25 best NFL careers from Heisman Trophy winners

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: Quarterback Cam Newton of the Auburn University Tigers speaks after being named the 76th Heisman Memorial Trophy Award winner at the Best Buy Theater on December 11, 2010 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: Photographer approval needed for all Commercial License requests. (Photo by Kelly Kline/Getty Images for The Heisman) /

26 of 26

TAMPA BAY, FL – 1994: Detroit Lions’ running back Barry Sanders #20 runs with the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tampa Stadium in 1994 in Tampa Bay, Florida. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

1. Barry Sanders, RB, Oklahoma State (1988)

Barry Sanders truly never did anything on a football field that wasn’t exceptionally impressive. After receiving only 179 carries through his first two seasons with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the running back got the full workload in the 1988 season and, put simply, no one could stop him.

Carrying the ball 344 times on the year, Sanders exploded for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns in only 11 games. That’s production that many college players can only hope to put up over the entirety of their career, and Sanders managed it in just one season in Stillwater. Naturally, that won him the 1988 Heisman Trophy before he was selected by the Detroit Lions with the third-overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft.

Sanders hit the ground running in the NFL as he put up 1,470 yards and 14 touchdowns, along with 282 receiving yards, as a rookie, earning him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, a First-Team All-Pro selection and Pro Bowl honors. That was just the precursor to perhaps the most prolific running back career that we’ve ever seen.

With the Lions, Sanders made the Pro Bowl in every season that he was in the NFL (10) and earned six First-Team All-Pro nods along the way. What’s more, he never finished with fewer than 1,000 rushing yards in a season, even in 1993 when he played in just 11 games. What’s more, he topped 2,000 yards in his penultimate pro season, showing that he only got better with age.

Next. Simulated 16-team 2018 College Football Playoff bracket. dark

Sanders ranks third in career rushing yardage as of 2018 and, had he chose to keep playing beyond the 1998 season, he could’ve put that mark out of reach from anyone trying to challenge him at the top spot. Regardless, he’s one of the NFL’s best of all-time, and clearly the Heisman winner with the greatest career in the NFL.

Home/Heisman Trophy