Jerricho Cotchery Jerricho Cotchery ( born June 16 , 1982 ) is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League . He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the New York Jets . He played college football for North Carolina State University . College . Cotchery was a two - time All - Atlantic Coast Conference selection . He broke North Carolina State University school records with 200 career receptions and 15 career 100 - yard receiving games , both previously held by consensus All - American Torry Holt ( 1995 – 98 ) , and finished second to Holt in school history with 3 , 119 yards and 21 touchdown catches . Cotchery and Florida State ' s Peter Warrick are the only two receivers in ACC history to record 200 career receptions and 3 , 000 career receiving yards . He caught at least one pass in 39 consecutive games , which ties for the longest streak in NC State history . He ranks 33rd in NCAA history for career receiving yards and tied for 42nd for career receptions . He majored in Sport Management . Professional career . 2004 NFL Draft . Cotchery was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round ( 108th overall ) of the 2004 NFL draft . New York Jets . 2004 . In 2004 , Cotchery saw very little playing time on offense . In his limited action Jerricho Cotchery caught 6 passes for 60 yards in 12 games ( with no starts ) as the team ' s 5th receiver . As a kick returner , he had 13 returns for 362 yards ( 27 . 8 yard average ) and one touchdown . 2005 . In 2005 , Jerricho entered the season as the fourth string wide receiver , but following an injury to Wayne Chrebet , he moved up the depth chart to third string . In 16 games ( with one start ) , he caught 19 passes for 251 yards but he did not have a touchdown . He returned 4 kicks for 105 yards ( 26 . 3 yard average ) and 23 punts for 182 yards ( 7 . 9 yard average ) . 2006 . Fellow Jets WR Justin McCareins showed up for training camp for the 2006 season and failed his physical , landing in new head coach Eric Mangini ' s doghouse . Mangini promoted Cotchery to be the second starting receiver opposite Laveranues Coles calling him " most outstanding player in our offseason program . " Jerricho Cotchery started for the jets week 1 against the Tennessee Titans . He had 6 catches for 65 yards and had his first NFL Touchdown from Quarterback Chad Pennington . Next week against the New England Patriots Jerricho had 6 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown . The touchdown was for 71 yards a new career high . The Jets would go on to lose that game 24 - 17 . In week 4 Jerricho Cotchery had another touchdown catch as the Jets would lose to the Indianapolis Colts 31 - 28 . In week 10 the jets beat the Patriots at Gillette Stadium 17 - 14 as Cotchery had 6 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown to move the Jets to only one game behind the patriots for first place . In week 12 Cotchery has 7 catches with 110 yards in a Jets win over the Houston Texans 26 - 11 . Next week he had 9 catches for 99 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau field in a Jets win 38 - 10 . The Jets were 7 - 6 after week 14 , but the Jets got hot and won their last 3 games to make the playoffs as a wildcard team . Their final recorded was 10 - 6 . Jerricho Cotchery Ended the regular season with 82 catches ( tied for 16th in the NFL ) and 961 yards ( 22nd ) . Many of his catches were spectacular or in important situations . Much of his success comes from his remarkable ability to gain yards after a catch . Cotchery had 100 receiving yards and a touchdown in the Jets ' wild - card weekend loss to the New England Patriots . 2007 . Cotchery signed a multi - year extension with the Jets on March 1 , 2007 . The Jets opened up the 2007 season against the team that kicked them out of the playoffs the New England Patriots . Jerricho Cotchery would have 6 catches 57 yards but the Jets would lose 38 - 14 . After the game it came out that the Patriots were videotaping New York Jets ' defensive coaches ' signals during the game . Later it was called Spygate . In week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens Cotchery had 7 catches and set a new career high in yard with 165 . The Jets would lose 17 - 13 . On September 30 , 2007 Cotchery would have 8 catches for 107 yards but the jets would lose to rival Buffalo Bills as the Jets recorded would drop to 1 win and 3 loses . In week 7 the Jets were playing the Cincinnati Bengals were Cotchery got his first touchdown reception of the year . He had 6 catches for 60 yards in the game . At the half of the Jets season they were 1 - 7 and were going through a quarterback controversy between Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens . In week 11 the Jets got a win over playoffs contender Pittsburgh Steelers . It was the biggest win of the season for the jets but in the win Cotchery only had 1 catch for 5 yards . Now their record was 2 - 8 . On Monday November 26 , 2007 injured his right index finger during Monday ' s practice . He would have surgery on that finger . Many thought he would miss the rest of the reason but he would only miss one game . In Jerricho Cotchery first game back after his surgery he had 6 catches with 119 yards as the Jets lose to the Cleveland Browns 24 - 18 . In week 16 Cotchery had 8 catches for 152 yards with 1 touchdown . That touchdown would be the only points that the Jets would get that day as they lost to the Tennessee Titans . In the Last game of the season for the Jets was a win in overtime as they were playing the Kansas City Chiefs at home . Jerricho Cotchery had 8 receptions for 76 yards . Jerricho Cotchery had his best season yet even though the Jets recorded was 4 - 12 and was lat in the AFC east . At the end of the year Jerricho Cotchery had 82 receptions , 1130 yards , two touchdown and a 13 . 8 yards per catch average . He led the Jets in all these stats . Former Jets head coach Herm Edwards admitted he regretted not playing Cotchery more while he was head coach of the NY Jets . 2008 . Coming into the 2008 season the biggest question for the Jets was who their starting Quarterback was going to be , Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens . They ended their quarterback problem when august 7 , 2008 the New York Jets Traded for Brett Favre . The Jets played their first game of the season against the Miami Dolphins in Miami . Brett Favre first touchdown pass as a New York Jet was 56 yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery . Jerricho Cotchery finish the day with 3 receptions for 80 yards as the Jets would get the win 20 to 14 . In week 4 the Jets were playing the Arizona Cardinals at home . Brett Favre threw for 6 touchdowns in the game . Two of those touchdowns was to Jerricho Cotchery as he had 4 catches for 67 yards . The Jets would win the game 56 to 35 . In week 11 the Jets were playing division rival Patriots on Thursday night football . Late in the First half jerricho Cotchery pulls in the ball with one hand diving catch as Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs covers him . It was a 46 Yard gain . Later in the same drive Cotchery caught a 15 yard touchdown pass . He finished the day with 5 receptions with 87 yards . The Jets would go on to win the game in overtime 34 - 31 and would move the Jets over New England for first place in the AFC east . Next week the Jets were playing the 10 win 0 loses Tennessee Titans in Tennessee . Cotchery had 6 catches as the Jets would Get their biggest win of the season 34 - 13 to push their record to 8 - 3 . In week 15 the Jets had lost 2 Straight games and were playing the Buffalo Bills . Jerricho Cotchery had a touchdown catch as the Jets would end their losing streak with a 31 - 27 win . The Jets were 8 - 3 and was in first Place in the AFC east . The Jets would lose 4 out of their next 5 games . They would finish 9 - 7 and miss the playoffs for the seconded straight year . Later after the season it came out that in week 11 Brett Farve injured his throwing arm . Jerricho Cotchery ended the season with 71 receptions for 858 yards , 12 . 1 yards per catch average and 5 touchdown . He played and started in all 16 games . 2009 . After failing to come to terms on a contract extension , the Jets restructured the contract of wide receiver Laveranues Coles to allow him to immediately become an unrestricted free agent on February 25 . Though Coles admitted a chance he could re - sign with the Jets , he signed a four - year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals . After the departure of Laveranues Coles , Cotchery would become the Jets Number 1 receiver . In week 1 of the 2009 jets season , they were playing the Houston Texans . In that game Cotchery had 6 catches for 90 yards in a Jets win . In week 3 the Jets were playing a home game against the Tennessee Titans were Jerricho had 8 receptions for 108 yards and would catch his first touchdown of the season . The jets would get the win 24 - 17 and push their recorded to 3 - 0 and giving them 1st place in the AFC east . On October 7 , Braylon Edwards was traded to the New York Jets for wide receiver Chansi Stuckey , linebacker Jason Trusnik and a 3rd and 5th round picks in the 2010 NFL draft . Braylon was to start at wide receiver with Jerricho Cotchery . Cotchery made 57 catches for 821 yards in 2009 . Although he only had 3 touchdowns , he was a very important player for rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez to throw to . His most impressive touchdown of the season was against the New England Patriots in Week 11 , where he caught a 29 yard touchdown pass in a tight space at the edge of the endzone . In Week 17 facing the Cincinnati Bengals , Cotchery caught numerous passes and fought for yardage that made the running game more fluid . He then caught a pass from Mark Sanchez and ran it in for a touchdown , but it was a rushing touchdown . After the Jets won in week 17 they finished with a 9 - 7 recorded and made the playoff with a second wildcard spot . In the first round of the playoffs the jets would play the team they beat to make the playoffs , the Cincinnati Bengals . In that game Jerricho had 6 catches for 67 yards in a jets win 24 - 14 . Next week the jets would beat the San Diego Chargers to get the Jets to the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts . Cotchery had 5 catches for 100 but the Jets lost 30 - 17 and missed the Super Bowl . 2010 . On April 11 , 2010 the New York Jets traded for wide receiver Santonio Holmes and in exchange gave up a 5th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft . This would now make Cotchery the 3rd wide receiver on the team , behind Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards . After several seasons , Cotchery was released by the Jets on August 4 , 2011 . Pittsburgh Steelers . 2011 . Cotchery agreed to a one - year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 11 , 2011 after he had met with the team at training camp the previous week . On April 12 , 2012 he was reported to have re - signed for two more years , agreeing to a deal worth around $ 3 million . Personal life . Cotchery was born with six fingers on his left hand . He is the second youngest out of 13 children . On May 30 , 1998 , Cotchery was in a car accident . He lost a lot of blood through several cuts on his arms , hands and head . Cotchery still has scars on his wrists and hands , and as of 2008 , shards of glass continue to work their way up and out of his skin . Cotchery married his wife , Mercedes a month after being selected by the Jets in 2004 . The couple adopted their daughter , Jacey , in 2007 . The couple also have two sons , Joshua and Nicholas . Cotchery majored in Sports Management at North Carolina State .