Adriel Jeremiah "A. J." Green (born July 31, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Bengals fourth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia. In his first season with the Bengals, Green made the 2012 Pro Bowl, the first rookie receiver to make a Pro Bowl appearance since Anquan Boldin in 2003. Green has caught more passes (260) than any other player in NFL history during their first three seasons.
Early years
Green was on his elementary school's juggling team telling The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he learned to juggle as early as second grade. Green said he could juggle as many as four items at once, and that the ability helped the development of his hand-eye coordination.
High school career
Green attended Summerville High School, where he played for the Summerville Green Wave high school football team, under coach John McKissick. He was widely considered to be one of the top national football prospects of the 2008 high school class, and was listed #1 by Sports Illustrated. Green earned All-State honors four times and was the only junior nominated to the 2006 USA Today All-American first team following 75 receptions for 1,422 yards and 16 touchdowns during his sophomore season. Green was also selected as a member of the Rivals.com Junior All-America team based on those stats. As a freshman, he had 57 receptions for 1,217 yards and eight touchdowns. As a junior, he had 60 catches for 1,203 yards and 14 touchdowns.
A. J. Green's 5,373 career receiving yards rank second in the all-time career receiving records of the National Federation of High Schools. His 279 career receptions rank fourth. In June 2006, Green was profiled by Sports Illustrated as part of its “Where Will They Be?” stories documenting athletes with the potential of becoming a future great, alongside Peter Uihlein, John Tavares, Tyreke Evans, Elena Delle Donne, and others. Sports Illustrated compared him to the then-Oakland Raiders wideout Randy Moss and predicted Green will be in the NFL by 2011.
Rivals.com ranked Green as their No. 9 prospect for the high school class of 2008, while Scout.com named Green their No. 10 prospect nationally. He participated in the Under Armour All-America Game.
Green was also on the Summerville High basketball team that claimed the 2007–2008 South Carolina state championship in a championship game against Spartanburg (S.C.) High. The game was played in memory of their fallen assistant coach, Captain Louis Mulkey of the Charleston Fire Department in South Carolina, who died responding to a fire with eight other firefighters on June 18, 2007.
College career
Green verbally committed to attend the University of Georgia in October 2006. He made his commitment official by signing a letter of intent to play at Georgia on February 6, 2008.
2008 season
In the fourth game of his college career, against Arizona State, Green had 8 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown. For this, he was named SEC Player of the Week. He finished the 2008 season with 56 catches for 963 yards and 8 touchdowns, all Georgia freshman school records. He also led the SEC in receiving yards, with the third-highest total in UGA school history. He was named second-team All-SEC and Freshman of the Year by the SEC coaches, and was named to the Associated Press All-SEC first team. He was not named to any national All-American teams.
2009 season
Green ended the 2009 regular season with 47 catches for 751 yards and 6 touchdowns, despite being injured the last three games of the season.
Green returned from injury for the 2009 Independence Bowl, December 28, 2009 in Shreveport, LA where he made 6 catches totaling 57 yards.
2010 season
Green was suspended for the first four games of the 2010 regular season after he admitted to selling his 2009 Independence Bowl Jersey for $1,000 to former North Carolina defensive back Chris Hawkins, who the NCAA described as an agent or someone who markets amateur athletes. As part of his punishment, Green was required to repay $1,000 to a charity. Despite missing the first four games, Green finished the season with a team high 57 catches for 848 yards and nine touchdowns.
On January 9, 2011, Green officially declared for the 2011 NFL Draft. He finished his three seasons at Georgia with 166 receptions for 2,619 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Professional career
Cincinnati Bengals
Green was selected fourth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. On July 28, 2011, Green agreed to a four-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals worth $19.6 million. After signing with the Cincinnati Bengals, Green became a member of School of the Legends (SOTL) in 2011. Green was featured in the 2011 NFLPA Rookie Debut "One Team" Celebration which streamed live on YouTube from New York City's Cipriani Wall Street. The event was produced by SOTL, a licensed partner of the NFLPA, and employed YouTube's live streaming platform.
2011 season
Green's first NFL reception was a 41-yard touchdown catch against their in-state rival, the Cleveland Browns. By the end of his rookie season, Green recorded four 100-yard games and led all NFL rookies in receptions and receiving yards, catching 65 passes for 1,057 yards in 15 games. His seven touchdown receptions was second among rookies – one behind Julio Jones. On December 18, 2011, Green and fellow rookie QB Andy Dalton surpassed the all-time NFL record for yards and receptions by a rookie QB/WR tandem. One week later on December 24, 2011, Green's 1,031 yards surpassed Cris Collinsworth's franchise record of 1,009 yards set in 1981 for most receiving yards by a rookie. Collinsworth still holds the franchise record for most receptions by a rookie with 67.
2012 season
In week 3 of the 2012 regular season, Green caught nine passes for a career-high 183 yards in a 38-31 win over the Washington Redskins. Later the same season in week 9, he caught a 56-yard touchdown against the New York Giants extending his touchdown streak to eight consecutive games, the longest in the NFL by a receiver and second-longest overall He extended the streak to nine following a four-yard touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in week 11. On December 23, 2012 Green recorded his first career lost fumble against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he finished the game with 10 receptions for 116 yards, including a 21-yard reception that set up the game winning field goal. Green gained over 100 receiving yards in five different games and was selected to his second Pro Bowl in his second year in the league. He finished the season with 97 receptions for 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns. In the Bengals playoff loss to Houston, he was the team's leading receiver with 5 receptions for 80 yards. In the 2013 Pro Bowl, he had 119 yards and 3 touchdowns.
2013 GENERAL: Started Games 1-16, ranking fifth in NFL in receiving yards (1426) and sixth in receptions (98) ... His 1426 yards also led Bengals in scrimmage yards and he led the team with 11 TDs.
2013 GAME-BY-GAME: On Sept. 8 at Chicago, caught nine-for-162 with two TDs (two and 45 yards), marking only his second career two TD game, and his yards were most by a Bengals receiver in a season-opener ... Caught six-for-41 Sept. 16 vs. Pittsburgh ... Caught four-for-46 with a 20-yard TD Sept. 22 vs. Green Bay ... Seven catches for 51 yards Sept. 29 at Cleveland ... Led team with 61 receiving yards and tied for team lead in receptions (five) Oct. 6 vs. New England ... Caught six-for-103 with a TD (18 yards) Oct. 13 at Buffalo, and had a then season-long 54-yard gain on a WR screen ... Caught six-for-155 Oct. 20 at Detroit, including 82-yard TD (longest gain of his of career) on game’s opening drive ... Caught three-for-115, including a pair of 53-yard receptions, Oct. 27 vs. Jets ... Caught 11-for-128 on Oct. 31 at Miami, posting his career high in catches ... Caught eight-for-151 with a TD Nov. 10 at Baltimore, his TD coming via a 51-yard Hail Mary as time expired in fourth quarter, sending game to overtime … Held to career-low seven yards (on two catches) Nov. 17 vs. Cleveland ... On Dec. 1 at San Diego, caught five-for-83, with a 21-yard TD in third quarter that put Bengals ahead to stay at 14-7 ... Caught six-for-72 on Dec. 8 vs. Indianapolis, with nine-yard TD in fourth quarter ... Led team in receptions (nine) and receiving yards (93) Dec. 15 at Pittsburgh ... Caught seven-for-97 with two TDs Dec. 22 vs. Minnesota, getting 29-yard score in first quarter and two-yarder in third quarter on a one-handed catch ... Caught four-for-61 with a 53-yard TD on Dec. 29 vs. Baltimore.
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