draft.

He was also a member of the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, and Miami Dolphins.

Wilkinson was born in Dayton, Ohio.

He attended Dunbar High School in Dayton, and played for the Dunbar Wolverines high school football team.

His football coach at Stivers Intermediate School, Albert Powell, gave Wilkinson the nickname "Big Daddy", after convincing him to play defensive line instead of fullback.

Powell later said, "Carl Hairston was in Cleveland at the time, so I told Dan, 'You're our Big Daddy.'"

He decided to forgo his final season of college eligibility and subsequently declared for the 1994 NFL Draft.

Along with running back Marshall Faulk and quarterbacks Heath Shuler and Trent Dilfer, Wilkinson was regarded as "one of the four players who rank well above the others in this draft".

In workouts prior to the draft, Wilkinson weighed in at 315 pounds, bench-pressed 225 pounds 34 times and ran a remarkably fast 40 yards in 4.72 seconds.

"Wilkinson could be a once-in-10-years player," said Billy Devaney, then San Diego Chargers' director of player personnel.

After an 11-day holdout, Wilkinson signed a six-year, $14.4 million ($ million in current value) contract with the Cincinnati Bengals on May 5, 1994, becoming the highest-paid player in their franchise history.

While in training camp, Bengals coaches compared Wilkinson to All-Pro offensive tackle Anthony Muñoz in terms of talent.

Wilkinson remained with the team from 1994 to 1997.

During his rookie season, Wilkinson led the team with 19 quarterback hurries.

He set a season-high and led the team with seven tackles against the Indianapolis Colts on November 20.

During the season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles on December 20, Wilkinson volunteered to give up his starting spot so Bengals great Tim Krumrie could start his final home game.

Wilkinson still made two sacks in a reserve role.

Wilkinson set a career-high with eight quarterback sacks in 1995—a total which led all AFC interior linemen that season and was the most by a Bengals interior lineman since Mike Reid in 1972.

Wilkinson's 18 quarterback hurries were second on the team and he played in 829 snaps, second-most on the defensive line.

He spent time at both defensive tackle positions and right defensive end.

He played the first two games of the regular season with a cast on his hand after breaking his ring finger in the final preseason game.

He registered two sacks and led defensive line with five tackles (all solo) in win against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 10 and sacked quarterback Mark Brunell on fourth down in the final minute of the game to preserve the Bengals win.

Wilkinson suffered a neck injury against the Chicago Bears on December 10 and was inactive for the final two games of the season.

Wilkinson led the Bengals in sacks for the first time in 1996 with 6.5, including one in each of the first five games, and also led the defensive line with 37 solo tackles.