Meet

Derek Wolfe

The Wolfe Cub

Emerges

Born and raised in the Upper Ohio Valley, Derek Wolfe learned to respond to adversity with tenacity. Derek turned to athletics as a teenager to stop the familial history of physical and substance abuse dead in its tracks. After moving in with a friend’s family, Derek became a standout football player at Beaver High School, registering 205 career stops, including 78 tackles and seven sacks, to earn All-Ohio Valley Athletic Conference first team. As a defensive tackle for the University of Cincinnati, Derek adopted his signature mantra: DEFWU (Don’t Ever [Fool] With Us). His attitude propelled him to earn Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year and a First-Team All-Big East selection at defensive tackle—and he was co-winner of the John Pease Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman Award in 2011.

Hungry as A

Wolfe

Derek’s physicality took the global stage when drafted as a defensive tackle for the Denver Broncos in 2012. An injury-plagued 2014 season with a spinal cord injury and seizure was no match for Derek’s determination to get back on the field. Derek attributes his return to football to his unbreakable spirit and willingness to face injury and mental health challenges head-on.

When he returned to the game, Derek’s physicality—and his mental toughness—took an even stronger form. He started for the 2015 best-in-class defensive team that secured one of Denver’s winningest seasons and the 2016 Superbowl Championship. In 2020, Derek signed with the Baltimore Ravens before returning briefly to Denver before retiring from professional football as a Bronco in 2022.

Defensive Tackle

Drafted 2012 / 36th Overall
Denver Broncos

Tackles

350 Total / 225 SOLO / 125 Assists

Sacks

34

Stuffs

23

NFL Championships

1

Wolfe

Untamed

Post-retirement, Derek has leaned into his passion for world-class bow and rifle hunting of big game across the United States. Derek documents his private hunts with sponsors and hosts, including Eastmen’s Journal, continuously honing his skills as a huntsman, survivalist, and outdoorsman in the places he loves.

Representing land stewards and a commitment to the conservation of wild landscapes in the US, Derek advocates for hunters’ rights and the responsibilities of hunters, landowners, and officials. His viral story of hunting and killing a havoc-wreaking 200-lb mountain lion in the hills of Boulder, Colorado is a testament to Derek’s commitment to community safety and his willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done well. In the hunting world, there is no shortage of opportunities to bag an animal—but Derek knows it takes work to reach excellence, whether filling a tag or regretfully eating a bowl of tag soup.

Become

Relentless

In the face of mental health challenges and additional free time in the hunting off-season, Derek has turned to functional strength training and a return to physical strength. His weekly Instagram training features strongman-style workouts; his training even includes regularly sparring with four-time winner of The World’s Strongest Man competition, Brian Shaw.

Derek continues to champion the process of progress every single day.

 

leadership and

Legacy

Team Wolfe takes action to honor, support, and invest in the communities of Derek’s youth and current home of Colorado, especially through his commitment to improving safety and opportunity in youth sports.

In 2023, Derek and wife Abigail presented the Platte Valley High School Huskies football team with a full set of Guardian Caps, medically certified soft-sided helmets designed for traumatic brain injury reduction.

In 2020, Derek returned to his high school alma mater, Beaver Local High School, where he partnered with friend Jamin Pastore to donate $1 million to the Beaver Local School District for the improvement and construction of athletics facilities. The new football stadium is scheduled to break ground in November, 2024.

Derek Wolfe and his beloved wife, Abigail, reside in Denver, Colorado with children Tatum and Roxanna, who continue to be his inspiration and his true legacy.