He was selected by the Redskins in the third round of the 1953 NFL draft after playing college football for the Michigan State Spartans.
[1] He was part of the Michigan State team that won the school's first football national championship in 1952, after finishing the season with a 9–0 record.
[2] Dekker was also named to the Associated Press's All-Western team in 1952 and caught 13 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown that season.
[6] Dekker played in 90 games for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1956 to 1962, recording 234 receptions for 3,718 yards and 27 touchdowns.
[1] He was part of the Tiger-Cats team that won the 45th Grey Cup against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on November 30, 1957.