Age: 24
3rd
season in pro football & with Patriots
College: New
Mexico Highlands
Height: 5’11” Weight: 210
Prelude:
In college, Garrett
set school career records with 3862 rushing yards (averaging 7.4 yards-per-carry),
69 touchdowns, and 418 points scored. He received first-team NAIA All-American
honors in 1966 and was a second-team choice in ’67. Garrett was chosen by the
Patriots in the third round of the 1969 AFL/NFL draft and, with his great
speed, had an immediate impact, rushing for 691 yards, catching 29 passes for
another 267 yards, averaging 28.3 yards on 28 kickoff returns and 13.3 yards
returning 12 punts, for a total of 1909 combined yards, second-best in the
league. He was a second-team All-AFL selection by the NEA and was named to the
AFL All-Star Game. Garrett missed time during training camp due to military
service and then suffered through an injury-plagued season in 1970, rushing for
only 272 yards and accumulating an all-purpose total of 1167.
1971 Season Summary
Appeared in all
14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 181
[15, tied with Marv Hubbard]
Most
attempts, game – 21 (for 127 yds.) at Buffalo 11/28
Yards – 784 [12]
Most yards,
game – 127 yards (on 21 carries) at Buffalo 11/28
Average gain
– 4.3 [16]
TDs – 1
100-yard
rushing games – 2
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 22
Most
receptions, game – 4 (for 13 yds.) vs. Baltimore 10/3
Yards – 265
Most yards,
game – 97 (on 2 catches) vs. Buffalo 11/14
Average gain
– 12.0
TDs – 1
Kickoff
Returns
Returns – 24
[15, tied with Jerry LeVias & Charlie West]
Yards – 538 [17]
Most yards,
game – 172 (on 6 ret.) at Dallas 10/24
Average per
return – 22.4
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 37 yards
Punt Returns
Returns – 8
Yards – 124
[16]
Average per
return – 15.5
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 50 yards
All-Purpose
yards – 1711 [2, 1st in AFC]
Scoring
TDs – 2
Points – 12
Patriots went
6-8 to finish third in the AFC East.
Aftermath:
Garrett had a
lesser rushing year in 1972, although he achieved career highs with 30 pass
receptions for 410 yards. Traded to the Chicago Bears in ’73, he led the club
in rushing with 655 yards and also averaged a league-leading 30.4 yards on 16
kickoff returns. On the downside, he also fumbled 13 times. Following an
injury-interrupted year in 1974 in which he appeared in just seven games, he
moved on to the New York Jets in ’75, rushed for 566 yards, but had
disciplinary issues and spent 1976 and ’77, his last two seasons, as a reserve
with the Raiders. Overall, Garrett rushed for 4197 yards on 1031 attempts (4.1
avg.), caught 182 passes for 1931 yards (10.6 avg.), returned 154 kickoffs for
a 24.1-yard average and 43 punts at an 11.3-yard clip, gaining 10,319 total
yards and scoring 35 touchdowns. Of those totals, 2235 rushing yards, 1158
yards on 107 pass receptions, 92 punt returns for a 24.5 average, all of the
punt returns, and 18 TDs came with the Patriots.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
