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

25 best Offensive Rookie of the Year winners ranked by playing career: 2. Emmitt Smith – Dallas Cowboys

Number one and number two pit the two best running backs in the history of the NFL. One was the beacon of consistency and played for a very long time, giving him a lot of career records in terms of rushing. Another left the game in his prime, but while he was here he was untouchable.

Let’s start with Emmitt Smith. The Dallas Cowboys runner has more rushing yards than anyone ever. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards in every season from 1991 to 2001. He led the league in rushing four times during that stretch. He actually didn’t break 1,000 yards in his rookie season, but his 937 yards and 11 touchdowns was enough to win rookie of the year.

In one season, Smith ran for 1,773 yards, 25 touchdowns, and he added another 62 receptions. Those are mind-boggling numbers. Smith was able to just consistently put six to ten yards on any play at any time.

Just look at Smith’s final numbers: 15 seasons, 18,355 yards, 164 touchdowns, 515 receptions, and 3,224 receiving yards. He holds more records than we can count, and he holds the rushing record by more than 1,500 yards. Who is going to ever catch that record? Maybe with the 17-game season, a player can get enough yards to get there, but it’s still unlikely at this point.