Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Jaydon Mickens Emerges in UFL to Jumpstart Pro Career

He led the UW in receiving three times while playing for Sarkisian and Petersen.

Dan Raley

Huskies wide receiver Jayden Mickens reacts to a call in a 30-22 loss to Oklahoma State in the 2015 Cactus Bowl in Tempe.
Huskies wide receiver Jayden Mickens reacts to a call in a 30-22 loss to Oklahoma State in the 2015 Cactus Bowl in Tempe. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Four years ago, Jaydon Mickens was a Super Bowl LV champion in Tampa, wandering through the falling postgame confetti and celebrating the Buccaneers' 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs when Patrick Mahomes was beatable and Travis Kelce didn't have a famous girlfriend.

This past week, the former University of Washington wide receiver resurfaced after a one-year gap in his career, signing with the United Football League's DC Defenders, who will play a 10-game schedule beginning on March 30.

The 5-foot-10, 174-pound Mickens, 30, last appeared in a regulation NFL game in 2021when he split time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay. He has modest career receiving totals of 15 catches for 145 yards and 2 scores, while picking up 1,392 yards and a TD from kick returns.

Originally from Los Angeles, Mickens led the Huskies in receiving three times, with 65, 60 and 58 catches through 2015 while playing for both the Steve Sarkisian and Chris Petersen coaching staffs. Today, he stands as the No. 1 receiver in school annals with 203 catches for 2,187 yards and 12 touchdowns.

An undrafted free agent, the speedy Mickens initially signed with the Oakland Raiders and spent two seasons as a practice squad player before joining Jacksonville and getting a late-season roster call-up. In 2017 for the Jags, he returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals and another for 72 yards to the 1 against the Seattle Seahawks.

After a Carolina Panthers practice squad stint, he joined the Buccaneers for three seasons as an active player, sharing in the Super Bowl during his second campaign in Tampa, before returning to Jacksonville in 2021.

He was out of football in 2024 following stints on the New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts practice squads.

Mickens finds himself in the nation's capital and in the UFL that was formed in 2023 by a merger of the USFL and XFL and has been funded by actor Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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