Emmanuel Sanders

Emmanuel Sanders is an NFL receiver for the Denver Broncos. Sanders, 29, has played seven professional seasons and has developed a reputation for being a gritty, shifty receiver who can make catches with heavy defensive pressure.

Childhood and high school

Sanders grew up in a small Texas town called Bellville, that is situated about halfway between Houston and Austin. At Bellville High School, has a star in football, basketball, baseball and track. On the gridiron, he played wide receiver, running back and safety. As as senior, he merited team MVP and Tri-County Offensive Player of the Year.

A class of 2005 recruit, Sanders was ranked a two-star prospect by 247 Sports. He committed on Feb. 2 to play football at Southern Methodist University.

College

At SMU, Sanders was a highly valuable receiving target all four years. He caught nine touchdown passes in each of his first three seasons and seven as a senior. He gradually neared the 1,000-yard mark his first three seasons with the Mustangs before going for 1,339 receiving yards—a Conference USA record—on 98 receptions.

Sanders was named All-Conference USA as a junior and senior.

In 2009, Sanders led SMU to an eight-win season and a win over Nevada in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. He had seven catches for 124 yards and a touchdown in that game.

Emmanuel Sanders college highlights

NFL Draft

The play-making ability of Sanders was on full display in his SMU film, but NFL scouts knew the undersized receiver would be a risk. They wondered whether Sanders had the height and strength to make plays in the middle of NFL defenses. In the NFL Draft Combine, he put up a 39.5 inch vertical and ran a 4.41 40 time.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Sanders with the 82nd overall pick in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was the seventh wide receiver selected.

2015 NFL Season

Leading up to 2015, Sanders had gone from a rookie season and second year that weren't predictive of the future success that he would have. A couple of better years with Pittsburgh led to his breakout season of 1,404 receiving yards and nine touchdowns with Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in 2014. 

He backed that up by reeling in 76 receptions for 1,135 yards and six touchdowns in 2015. Sanders had four games with 100-plus receiving yards and another with 99. Denver won 11 regular season games and went on to win the Super Bowl 24-10, with Sanders catching six passes for 83 yards against the NFC champion Carolina Panthers.

Emmanuel Sanders 2015 NFL Highlights

2016 NFL Season

At the beginning of 2016, Sanders signed a three-year contract extension with the Broncos and will make an $11 million salary each year. He backed it up with his third-straight 1,000-yard season, as he pulled in 79 receptions for 1,032 yards and five touchdowns—primarily from quarterback Trevor Siemian. Sanders led Denver in receiving yards in six games.

The Broncos failed to make the playoffs, but Sanders made his second career Pro Bowl team.

Personal Life

Sanders' wife Gabriella filed for divorce just weeks before the couple's second child was born on Dec. 13, 2016. However, the divorce has not been reported as finalized and Sanders was present with his wife for the birth. Most of the things coming from his Twitter handle, @ESanders_10, are retweets.