25 best Offensive Rookie of the Year winners ranked by playing career

25 best Offensive Rookie of the Year winners ranked by playing career: 15. Edgerrin James

The Indianapolis Colts were built around Peyton Manning for more than a decade. He was an aura that was over the entire Colts team, but he was far from the only star. Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, and Bob Sanders were all some of the greats of that era. So was Edgerrin James.

It started with his rookie year, where he had 1,559 yards, the most of anyone in the NFL. The next season, he led the league in rushing again. He’s the last player to lead the league in rushing in his first two seasons in the league.

The next season, it could have fallen apart after a torn ACL ended his season after six games. It didn’t stop him. Not even close. He would break 1,000 yards rushing five more times in his career, including twice away from Manning with the Arizona Cardinals. Three times in his career he broke 2,000 yards from scrimmage. He was one of the best in the league for a long time.

James is currently 13th all-time in rushing and falls one touchdown short of the top 20 all-time in that category. He averaged more than 96 yards per game while with the Colts. He holds a ton of Colts all-time records. Everyone will give Manning a ton of credit for his time in Indianapolis, and he deserves it, but James deserves credit, too. He was a huge part of the team. And that’s why he was able to make the Hall of Fame.