Question

Five times, teams have had two running backs finish a season with over 1,000 rushing yards. What is the most unheralded of these pairs? For this particular tandem, one of the running backs was chosen in the fourth round. The other was chosen in the seventh, and he was released by the team that picked him before ever playing in the regular season.

Answer

For the Giants in 2008, both Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward ran for over 1,000 yards. Ward was a seventh-round pick of the Jets in 2004, but was released in the final cutdowns that year. After his big season with the Giants, Ward signed a four-year contract worth $17 million with Tampa Bay, but it released him after one season. (The Bucs and Giants, of course, play tonight.) In addition to the five pairs of running backs going over 1,000 yards, two teams have had 1,000-yard pairs with a running quarterback (Michael Vick, Lamar Jackson). For Cleveland’s 1,000-yard tandem, in 1985, neither were chosen in the first three rounds – Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner. But Mack was an exception, missing the draft by signing with the USFL (he was the 11th pick of the 1984 supplemental draft – teams knew he was going to be good).