It seems like every few months, an NFL story of incredible perseverance comes to light. Raiders K Giorgio Tavecchio spent five years trying to make an active roster, and former WR Andrew Hawkins used everything from Facebook to reality TV to make his NFL dreams come true. The latest story of gridiron grit comes from Jaguars WR Jaydon Mickens, who was sleeping in his car just a couple months ago.
Let's run through the obstacles that the 23-year-old faced before reaching breakout success:
February 2016: After spending four years as a WR on the Washington Huskies, Mickens is not one of the 335 players -- including 7 from Washington -- invited to the NFL combine.
April 2016: Mickens is not one of the 253 players selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.
May 2016 to September 2017: Mickens signs with the Raiders on May 12, but he's waived on September 3. Mickens signs to the practice squad the next day. From May 2016 to September 2017, Mickens is signed and cut three times.
September 2017: On September 19, Mickens signs to the Jaguars practice squad. Mickens sleeps in a car along with practice squad teammate WR Larry Pinkard to save money. Pinkard would later make the active roster on November 18.
October 2017: On October 21, Mickens was promoted to the active roster. The next day, Mickens makes his NFL debut against the Colts.
In Week 15, he hauls in four receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns in the Jags' 45-7 victory over the Texans.
So, over the span of nearly two years, Mickens encountered multiple obstacles that would've caused many others to choose another career path. However, the disappointment of being waived multiple times and discomfort of sleeping in a car couldn't prevent Mickens from making his NFL dream come true.
Mickens is yet another reason to root for Sacksonville to go on a Cinderella playoff run this year.
