25 best Offensive Rookie of the Year winners ranked by playing career
By Nick Villano
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25 best Offensive Rookie of the Year winners ranked by playing career: 23. Billy Sims – Detroit Lions
When you talk about the Detroit Lions running back whose career ended too soon, just about everyone will say Barry Sanders. That makes sense, he was one of the best players in NFL history, but Billy Sims deserves more recognition. He only played in the NFL for five seasons, but three of those seasons were all-timers.
That includes his rookie season when he had 1,303 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdowns. He easily won the Rookie of the Year award, and he helped lead the Detroit Lions to their first 9+ win season in a decade. He was having a huge impact on this franchise.
The next season, he was even better. He had 1,437 yards and repeated his 13 touchdowns in 1981. Once again, the Lions ended the season without a losing record, but they came short of the playoffs.
Fast forward to Oct. 21, 1984, and Sims was hit while trying to plant his knee by Vikings defender Walker Lee Ashley. He would never play another game after that play. People say Sims could have become one of the best running backs ever if it wasn’t for that injury. It’s unfortunate, but injuries will always be a part of the game. Luckily, there will always be the rookie year where Sims showed just how electric he could be.