Todd Gurley reached 1,000 rushing yards for the Rams last night. He's almost certainly going to be the only 2015 rookie to reach that total. Which makes sense, because on average a little over one rookie running back reaches that total each year.
Over the last 20 years, there have been 28 rookies to rush for at least 1,000 yards. But for injury, there might have been three to do it this year. Thomas Rawls was on pace to get there if he'd stayed healthy, and T.J. Yeldon -- now expected to miss the next game or two with a sprained knee -- might have also made it.
The 1,000-yard rookie runners since 1996 are presented below. Also listed are the top rookie runners from 2015.
1000-YARD ROOKIE RUNNERS, 1996-2015 (PLUS 2015'S BEST) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Team | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
2012 | Alfred Morris | WAS | 335 | 1,613 | 4.8 | 13 |
1999 | Edgerrin James | IND | 369 | 1,553 | 4.2 | 13 |
2002 | Clinton Portis | DEN | 273 | 1,508 | 5.5 | 15 |
2000 | Mike Anderson | DEN | 297 | 1,487 | 5 | 15 |
1995 | Curtis Martin | NE | 368 | 1,487 | 4 | 14 |
2012 | Doug Martin | TB | 319 | 1,454 | 4.6 | 11 |
1996 | Eddie George | HOU | 335 | 1,368 | 4.1 | 8 |
2000 | Jamal Lewis | BAL | 309 | 1,364 | 4.4 | 6 |
2007 | Adrian Peterson | MIN | 238 | 1,341 | 5.6 | 12 |
2008 | Steve Slaton | HOU | 268 | 1,282 | 4.8 | 9 |
2008 | Matt Forte | CHI | 316 | 1,238 | 3.9 | 8 |
2001 | LaDainian Tomlinson | SD | 339 | 1,236 | 3.6 | 10 |
2008 | Chris Johnson | TEN | 251 | 1,228 | 4.9 | 9 |
1998 | Fred Taylor | JAC | 264 | 1,223 | 4.6 | 14 |
2001 | Anthony Thomas | CHI | 278 | 1,183 | 4.3 | 7 |
2013 | Eddie Lacy | GB | 284 | 1,178 | 4.1 | 11 |
2005 | Cadillac Williams | TB | 290 | 1,178 | 4.1 | 6 |
1999 | Olandis Gary | DEN | 276 | 1,159 | 4.2 | 7 |
2004 | Kevin Jones | DET | 241 | 1,133 | 4.7 | 5 |
1997 | Corey Dillon | CIN | 233 | 1,129 | 4.8 | 10 |
2014 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | 222 | 1,124 | 5.1 | 9 |
1995 | Terrell Davis | DEN | 237 | 1,117 | 4.7 | 7 |
1996 | Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar | MIA | 307 | 1,116 | 3.6 | 11 |
2007 | Marshawn Lynch | BUF | 280 | 1,115 | 4 | 7 |
1998 | Robert Edwards | NE | 291 | 1,115 | 3.8 | 9 |
2001 | Dominic Rhodes | IND | 233 | 1,104 | 4.7 | 9 |
2006 | Joseph Addai | IND | 226 | 1,081 | 4.8 | 7 |
1995 | Rashaan Salaam | CHI | 296 | 1,074 | 3.6 | 10 |
2003 | Domanick Williams | HOU | 238 | 1,031 | 4.3 | 8 |
2015 | Todd Gurley | STL | 210 | 1,023 | 4.9 | 9 |
2010 | LeGarrette Blount | TB | 201 | 1,007 | 5 | 6 |
2015 | Thomas Rawls | SEA | 147 | 830 | 5.6 | 4 |
2015 | T.J. Yeldon | JAC | 182 | 740 | 4.1 | 2 |
2015 | Melvin Gordon | SD | 169 | 600 | 3.6 | 0 |
2015 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | 116 | 437 | 3.8 | 1 |
2015 | Jeremy Langford | CHI | 113 | 394 | 3.5 | 6 |
2015 | Javorius Allen | BAL | 101 | 381 | 3.8 | 0 |
2015 | Karlos Williams | BUF | 66 | 376 | 5.7 | 5 |
2015 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | 83 | 369 | 4.4 | 1 |
2015 | David Johnson | ARI | 76 | 330 | 4.3 | 4 |
--Andy Richardson