December 6, 2013

Rookie of the Year: Leonard Russell, 1991

Running Back, New England Patriots



Age: 22 (Nov. 17)
College: Arizona State
Height: 6’2”   Weight: 235

Prelude:
The Patriots took Russell in the first round of the 1991 NFL draft (14th overall) as new Head Coach Dick MacPherson was looking to upgrade the running game. He was highly touted by scouts coming out of college and proved to have an ideal combination of size and speed, although he also was prone to fumble.

1991 Season Summary
Appeared in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing
Attempts – 266 [5]
Most attempts, game - 27 (for 106 yds.) at Buffalo 11/3
Yards – 959 [8]
Most yards, game – 112 yards (on 26 carries) at NY Jets 12/15
Average gain – 3.6
TDs – 4
100-yard rushing games – 2

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 18      
Most receptions, game – 3 (for 10 yds.) at NY Jets 12/15
Yards – 81
Most yards, game - 18 (on 1 catch) at Pittsburgh 9/15
Average gain – 4.5
TDs – 0

Scoring
TDs – 4
Points – 24

Awards & Honors:
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: AP, PFWA

Patriots went 6-10 to finish fourth in the AFC East.

Aftermath:
Russell suffered through an injury-plagued 1992 season, rushing for just 390 yards. He bounced back with 1088 yards in ’93 but averaged 3.6 yards per carry and lacked consistency. Russell moved on to the Denver Broncos in 1994 where he led the team with 620 rushing yards and caught a career-high 38 passes before a neck injury sidelined him late in the season. After a year as a backup with the Rams, he finished up in San Diego in 1996. Overall, over six seasons Russell rushed for 3973 yards on 1164 carries (3.4 avg.) and had 122 pass receptions for 846 yards, scoring a total of 29 TDs. 

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie of the Year in the NFL (including NFC/AFC), AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).