Maurice Jones-Drew was one of my favorite running backs growing up, despite him being on a rival team to my Titans.
People point out how thick some running backs legs can be nowadays, but I don't know if anyone's lower body compared to Maurice's. The guy was short at 5'7" but he made up for it easily with his tree trunks for legs. Dude was a bullet-bolder out there.
His short stature and lower center of gravity made Maurice a problem to tackle. On top of that, due to his short height, he would get lost among the fray at the line of scrimmage, and before you knew it, Maurice was bursting through a hole at full speed, getting to the second level of the defense.
This card captures Maurice right in his prime. After that 2009 season, Maurice would run for a total of 2,930 rushing yards over the next two seasons. His 2009-2011 run was pretty great. It cemented himself as an all-time great Jag.
Some people may find it surprising, but MJD is actually second in Jags history for all-time rushing yards with 8,071. In first place is legendary running back Fred Taylor who has an impressive 11,071 for his career.
Nevertheless, MJD is a Jaguar icon. Here are some Jags records he holds according to Wikipedia!
Maurice Jones-Drew Career Stats and Awards
- 11,111 Yards From Scrimmage (what a number!)
- 8,167 Rushing
- 2,944 Receiving
- 346 Receptions
- 81 Total Touchdowns
- 68 Rushing - 36th All-Time in NFL History
- 11 Receiving
- 2 Kick Return
- 26 Yards Per Kick Return ( 30th All-Time for an NFL career) on 79 Returns
- 8.9 Yards Per Punt Return on 15 Returns
- 3x All-Pro - 2x First-Team, 1x Second-Team
- 3x Pro Bowls
Nowadays, MJD works as an analyst for NFL Network. I always think he does a solid job for them.
