[1] He played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and Pittsburgh Steelers from 2004 to 2015.

He played wide receiver and defensive back and was named to the All-State team after his junior and senior years.

Cotchery's 200 career receptions and fifteen games with 100+ receiving yards broke two school records previously held by Torry Holt.

[2] Cotchery's fifteen career games of 100+ receiving yards tied him for second place in Atlantic Coast Conference history.

[9][10] New Jets head coach Eric Mangini called Cotchery the "most outstanding player in our offseason program"[11] and promoted him to second starting wide receiver opposite Laveranues Coles.

Cotchery had six catches for 70 yards and a touchdown moving the Jets to only one game behind the Patriots for first place in the AFC East.

[15] The following week Cotchery had nine catches for 99 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau field as the Jets won 38–10.

Cotchery had 100 receiving yards and a touchdown in the Jets' Wild Card Round loss to the New England Patriots.

[19] The Jets opened the 2007 season against the New England Patriots, the team that had eliminated them from the playoffs the previous year.

[20] After the game, a closer look at video replays found that the Patriots had been taping the New York Jets' defensive coaches' signals.

[21] In week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens, Cotchery had seven catches and set a new career high of 165 receiving yards in a 13–17 loss.

[23] Cotechery scored his first touchdown of the season in week 7 when the Jets were playing the Cincinnati Bengals He had six catches for 60 yards in the game.

Halfway through the season, Cotchery's team stood at 1–7 and faced a quarterback controversy between Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens.

In a week 16 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Cotchery had eight catches for 152 yards with a touchdown, which was the only score for the Jets that day.

[26] Cotchery had eight receptions for 76 yards in the final game of the season, which resulted in an overtime win against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Although Cotchery had enjoyed his best season yet, the Jets' finished with a mediocre record of 4–12, earning them last place in the AFC East.

Cotchery finished the season with team highs in: receptions (82), yards (1,130), receiving touchdowns (2) and had yards-per-catch average (13.8).

[29] In a week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Favre threw for six touchdowns, including two to Cotchery, who had four catches for 67 yards.

[32] In week 15, Cotchery had a touchdown catch in a win against the Buffalo Bills snapping the Jets' two-game losing streak.

[39] On April 11, 2010, the New York Jets traded for wide receiver Santonio Holmes and in exchange gave up a fifth round pick in the 2010 NFL draft.

[43] Cotchery agreed to a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 11, 2011, after he had met with the team at training camp the previous week.

His third was on a pass that was either going to be a touchdown or would set up Carolina inside the five yard line, the drive ultimately ending in a missed field goal.

His father, Bob, ran a lawn care service, and his mother worked in a nursing home.