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).
