Which NFL rookies since the 2000 season had over 1,000 receiving yards?

Lewis is best remembered for the season in which he ran for over 2,000 yards, putting him into rarified air. However, he came out of the gate with gusto. As a rookie, he ran for 1,364 yards for the Ravens in 2000, adding 338 more yards in the playoffs for the Super Bowl-winning squad.

And yet, Lewis wasn’t the top rookie back in 2000. At this point, the ability of Mike Shanahan’s offense to churn out 1,000-yard backs is well-known. Anderson is the best example of that. A sixth-round pick and former Marine, Anderson won Offensive Rookie of the Year by rushing for 1,487 yards and 15 touchdowns. He would only top 1,000 yards once more in his career, though.

Anderson was impressive for a sixth-round pick, but Rhodes was undrafted. However, in 2001 Edgerrin James went down with a season-ending injury, and Rhodes had to step in as the top back for the Colts. He finished with 1,104 yards, which set a record for an undrafted back. Alas, in 2002, he suffered a season-ending injury, and when he returned, he was back to a backup role, which is how he finished off his career.

A star at the University of Michigan, “A-Train” Anthony Thomas was Offensive Rookie of the Year for the Bears off the back of 1,183 yards on the ground. However, like many backs in the modern era, he was here and then gone in the blink of an eye. Basically, all of his 3,891 career rushing yards came in his first three seasons in the NFL, and he’s probably best remembered by Wolverines fans these days.

Thomas may have been a flash in the pan – no offense, A-Train! – but Tomlinson decidedly was not. No, he’s probably the best back of his era. The Hall of Famer is probably best remembered for his 2006 MVP season, wherein he set new records for rushing touchdowns (28) and total scrimmage touchdowns (31). Flashback to 2001, though, and he rushed for 1,236 yards as a rookie for the Chargers.

What happens when skill meets a Shanahan run game? A rookie who rushes for 1,508 yards and 15 touchdowns. Portis would actually rush for over 1,500 yards in each of his first two seasons before being dealt to Washington. Now, the back was still good in D.C., but the trade still proved a little uneven. The Broncos got themselves Champ Bailey, and the cornerback spent most of his Hall of Fame career there. Portis was good, but he was no Hall of Famer.

You may remember him as Domanick Davis, but he changed his last name to Williams in 2006, so Williams it is. Although you may not remember him by any name, Williams was only in the NFL for three seasons for the Houston Texans, right after they came into the NFL as well. However, in two of those seasons, he ran for over 1,000 yards, including 1,031 as a rookie in 2003.

McGahee was a star in college, but if you followed football at the time, you know that in the 2003 national championship game, McGahee suffered a brutal knee injury. Thought of as a top-five pick, McGahee would fall to 23rd, where the Bills drafted him. Unable to play in 2003, McGahee took the field in 2004 as a rookie and proceeded to rush for 1,128 yards and 13 touchdowns, finishing off an incredible comeback but just beginning a career that lasted until 2013.

Billy Sims. Barry Sanders. Kevin Jones. In 2004, Jones became the third Lions running back to rush for over 1,000 yards as a rookie. That put him in rarified air. However, his time as a notable back was over swiftly, as he was a backup in Detroit by 2007 and released in 2008.

Part of a dynamic duo in college at Auburn with Ronnie Brown, Carnell “Cadillac” Williams was drafted fifth overall by the Bucs and proceeded to run for 1,178 yards in 2005. This would be his only season over 1,000 yards. Williams was most recently seen as the interim head coach at his alma mater.

Remember Rhodes? He was still in Indianapolis in 2006, when Addai usurped his role. As a rookie, the LSU product never technically started for the Colts, but he still rushed for 1,081 yards. Addai and the Colts would also win the Super Bowl that season, the peak of the back’s career.

“Beast Mode” is best remembered for his time in Seattle, but that’s not where his career began. No, at first, Lynch was a Bill. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, would eventually be dealt to the Seahawks, and, well, the rest is “Beastquake” history.

Peterson needs no introduction. He followed in Tomlinson’s footsteps as the clear top back in the NFL for years. Though he only played in 14 games as a rookie, Peterson rushed for 1,341 yards and 12 touchdowns. A seven-time Pro Bowler, “AD” is perhaps best known as the guy who won the NFL MVP award in 2012, the only non-quarterback to win since Tomlinson in 2006.

Hey, back-to-back guys who rushed for over 2,000 yards in their career! Johnson was a rookie in 2008, one year after Peterson, but he rushed for over 2,000 yards first. “CJ2K” did that in his second season, but as a rookie he rushed for 1,228 yards for the Titans. After six years in a row rushing for over 1,000 yards, Johnson kind of felt off a cliff. Still, what a run.

Forte was a great receiving back. He’s one of only three guys to rush for over 1,000 yards and has 100 receptions in the same campaign. Speaking of 1,000-yard seasons, Forte racked up 1,238 yards in his first season with the Bears back in 2008.

Slaton was a one-year wonder. As a rookie, the West Virginia alum rushed for 1,282 yards and nine touchdowns. He finished his career with 1,896 rushing yards and was out of the league after 2011, having only lasted four seasons in the NFL.

Blount entered the NFL more infamous than renowned, as he is the Oregon Duck who punched a Boise State player and got suspended. He went undrafted, signed with the Titans for training camp, got in a fight at camp, and was waived. The Buccaneers then picked him up. After all that, in 2010, Blount became the second-ever undrafted player to rush for over 1,000 yards, eking over the line at 1,007 yards. He would have one other season with over 1,000 yards with the Patriots in 2016. That year, he also set a franchise record with 16 rushing touchdowns.

Martin was on that Boise State team that upset Oregon. In 2012, he was a rookie for the Buccaneers and had a game for the ages. Against the Raiders, Martin rushed for 251 yards and four touchdowns. That powered him to 1,454 yards and 11 scores as a rookie. Then, in 2018, Martin would actually finish his career with those same Raiders.

Who was coaching Washington in 2012? Yes, Mike Shanahan. Wouldn’t you know it, he helped turn a sixth-round pick into a star. Morris was drafted out of FAU and rushed for a whopping 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns. That would be followed up by two Pro Bowl seasons where he rushed for over 1,000 yards each time.

Lacy won three titles in college at Alabama, though he was never quite a star. Thus, he was only a second-round pick. As a rookie in 2013, though, he would win Offensive Rookie of the Year and make the Pro Bowl off of 1,178 yards and 11 touchdowns. It would be his only Pro Bowl, though, and he was pretty much burnt out as a back after his first two seasons.

As a redshirt sophomore, Hill was a star at LSU. Basically, as a one-season wonder, he was drafted in the second round by the Bengals. He was also effectively a one-season wonder in the NFL. Hill rushed for 1,124 yards as a rookie in 2014 and was basically out of the NFL after 2017, finishing his career with 2,898 rushing yards.

Unfortunately for Gurley, he has become something of a poster child for not signing backs to big deals. As a rookie for the Rams, he rushed for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns and was Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was Offensive Player of the Year in 2017 and then signed a massive extension before the 2018 season. Gurley had a great campaign that season, rushing for 1,251 yards and 17 touchdowns. However, by 2020 he was a Falcon, and after that, he was out of the NFL.

Howard was drafted in the fifth round in 2016 to compete for carries after the departure of Forte. He would win the lead role, and that would pay off to the tune of 1,313 yards. Howard would have two more good campaigns for the Bears before being dealt for a sixth-round pick to the Eagles prior to the 2019 season, at which point he fell off a cliff.

By 2016, drafting a running back with the fourth pick drew well-earned skepticism. That being said, we must admit that Elliott has largely paid off on that front. Always one to shoulder a massive workload that was truly out of the gate. As a rookie, Elliott rushed 322 times for 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns. That yardage total remains an NFL rookie record.

Here is an example of drafting a running back high being perilous. Fournette was a beast in college, throwing dudes off of him with gusto. After the Jaguars took him fourth overall, he did rush for 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns. However, he only lasted three seasons in Jacksonville before getting cut and signing on with the Buccaneers. As a complementary back, he did help Tampa win a Super Bowl in 2020.

As a rookie, Hunt was incredible. In 2017 he led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards with the Chiefs, adding 455 yards through the air as well. Then, in 2018, a video emerged of him assaulting a woman, and Hunt would be suspended. Kansas City was done with him, but Hunt would sign with the NFL’s most-amoral franchise, the Cleveland Browns, where he was decent in 2020 before becoming an afterthought.

Lindsay didn’t just run for 1,037 yards and nine touchdowns as an undrafted rookie. He made the Pro Bowl, the first undrafted offensive rookie to do so. Lindsay followed up his 2018 campaign with another 1,000-yard season in 2019, but by 2022 he was fighting to make the practice squad for the Colts.

Look, Barkley should never have been taken second overall in 2018, because by that point a team like the Giants should have known better. That being said, man did he ever have a great rookie season. He didn’t just rush for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns. Barkley also added 91 catches for 721 yards and four scores through the air. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2019 as well, even though he missed a few games with injury. Ah, but therein lies the rub with Barkley, who basically fell off the map for two seasons due to injury. Fortunately for him, and the Giants, he rebounded in 2022 for another 1,000-yard season.

The old Raiders regime had a “We’re going to draft who we want, when we want, so deal with it” philosophy, which is why they are the old Raiders regime. That being said, Jacobs has worked out as a first-round back. In 13 games as a rookie he rushed for 1,150 yards and has now gone over 1,000 yards in three of his four campaigns.

On the other hand, in 2020, Robinson showed why so many teams spend their draft capital elsewhere. Undrafted players at most positions never do much of anything. Robinson is the fourth undrafted running back on this list to top 1,000 yards as a rookie. He had 1,070 with the Jaguars with 344 yards through the air, though by 2022, he was dealt to the Jets for a sixth-round pick.

Some teams worried about Taylor’s workload in college, but not the Colts. The pick paid off. Taylor rushed for 1,169 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie in 2020. Then, in 2021, he led the NFL with a whopping 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns. Even with that 17th game, that’s impressive.

This list has a few undrafted backs, but it also has a few blue-chippers from Alabama. That includes Harris. In 2021, he ran the ball a robust 307 times for even 1,200 yards with seven touchdowns. If that wasn’t enough touches, he also caught 74 passes for 467 yards and three scores. Hey, as this list shows, today’s young star back is tomorrow’s forgotten name. You might as well get the most out of these players while you can.

Allgeier, a fifth-round pick out of BYU, is yet another example of why teams eschew early picks on backs to try and find a diamond in the rough. Playing in a run-heavy offense, Allgeier picked up 1,035 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry in the process.

Walker led all rookies in rushing yards in 2022, even though he missed two games. The Seahawks gave him plenty of carries, though, as he ran the ball 228 times. He finished with 1,050 yards, and he also ran for nine touchdowns for good measure.