Todd Christensen

Todd Jay Christensen (August 3, 1956 – November 13, 2013) was an American professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1978 until 1988, primarily with the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders. He played college football for the BYU Cougars and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (56th overall) of the 1978 NFL draft. Following his retirement Christensen became a commentator for both professional and collegiate games, working for NBC Sports, ESPN, and CBS Sports Network among others.

Christensen was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. His parents were Ned Jay and June Christensen. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His father was working on a doctoral degree at Pennsylvania State University at that time. When he was five years old, his father, after teaching in West Virginia, was offered a professorship in Eugene, Oregon and the family relocated.

He graduated from Sheldon High School in Eugene in 1974. He was selected in the 1974 Major League Baseball draft, but he elected to play football at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah.

At BYU, Christensen was a four-year starter (1974–1977) for the Cougars at fullback, led the team for three consecutive seasons in receiving and was an All-Western Athletic Conference selection as a senior in 1977. His career numbers while at BYU: 276 rushing attempts for 1,072 yards and 8 touchdowns, 152 receptions for 1,568 yards and 13 touchdowns. He graduated with a degree in social work in 1978 before embarking on his pro career.

Christensen was selected in the second-round (56th overall) of the 1978 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. While playing fullback and leading the team in rushing, he broke his foot in the final exhibition game, so he was placed on injured reserve and couldn't play a down in a season the team won the conference title and played in Super Bowl XIII. The next year the Cowboys wanted to convert him to tight end, but he didn't agree with the move after working one week in his new position, so he was waived at the end of training camp.

Christensen was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants but only played in one game and lasted two weeks with the team, before being released to make room for wide receiver Dwight Scales.

After being unclaimed, he was signed by the Oakland Raiders in 1979 and became a key player on special teams, which included the role of long snapper. Being the son of a college professor, he was scholarly and enjoyed the mastery of words, he also quoted famous authors and volunteered on different occasions poems, some of which were written by him. His eccentricities helped him fit in with the Raiders, even if he wasn't tailored to the renegade mold.

He finally agreed to play the tight end position and after three seasons of unspectacular statistics (including the Raiders' Super Bowl winning campaign in 1980, in which his only reception of the entire year was a 1-yard touchdown catch in the opening round of the playoffs), Christensen broke out in 1982, catching 42 passes for 510 yards and four touchdowns during the strike-shortened season, helping the Raiders tie the Washington Redskins for the best record in the NFL. The next year, Christensen caught 92 passes for a career-high 1,247 yards and 12 touchdowns and earned the first of his five trips to the Pro Bowl for his efforts. His total catches led the NFL, making him the second tight end to ever do this (Kellen Winslow was the other). The Raiders finished the season with a resounding 38–9 victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII.