Alfred Morris was just a sixth round pick. During his rookie season, he happened to play alongside the eventual offensive rookie of the year. Since then, RG3 has continued to dominate headlines, while Morris continues to plug away without garnering a fraction of the attention. For example, did you know that Morris has now hit the 1,000-yard mark for the third straight season? He’s also rushed for 7 touchdowns each year in his career.
Do you know how many other players have rushed for 1,000 yards and seven scores in each of their first three seasons? Seven: Earl Campbell, Ottis Anderson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, and Chris Johnson. That’s five Hall of Fame caliber running backs and Anderson/Johnson, a duo that has combined for nearly 19,000 rushing yards and still counting.
Morris has rushed for 3,919 yards and 27 touchdowns in his career, with one game left in his third season. In addition to the six of the seven players above (Anderson had 26 rushing touchdowns through three years), only five other players have hit those marks through three years: Clinton Portis, Terrell Davis, Emmitt Smith, Edgerrin James, and Walter Payton.
In other words, Morris’ production through three years puts him in in the inner circle of elite running back performance. Of the thirteen running backs mentioned in this post, ten were first round picks. The eleventh was Portis, a player who fell to the second round solely due to concerns about his size and durability. None of the other players were drafted in the second, third, fourth, or fifth rounds; the other two were Morris and Davis, both six round picks under Mike Shanahan.
Morris has been the bell cow for Washington: the team’s number two running back has averaged about 200 rushing yards per season, a pretty stark departure from the current trend of running back by committee. Still, it seems as though Morris never quite gets his due among NFL observers. He has averaged 4.54 yards per carry; I’m not a big fan of that metric, but it’s certainly a good number for those who like that stat. No, the reason Morris tends to be ignored is because he’s a one-dimensional player. And in today’s pass-heavy NFL, that’s a pretty big black mark on the resume.
There have been 144 players who entered the league between 1950 and 2012 and who rushed for at least 2,000 yards in their first three seasons. Of those, only five had a higher percentage of their yards from scrimmage come on the ground than Morris.
Rk | Running Back | From | Tm | Att | Rush Yd | YPC | TD | Yds | Perc |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Andra Franklin | 1981 | MIA | 602 | 2158 | 3.58 | 22 | 15 | 99.3% |
2 | Eddie Price | 1950 | NYG | 580 | 2422 | 4.18 | 16 | 85 | 96.6% |
3 | Earl Campbell* | 1978 | OTI | 1043 | 5081 | 4.87 | 45 | 189 | 96.4% |
4 | Stevan Ridley | 2011 | NWE | 555 | 2477 | 4.46 | 20 | 126 | 95.2% |
5 | George Rogers | 1981 | NOR | 756 | 3353 | 4.44 | 21 | 216 | 93.9% |
6 | Alfred Morris | 2012 | WAS | 843 | 3919 | 4.55 | 27 | 291 | 93.1% |
7 | Marion Butts | 1989 | SDG | 628 | 2742 | 4.37 | 23 | 229 | 92.3% |
8 | Antowain Smith | 1997 | BUF | 659 | 2578 | 3.91 | 22 | 220 | 92.1% |
9 | Errict Rhett | 1994 | TAM | 792 | 2757 | 3.48 | 21 | 240 | 92% |
10 | Christian Okoye | 1987 | KAN | 632 | 2613 | 4.13 | 18 | 232 | 91.8% |
11 | LenDale White | 2006 | OTI | 564 | 2127 | 3.77 | 22 | 190 | 91.8% |
12 | Rueben Mayes | 1986 | NOR | 699 | 2898 | 4.15 | 16 | 267 | 91.6% |
13 | Jim Brown* | 1957 | CLE | 749 | 3798 | 5.07 | 40 | 383 | 90.8% |
14 | Mario Bates | 1994 | NOR | 559 | 2114 | 3.78 | 17 | 220 | 90.6% |
15 | Jonathan Stewart | 2008 | CAR | 583 | 2739 | 4.7 | 22 | 289 | 90.5% |
16 | Beanie Wells | 2009 | CRD | 537 | 2237 | 4.17 | 19 | 269 | 89.3% |
17 | William Green | 2002 | CLE | 548 | 2031 | 3.71 | 9 | 247 | 89.2% |
18 | Natrone Means | 1993 | SDG | 689 | 2725 | 3.96 | 25 | 340 | 88.9% |
19 | Jim Nance | 1965 | NWE | 679 | 2995 | 4.41 | 23 | 382 | 88.7% |
20 | Tatum Bell | 2004 | DEN | 481 | 2342 | 4.87 | 13 | 299 | 88.7% |
21 | Anthony Thomas | 2001 | CHI | 736 | 2928 | 3.98 | 19 | 377 | 88.6% |
22 | Bobby Humphrey | 1989 | DEN | 593 | 2386 | 4.02 | 14 | 308 | 88.6% |
23 | Eric Dickerson* | 1983 | RAM | 1061 | 5147 | 4.85 | 44 | 669 | 88.5% |
24 | Eddie George | 1996 | OTI | 1040 | 4061 | 3.9 | 19 | 536 | 88.3% |
25 | Ryan Grant | 2007 | GNB | 782 | 3412 | 4.36 | 23 | 458 | 88.2% |
26 | Cadillac Williams | 2005 | TAM | 569 | 2184 | 3.84 | 10 | 294 | 88.1% |
27 | Bo Jackson | 1987 | RAI | 390 | 2084 | 5.34 | 11 | 284 | 88% |
28 | Fred Lane | 1997 | CAR | 502 | 2001 | 3.99 | 13 | 275 | 87.9% |
29 | Shonn Greene | 2009 | NYJ | 546 | 2360 | 4.32 | 10 | 331 | 87.7% |
30 | John Brockington | 1971 | GNB | 755 | 3276 | 4.34 | 15 | 469 | 87.5% |
31 | Leonard Russell | 1991 | NWE | 689 | 2437 | 3.54 | 13 | 350 | 87.4% |
32 | Willis McGahee | 2004 | BUF | 868 | 3365 | 3.88 | 24 | 503 | 87% |
33 | Mike Anderson | 2000 | DEN | 556 | 2551 | 4.59 | 21 | 382 | 87% |
34 | Willie Parker | 2004 | PIT | 624 | 2882 | 4.62 | 17 | 456 | 86.3% |
35 | Walter Payton* | 1975 | CHI | 846 | 3921 | 4.63 | 34 | 631 | 86.1% |
36 | Julius Jones | 2004 | DAL | 721 | 2896 | 4.02 | 16 | 469 | 86.1% |
37 | Franco Harris* | 1972 | PIT | 584 | 2759 | 4.72 | 18 | 449 | 86% |
38 | Karim Abdul-Jabbar | 1996 | MIA | 860 | 2968 | 3.45 | 32 | 502 | 85.5% |
39 | Earnest Jackson | 1983 | TOT | 589 | 2246 | 3.81 | 13 | 390 | 85.2% |
40 | John Stephens | 1988 | NWE | 753 | 2809 | 3.73 | 13 | 501 | 84.9% |
41 | Rashard Mendenhall | 2008 | PIT | 585 | 2439 | 4.17 | 20 | 445 | 84.6% |
42 | Travis Henry | 2001 | BUF | 869 | 3523 | 4.05 | 27 | 646 | 84.5% |
43 | Adrian Peterson | 2007 | MIN | 915 | 4484 | 4.9 | 40 | 829 | 84.4% |
44 | Paul Robinson | 1968 | CIN | 547 | 2134 | 3.9 | 18 | 407 | 84% |
45 | Ricky Bell | 1977 | TAM | 616 | 2378 | 3.86 | 14 | 458 | 83.9% |
46 | Barry Foster | 1990 | PIT | 522 | 2381 | 4.56 | 13 | 463 | 83.7% |
47 | Emmitt Smith* | 1990 | DAL | 979 | 4213 | 4.3 | 41 | 821 | 83.7% |
48 | Harold Green | 1990 | CIN | 506 | 2254 | 4.45 | 5 | 440 | 83.7% |
49 | Jamal Lewis | 2000 | RAV | 1004 | 4757 | 4.74 | 26 | 943 | 83.5% |
50 | Pete Johnson | 1977 | CIN | 576 | 2212 | 3.84 | 25 | 439 | 83.4% |
51 | Alan Ameche | 1955 | CLT | 535 | 2312 | 4.32 | 22 | 467 | 83.2% |
52 | Don Perkins | 1961 | DAL | 571 | 2374 | 4.16 | 18 | 486 | 83% |
53 | Clinton Portis | 2002 | TOT | 906 | 4414 | 4.87 | 34 | 913 | 82.9% |
54 | Jerome Bettis | 1993 | RAM | 796 | 3091 | 3.88 | 13 | 643 | 82.8% |
55 | Corey Dillon | 1997 | CIN | 758 | 3459 | 4.56 | 19 | 727 | 82.6% |
56 | Terrell Davis | 1995 | DEN | 951 | 4405 | 4.63 | 35 | 964 | 82% |
57 | Chris Johnson | 2008 | OTI | 925 | 4598 | 4.97 | 34 | 1008 | 82% |
58 | Fred Taylor | 1998 | JAX | 715 | 3354 | 4.69 | 32 | 744 | 81.8% |
59 | DeAngelo Williams | 2006 | CAR | 538 | 2733 | 5.08 | 23 | 609 | 81.8% |
60 | Mike Rozier | 1985 | OTI | 561 | 2081 | 3.71 | 15 | 468 | 81.6% |
61 | Rick Casares | 1955 | CHI | 563 | 2498 | 4.44 | 22 | 564 | 81.6% |
62 | Bam Morris | 1994 | TOT | 518 | 2132 | 4.12 | 20 | 482 | 81.6% |
63 | Napoleon Kaufman | 1995 | RAI | 530 | 2658 | 5.02 | 8 | 608 | 81.4% |
64 | Ottis Anderson | 1979 | CRD | 960 | 4333 | 4.51 | 26 | 1003 | 81.2% |
65 | Curtis Martin* | 1995 | NWE | 958 | 3799 | 3.97 | 32 | 890 | 81% |
66 | Reggie Cobb | 1990 | TAM | 657 | 2403 | 3.66 | 18 | 566 | 80.9% |
67 | Sammy Winder | 1982 | DEN | 559 | 2169 | 3.88 | 8 | 521 | 80.6% |
68 | Terry Allen | 1991 | MIN | 641 | 2795 | 4.36 | 23 | 675 | 80.5% |
69 | Wilbert Montgomery | 1977 | PHI | 642 | 2915 | 4.54 | 20 | 707 | 80.5% |
70 | Johnny Johnson | 1990 | CRD | 608 | 2326 | 3.83 | 15 | 569 | 80.3% |
71 | Barry Sanders* | 1989 | DET | 877 | 4322 | 4.93 | 43 | 1069 | 80.2% |
72 | Chris Brown | 2003 | OTI | 500 | 2139 | 4.28 | 11 | 535 | 80% |
73 | Curt Warner | 1983 | SEA | 636 | 2583 | 4.06 | 21 | 651 | 79.9% |
74 | Marshawn Lynch | 2007 | BUF | 650 | 2601 | 4 | 17 | 663 | 79.7% |
75 | Paul Lowe | 1960 | SDG | 488 | 2632 | 5.39 | 25 | 671 | 79.7% |
76 | Freeman McNeil | 1981 | NYJ | 448 | 2063 | 4.6 | 9 | 530 | 79.6% |
77 | Larry Johnson | 2003 | KAN | 476 | 2416 | 5.08 | 30 | 623 | 79.5% |
78 | Doug Martin | 2012 | TAM | 552 | 2279 | 4.13 | 14 | 602 | 79.1% |
79 | Tony Collins | 1981 | NWE | 587 | 2554 | 4.35 | 18 | 676 | 79.1% |
80 | Craig James | 1984 | NWE | 577 | 2444 | 4.24 | 10 | 648 | 79% |
81 | Nick Pietrosante | 1959 | DET | 438 | 2160 | 4.93 | 16 | 584 | 78.7% |
82 | Marion Barber | 2005 | DAL | 477 | 2167 | 4.54 | 29 | 593 | 78.5% |
83 | Gerald Riggs | 1982 | ATL | 531 | 2222 | 4.18 | 26 | 611 | 78.4% |
84 | Larry Brown | 1969 | WAS | 692 | 2961 | 4.28 | 13 | 819 | 78.3% |
85 | John Riggins* | 1971 | NYJ | 521 | 2195 | 4.21 | 12 | 619 | 78% |
86 | Johnny Roland | 1966 | CRD | 547 | 2026 | 3.7 | 17 | 579 | 77.8% |
87 | Cookie Gilchrist | 1962 | BUF | 676 | 3056 | 4.52 | 31 | 875 | 77.7% |
88 | Rodney Hampton | 1990 | NYG | 622 | 2655 | 4.27 | 26 | 772 | 77.5% |
89 | DeMarco Murray | 2011 | DAL | 542 | 2681 | 4.95 | 15 | 780 | 77.5% |
90 | Michael Bennett | 2001 | MIN | 517 | 2425 | 4.69 | 8 | 709 | 77.4% |
91 | Dickie Post | 1967 | SDG | 494 | 2294 | 4.64 | 16 | 678 | 77.2% |
92 | Tony Dorsett* | 1977 | DAL | 748 | 3439 | 4.6 | 25 | 1026 | 77% |
93 | Shaun Alexander | 2000 | SEA | 668 | 2806 | 4.2 | 32 | 844 | 76.9% |
94 | Frank Gore | 2005 | SFO | 699 | 3405 | 4.87 | 16 | 1052 | 76.4% |
95 | Kevan Barlow | 2001 | SFO | 471 | 2211 | 4.69 | 14 | 690 | 76.2% |
96 | Hoyle Granger | 1966 | OTI | 494 | 2430 | 4.92 | 14 | 765 | 76.1% |
97 | Lawrence McCutcheon | 1972 | RAM | 446 | 2206 | 4.95 | 5 | 697 | 76% |
98 | Duce Staley | 1997 | PHI | 590 | 2367 | 4.01 | 9 | 748 | 76% |
99 | Mike Garrett | 1966 | KAN | 547 | 2452 | 4.48 | 18 | 795 | 75.5% |
100 | Kevin Mack | 1985 | CLE | 597 | 2504 | 4.19 | 22 | 812 | 75.5% |
101 | Delvin Williams | 1974 | SFO | 401 | 2035 | 5.07 | 13 | 662 | 75.5% |
102 | Kevin Jones | 2004 | DET | 608 | 2486 | 4.09 | 16 | 809 | 75.4% |
103 | Deuce McAllister | 2001 | NOR | 692 | 3120 | 4.51 | 22 | 1034 | 75.1% |
104 | Joseph Addai | 2006 | CLT | 642 | 2697 | 4.2 | 24 | 895 | 75.1% |
105 | Ryan Mathews | 2010 | SDG | 564 | 2476 | 4.39 | 14 | 852 | 74.4% |
106 | LaDainian Tomlinson | 2001 | SDG | 1024 | 4564 | 4.46 | 37 | 1581 | 74.3% |
107 | Ricky Williams | 1999 | NOR | 814 | 3129 | 3.84 | 16 | 1092 | 74.1% |
108 | Edgerrin James | 1999 | CLT | 907 | 3924 | 4.33 | 29 | 1373 | 74.1% |
109 | Jamaal Charles | 2008 | KAN | 487 | 2944 | 6.05 | 12 | 1037 | 74% |
110 | Ronnie Brown | 2005 | MIA | 567 | 2517 | 4.44 | 13 | 897 | 73.7% |
111 | Mike Thomas | 1975 | WAS | 717 | 2826 | 3.94 | 12 | 1018 | 73.5% |
112 | Gale Sayers* | 1965 | CHI | 581 | 2978 | 5.13 | 29 | 1080 | 73.4% |
113 | Chuck Muncie | 1976 | NOR | 510 | 2027 | 3.97 | 15 | 753 | 72.9% |
114 | Joe Cribbs | 1980 | BUF | 697 | 2915 | 4.18 | 17 | 1117 | 72.3% |
115 | Domanick Williams | 2003 | HTX | 770 | 3195 | 4.15 | 23 | 1276 | 71.5% |
116 | LeSean McCoy | 2009 | PHI | 635 | 3026 | 4.77 | 28 | 1215 | 71.4% |
117 | Steven Jackson | 2004 | RAM | 734 | 3247 | 4.42 | 25 | 1315 | 71.2% |
118 | Thurman Thomas* | 1988 | BUF | 776 | 3422 | 4.41 | 19 | 1409 | 70.8% |
119 | Ken Willard | 1965 | SFO | 549 | 2051 | 3.74 | 15 | 846 | 70.8% |
120 | William Andrews | 1979 | ATL | 793 | 3632 | 4.58 | 17 | 1500 | 70.8% |
121 | Billy Sims | 1980 | DET | 781 | 3379 | 4.33 | 30 | 1414 | 70.5% |
122 | Greg Bell | 1984 | BUF | 575 | 2360 | 4.1 | 19 | 995 | 70.3% |
123 | C.J. Spiller | 2010 | BUF | 388 | 2088 | 5.38 | 10 | 885 | 70.2% |
124 | Arian Foster | 2009 | HTX | 659 | 3097 | 4.7 | 29 | 1314 | 70.2% |
125 | Matt Snell | 1964 | NYJ | 562 | 2355 | 4.19 | 13 | 1003 | 70.1% |
126 | Trent Richardson | 2012 | TOT | 606 | 2020 | 3.33 | 17 | 895 | 69.3% |
127 | Matt Forte | 2008 | CHI | 811 | 3236 | 3.99 | 18 | 1495 | 68.4% |
128 | Tony Reed | 1977 | KAN | 445 | 2004 | 4.5 | 8 | 960 | 67.6% |
129 | Marshall Faulk* | 1994 | CLT | 801 | 2947 | 3.68 | 29 | 1425 | 67.4% |
130 | Terry Metcalf | 1973 | CRD | 465 | 2162 | 4.65 | 17 | 1071 | 66.9% |
131 | Ray Rice | 2008 | RAV | 668 | 3013 | 4.51 | 12 | 1531 | 66.3% |
132 | Ricky Watters | 1992 | SFO | 653 | 2840 | 4.35 | 25 | 1450 | 66.2% |
133 | Darren McFadden | 2008 | RAI | 440 | 2013 | 4.58 | 12 | 1037 | 66% |
134 | Warrick Dunn | 1997 | TAM | 664 | 2620 | 3.95 | 6 | 1395 | 65.3% |
135 | Sherman Smith | 1976 | SEA | 447 | 2105 | 4.71 | 14 | 1169 | 64.3% |
136 | Maurice Jones-Drew | 2006 | JAX | 530 | 2533 | 4.78 | 34 | 1408 | 64.3% |
137 | Billy Cannon | 1960 | OTI | 499 | 2066 | 4.14 | 14 | 1224 | 62.8% |
138 | Ted Brown | 1979 | MIN | 623 | 2526 | 4.05 | 15 | 1514 | 62.5% |
139 | Marcus Allen* | 1982 | RAI | 701 | 2879 | 4.11 | 33 | 1749 | 62.2% |
140 | Abner Haynes | 1960 | KAN | 556 | 2765 | 4.97 | 31 | 1707 | 61.8% |
141 | Chuck Foreman | 1973 | MIN | 661 | 2648 | 4.01 | 26 | 1639 | 61.8% |
142 | Herschel Walker | 1986 | DAL | 721 | 3142 | 4.36 | 24 | 2057 | 60.4% |
143 | Joe Washington | 1977 | TOT | 544 | 2057 | 3.78 | 4 | 1371 | 60% |
144 | Roger Craig | 1983 | SFO | 545 | 2424 | 4.45 | 24 | 2118 | 53.4% |
Of those five players, one was a fullback with just 2,158 rushing yards through three years, one began his career in 1950, and a third was Stevan Ridley (I’m not quite sure what to do with him). The fourth and fifth were a Hall of Famer and George Rogers, a Hall of Fame caliber player and Heisman Trophy winner who had his career cut short by injuries.
And that brings us to #6 on the list in Morris. The Washington back doesn’t quite have the raw talent of a Campbell or Rogers, and is too one-dimensional to stand out in today’s game. But given all the mess in Washington, it’s worth pointing out the quiet production of a player who has gone under-appreciated.