Running Back,
San Francisco 49ers
Age: 23 (Nov.
19)
College: Alabama
Height: 6’1” Weight: 215
Prelude:
Jackson was
chosen by the 49ers in the first round of the 1974 NFL draft (ninth overall)
after averaging a school-record 7.2 yards-per-carry in college (212 attempts,
1529 yards). The first African-American to be offered a football scholarship by
Alabama, he was converted from receiver to running back when the Crimson Tide
shifted to a wishbone offense.
1974 Season Summary
Appeared in all
14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 174
[14, tied with Jess Phillips & Larry Schreiber]
Most
attempts, game - 19 (for 91 yds.) at Cleveland 12/1
Yards – 705 [17]
Most yards,
game – 91 yards (on 14 carries) vs. St. Louis 10/6, (on 14 carries) at Detroit
10/14, (on 19 carries) at Cleveland 12/1
Average gain
– 4.1
TDs – 0
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 23
Most
receptions, game – 5 (for 8 yds.) vs. Cincinnati 9/29
Yards – 190
Most yards,
game - 50 (on 2 catches) vs. LA Rams 11/4
Average gain
– 8.3
TDs – 2
Kickoff
Returns
Returns – 5
Yards – 103
Average per
return – 20.6
TDs – 0
Scoring
TDs – 2
Points – 12
Awards & Honors:
NFC Rookie of
the Year: NEA, Sporting News
49ers went 6-8
to finish third in the NFC West.
Aftermath:
Jackson was
plagued by injuries in 1975 and fell behind Delvin Williams on the depth chart,
but was shifted to fullback in ’76 and formed a productive tandem with Williams
as he rushed for 792 yards on 200 carries and caught 33 passes for 324 more
yards. He rushed for 780 yards and a career-high 7 TDs in 1977 but was lost for
all of ’78 with a knee injury. Jackson came back in 1979 to catch a career-high
53 passes for 422 yards while running for 375 yards and blocking well. He was
traded to Washington in 1980 where he stepped in for retired RB John Riggins
and rushed for 708 yards, but the return of Riggins in ’81, as well as
injuries, relegated Jackson to a backup role in 1981 and ’82, his last two
seasons. Overall, he ran the ball 971 times for 3852 yards (2955 with the
49ers) for a 4.0 average and 13 touchdowns and had 183 catches for 1572 yards
and another four TDs.
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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL, 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).
