NFL: 30 running backs who got better after leaving their first team

After an All-American campaign at Virginia, Thomas Jones was selected at No. 7 overall by the Arizona Cardinals. He was mostly a backup for them in the first three years of his career, as he couldn’t play up to those lofty expectations of his draft status. Jones spent a year after that with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where his production rose slightly, but it still wasn’t enough to put him on the map on a national level.

That all changed when he signed with the Chicago Bears. He was supposed to be a solid backup to the incumbent Anthony Thomas but ultimately usurped him in the starting lineup. In his second year at Chicago, Jones went for 1,335 yards and nine touchdowns.

Remember Cedric Benson? That was supposed to be his kind of season he was going to have, but his holdout took him out of the picture. Jones took advantage of Benson’s rookie holdout and excelled, leading Chicago to the Super Bowl in 2006. The team came up short in the loss to the Indianapolis Colts, but Thomas did his part, going for 112 rushing yards in the title bout.

A contract dispute with the Bears led to Jones being traded to the New York Jets, who paid him nicely for his services. He returned the favor, rushing for over 1,100 yards in the three seasons he was there.

Jones went to the Pro Bowl in 2008, but had his best statistical campaign in 2009, going for 1,402 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. That year, the Jets made a deep postseason run, losing in the AFC Championship game to the Colts.

Jones finished his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, being a complimentary threat out the backfield. He ended up with 10,591 yards and 68 touchdowns and a Super Bowl appearance.

An underrated aspect of Jones’ career was that he spent his prime with quarterbacks Rex Grossman and Mark Sanchez. He arguably was the best offensive player for both of those teams. Without him, neither the Jets or Bears would have made any noise in the playoffs on offense.