View source for Jeff Wilkins

{{Short description|American football player (born 1972)}}
{{for|the American basketball player|Jeff Wilkins (basketball)}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name          = Jeff Wilkins
| image         = Jeff Wilkins.jpg
| alt           =
| caption       = Wilkins with the [[St. Louis Rams]] in 2007
| number        = 14
| position      = [[Placekicker]]
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1972|4|19}}
| birth_place   = [[Youngstown, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date    = 
| death_place   = 
| height_ft     = 6
| height_in     = 2
| weight_lb     = 205
| high_school   = [[Austintown Fitch High School|Austintown Fitch]] {{avoid wrap|([[Austintown, Ohio]])}}
| college       = [[Youngstown State Penguins football|Youngstown State]] (1990–1993)
| undraftedyear = 1994
| pastteams     = * [[Dallas Cowboys]] ({{NFL Year|1994}})*
* [[Philadelphia Eagles]] (1994)
* [[San Francisco 49ers]] ({{NFL Year|1995|1996}})
* [[St. Louis Rams]] ({{NFL Year|1997|2007}})
| highlights    = * [[List of Super Bowl champions|Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl XXXIV|XXXIV]])
* Second-team [[All-Pro]] ([[2003 All-Pro Team|2003]])
* [[Pro Bowl]] ([[2004 Pro Bowl|2003]])
* [[List of NFL annual scoring leaders|NFL scoring leader]]  ({{NFL Year|2003}})
| statlabel1    = [[Field goal]]s attempted
| statvalue1    = 375
| statlabel2    = Field goals made
| statvalue2    = 307
| statlabel3    = Field goal percentage
| statvalue3    = 81.9%
| statlabel4    = Longest field goal
| statvalue4    = 57
| statlabel5    = [[Conversion (gridiron football)|Extra points]] attempted
| statvalue5    = 498
| statlabel6    = Extra points made
| statvalue6    = 495
| statlabel7    = Extra point percentage
| statvalue7    = 99.4%
| statlabel8    = Points scored
| statvalue8    = 1,416
| pfr           = W/wilkijef01 
}}

'''Jeffrey Allen Wilkins''' (born April 19, 1972), nicknamed "'''Money'''",<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 10, 2006 |title=Linehan's offense does little, but kicker, defense dump Denver |url=http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/gametracker/recap/NFL_20060910_DEN@STL |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006151625/http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/gametracker/recap/NFL_20060910_DEN@STL |archive-date=2015-10-06 |access-date=September 5, 2013 |website=CBSSports.com |language=en}}</ref> is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[placekicker]] for the [[San Francisco 49ers]], the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] and the [[St. Louis Rams]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL). With the Rams, he won [[Super Bowl XXXIV]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[Youngstown State Penguins football|Youngstown State Penguins]]. Wilkins is currently tied for second place all-time in most consecutive [[Conversion (gridiron football)|PATs]] without a miss at 371.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

==Early life==
Wilkins played for [[Austintown-Fitch High School (Youngstown, Ohio)|Austintown Fitch High School]] in the [[Austintown, Ohio]] suburb of [[Youngstown, Ohio|Youngstown]].

==College career==
At [[Youngstown State University]], Wilkins made a school record 66 field goals, with a long of 54 (a school record).<ref name="ysuhof">{{Cite web|title=Jeff Wilkins (2013) - Athletics Hall of Fame|url=https://ysusports.com/honors/hall-of-fame/jeff-wilkins/305|website=ysusports.com|access-date=April 11, 2024}}</ref>  While at Youngstown State, the [[Youngstown State Penguins football|Penguins]] won the 1991 and 1993 [[Division I Football Championship Subdivision|Division I-AA]] National Championships under head coach [[Jim Tressel]].  Wilkins was inducted in the YSU Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.<ref name="ysuhof" />

==Professional career==
Wilkins signed with the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] in 1994, but played in just six games and did not attempt a single field goal or extra point.  The following season, he joined the 49ers.  While he only played in seven games, he had a superb season, kicking 12 of 13 field goals.  In 1996, he finally saw duty as his team's full-time kicker and did not disappoint, kicking 30 of 34 field goals and all 40 extra point attempts.

In 1997, he joined the Rams, where he played the remainder of his career and became the team's all-time leading scorer.  Wilkins assisted his team to a championship win in [[Super Bowl XXXIV]], kicking three of four field goals and two extra points in the Rams 23–16 win over the [[Tennessee Titans]].  He also kicked a 50-yard field goal in the Rams 20–17 loss in [[Super Bowl XXXVI]].

Some consider Wilkins to be the last player to kick barefoot in the NFL, doing so for the first seven games of the 2002 season. However, many years later, Wilkins told ESPN writer Sam Borden that he did not consider himself to have been a barefoot kicker because his kicking foot was so heavily taped as a short-lived attempt to fix his kicking woes, and that he himself did not consider himself among the lineage of barefoot kickers.<ref>{{cite web | last=Borden | first=Sam | title=The secret identity of the NFL's last barefoot kicker | website=ESPN.com | date=October 21, 2022 | url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34817040/nfl-barefoot-kicker-jeff-wilkins-think-last | access-date=October 21, 2022}}</ref>

In 2003, Wilkins kicked an NFL record-tying 39 field goals (then shared with former [[Miami Dolphins]], [[New Orleans Saints]], Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears kicker [[Olindo Mare]]), which stood until surpassed by [[Neil Rackers]]' 40 field goals in 2005.

In St. Louis' opening game of the 2006 season, Wilkins set a franchise record by kicking six field goals in their 18–10 win over the [[Denver Broncos]].  He also became the first Rams player ever to score over 1,000 points.

On November 11, 2007, Wilkins kicked his 300th career field goal against the New Orleans Saints.  Wilkins announced his retirement from the NFL on February 29, 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 1, 2008 |title=Wilkins retires as Rams' career scoring leader |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=3270980 |access-date=September 5, 2013 |website=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

==NFL career statistics==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! rowspan="2"| GP
! colspan="4"| Field Goals
! colspan="3"| Extra Points
! rowspan="2"| Points
|-
! FGA !! FGM !! Lng !! Pct !! XPA !! XPM !! Pct
|-
! [[1994 NFL season|1994]] || [[1994 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| 6 || 0 || 0 || — || — || 0 || 0 || — || 0
|-
! [[1995 NFL season|1995]] || [[1995 San Francisco 49ers season|SF]]
| 7 || 13 || 12 || 40 || 92.3 || 29 || 27 || 93.1 || 63
|-
! [[1996 NFL season|1996]] || [[1996 San Francisco 49ers season|SF]]
| 16 || 34 || 30 || 49 || 88.2 || 40 || 40 || 100.0 || 130
|-
! [[1997 NFL season|1997]] || [[1997 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 37 || 25 || 52 || 67.6 || 32 || 32 || 100.0 || 107
|-
! [[1998 NFL season|1998]] || [[1998 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 26 || 20 || 57 || 76.9 || 26 || 25 || 96.2 || 85
|-
! [[1999 NFL season|1999]] || [[1999 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 28 || 20 || 51 || 71.4 || 64 || 64 || 100.0 || 124
|-
! [[2000 NFL season|2000]] || [[2000 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 11 || 17 || 17 || 51 || 100.0 || 38 || 38 || 100.0 || 89
|-
! [[2001 NFL season|2001]] || [[2001 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 29 || 23 || 54 || 79.3 || 58 || 58 || 100.0 || 127
|-
! [[2002 NFL season|2002]] || [[2002 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 25 || 19 || 47 || 76.0 || 37 || 37 || 100.0 || 94
|-
! [[2003 NFL season|2003]] || [[2003 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 42 || 39 || 53 || 92.9 || 46 || 46 || 100.0 || 163
|-
! [[2004 NFL season|2004]] || [[2004 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 24 || 19 || 53 || 79.2 || 32 || 32 || 100.0 || 89
|-
! [[2005 NFL season|2005]] || [[2005 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 31 || 27 || 53 || 87.1 || 36 || 36 || 100.0 || 117
|-
! [[2006 NFL season|2006]] || [[2006 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 37 || 32 || 53 || 86.5 || 35 || 35 || 100.0 || 131
|-
! [[2007 NFL season|2007]] || [[2007 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 32 || 24 || 53 || 75.0 || 25 || 25 || 100.0 || 97
|-
! colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/wilkijef01.htm Career] !! 200 !! 375 !! 307 !! 57 !! 81.9 !! 498 !! 495 !! 99.4 !! 1,416
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{1991 Youngstown State Penguins football navbox}}
{{1993 Youngstown State Penguins football navbox}}
{{Super Bowl XXXIV}}
{{St. Louis Rams 10th Anniversary Team}}
{{NFL scoring leaders}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Jeff}}
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American football placekickers]]
[[Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Eagles players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Rams players]]
[[Category:San Francisco 49ers players]]
[[Category:Youngstown State Penguins football players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio]]