Heisman Trophy Winners: Top 20 NFL careers of all time
As the second Heisman Trophy winner to ever play for the Georgia Bulldogs, and the first in 40 years, Herschel Walker was the most successful to come out of Athens and one of those players who everyone loved to watch make defenses look silly.
In three years with the Bulldogs, Walker rushed for 5,259 yards and 49 touchdowns in 33 games, winning the 1982 Heisman Trophy and left college after his junior season to play in the USFL where, unlike the NFL at the time, it accepted players who left college a year early. He chose this route in order to start earning a paycheck right away and he was uncertain about his interest in the NFL.
After three years of dominated the USFL, he was drafted in the 1985 NFL Draft with the 114th-overall pick to the Dallas Cowboys. He began his career with the Cowboys as a fullback, but then became one of the best halfbacks in the league in a short period of time, rushing for 12 touchdowns in his ‘rookie’ year and recording over 1,500 rushing yards in his third season.
Walker was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 1989 and then bounced around a few more times before his career concluded, picking up 1,000 yards once more before his time in the league was over.
The 1982 Heisman winner started his career in the NFL with the Cowboys and ended it with them as well, returning to the team in 1996 as a kick return specialist before retiring in 1997. He finished his career with 13,084 yards from scrimmage and 84 total touchdowns.
Next: 10. Paul Hornung, Notre Dame