Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, earning consensus All-American honors as a sophomore in 2008. Bryant missed most of his junior season due to violating an NCAA bylaw.
Bryant was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft, where he earned three Pro Bowl berths and was named an All-Pro in 2014. After eight seasons with the Cowboys, Bryant was acquired by the New Orleans Saints in 2018, but suffered a season-ending injury two days after signing with the team. After a year away from the NFL, Bryant signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2020, where he was primarily a backup and alternated between the practice squad and the active roster.
Desmond Demond Bryant was born in Galveston, Texas at The University of Texas Medical Branch on November 4, 1988. He and his family later moved to Lufkin, Texas, where he attended Lufkin High School. While at Lufkin High School, Bryant played high school football for the Panthers football team. As a junior, he recorded 48 receptions for 1,025 yards and 16 touchdowns. Bryant led Lufkin to a 14–1 record, including an appearance in the 5A Division II state semifinals, where they lost 46–28 to Todd Dodge's Southlake Carroll. As a senior, Bryant had 53 receptions for 1,207 yards with 21 touchdowns, and was an All-State selection. Lufkin finished the season with an 11–1 record, after losing 38–25 to Round Rock in the area round of the playoffs. After the season, Bryant participated in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl. He was named an All-American by Parade and SuperPrep.
Bryant competed in track and field and was one of the state's top competitors in the triple jump (top-jump of 14.17 m). As a standout hurdler, he had personal bests of 14.56 seconds in the 110-m hurdles and 40.70 seconds in the 300-m hurdles. Bryant was also a member of the 4 × 100-m (42.62) and 4 × 200-m (1:28.35) relay squads.
Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Bryant was listed as the No. 9 wide receiver prospect in the class of 2007, and the second from Texas behind only Terrence Toliver. Recruited by numerous major programs, including most Big 12 schools, Bryant took official visits to Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech, before committing to the Cowboys on January 29, 2007.
Bryant attended Oklahoma State University from 2007 to 2009 and was a member of the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team coached by Mike Gundy.
On September 1, Bryant made his collegiate debut against Georgia and had a seven-yard reception in the 35–14 loss. Three weeks later against Texas Tech, Bryant had five receptions for 51 yards and his first collegiate receiving touchdown on a five-yard reception from Zac Robinson in the 49–45 victory. On October 20 against Kansas State, Bryant had three receptions for 37 yards and two touchdowns in the narrow 41–39 victory. Three weeks later against Kansas, he set a school record for receiving yards in a game by a freshman with 155 in the 43–28 loss. In the 2007 Insight Bowl, Bryant recorded nine receptions for 117 yards and two touchdowns in a 49–33 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers. As a freshman in 2007, he finished second on the team with 43 receptions for 622 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games.
On September 6 against Houston, Bryant recorded nine receptions for 236 yards and three touchdowns to go along with a punt return touchdown in the 56–37 victory. For his game against Houston, he was named the Walter Camp Foundation's National Offensive Player of the Week. Three weeks later against Troy, he caught six passes for 118 yards and three touchdowns in the 55–24 victory. In the next game against Texas A&M, Bryant had 106 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns, and a punt return touchdown during the 56–28 victory. On October 18 against Baylor, he recorded 11 receptions for 212 yards and two touchdowns in the 34–6 victory. Two weeks later against Iowa State, Bryant caught nine passes for 171 yards and four touchdowns in the 59–17 victory. On November 29 against Oklahoma, he had six receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns in the 61–41 loss. On December 30 against Oregon in the 2008 Holiday Bowl, Bryant recorded 13 receptions for 167 yards and a touchdown in the 42–31 loss. He finished the 2008 season with 87 receptions for 1,480 yards and 19 touchdowns to go along with two punt return touchdowns.
Bryant was ruled ineligible for the rest of the 2009 season on October 7 for violating an NCAA bylaw. He failed to fully disclose his interaction with Deion Sanders, a former NFL player, to the NCAA. Bryant was considered the best wide receiver in 2009 and a possible Heisman Trophy contender before the suspension. In three games, he finished with 17 receptions for 323 yards and four touchdowns to go along with a punt return touchdown.
On November 5, 2009, Bryant announced his intentions to enter the 2010 NFL draft. He was widely believed to be the best wide receiver available. If he slipped by the Denver Broncos, Bryant was projected to fall no lower than the 27th pick to the Dallas Cowboys. After dropping because of character concerns, the Cowboys traded up with the New England Patriots, moving from the 27th to the 24th position to select Bryant. Bryant was the second wide receiver selected in the draft, following Demaryius Thomas with the Broncos two picks earlier. For the move, the team sent a third-round draft choice, which was the 90th overall pick, while receiving the Patriots' fourth-round draft choice, which was the 119th overall pick.
Bryant was signed by the Cowboys to a contract very similar to that of Vikings' wide receiver Percy Harvin (five years, $12.05 million, roughly $8.4 million guaranteed) on July 22, 2010. The next day, it was announced that Bryant would wear the #88 jersey, the same as Hall of Famers and Cowboys legends Michael Irvin and Drew Pearson.
On September 12, Bryant made his NFL debut against the Washington Redskins and had eight receptions for 56 yards. His eight receptions in his NFL debut set a franchise record for most in a player's first game. In the next game, he had a punt return touchdown during the 27–20 loss to the Chicago Bears. On October 17, Bryant caught his first NFL touchdown on a 31-yard pass from Tony Romo. The Cowboys ended up losing that game 24–21.
In a Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants, at Cowboys Stadium on October 25, 2010, Bryant caught four passes for 54 yards, two of them for touchdowns, and returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown, making the longest Cowboys' punt return since Dennis Morgan's 98-yard return during the 1974 NFL season. With that performance, Bryant became the youngest wide receiver in franchise history to total three touchdowns in a single game, breaking Michael Irvin's mark in 1988. On November 15, Bryant caught three passes for 104 yards and one touchdown, to become the first Cowboys rookie with a 100+ yard game since Antonio Bryant in 2002.
During the fourth quarter of the Cowboys' 38–35 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Bryant went down with a fractured ankle. Indianapolis' Kavell Conner held onto Bryant's leg while tackling him on a kickoff return, and the Cowboys immediately took Bryant to the locker room. He was placed on the injured reserve list and had surgery on the fractured ankle. He left the game with one catch for 14 yards and a 35.7-yard average on three kickoff returns.
Bryant finished his rookie year with 45 receptions for 561 yards and six touchdowns. Bryant became the first Cowboys rookie to have multiple punt returns for a touchdown in the same season since Kevin Williams in 1993. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team for the 2010 season.
With the departure of Roy Williams, Bryant won the starting job opposite Miles Austin.
Bryant finished his second professional season with 63 receptions for 928 yards and nine touchdowns, finishing second on the team in all those categories, and handled some punt return duties as the Cowboys went 8–8 and missed the postseason.