Corey Dillon
Teams
Cincinnati Bengals (1997-2003)
New England Patriots (2004-2006)
Playoffs
Appearances - 3 (2004,2005,2006)
Conf Champ Games - 2 (2004,2006)
Super Bowls - 1 (2004)
Championships - 1 (2004)
Awards and Honors
Pro Bowl - 4 (1999,2000,2001,2004)
All-Time Ranks
Rushing Touchdowns - #19
Rushing Yards - #20
Rushing Yards per Game - #25
Total Touchdowns - #42
Scrimmage Yards - #46
Yards per Rush - #86
League Leads
Rushing Yards (#3-2004, #5-2000, #7-2001, #9-1997, #10-1999,2002)
Rushing Touchdowns (#4-2001,2006, #5-2005, #6-1997, #8-2004)
Yards per Rush (#4-1997, #6-1999, #7-1998,2000,2004)
Rushing Yards per Game (#2-2004, #8-1999,2000, #10-2001)
Total Touchdowns (#5-2001,2005, #7-2006, #10-2004)
Scrimmage Yards (#7-2004)
Yards per Touch (#10-1997)
After playing his first two college seasons and two different junior colleges, Corey Dillon transferred to Washington for his junior year, in which he gained 1695 rushing yards and scored 24 touchdowns, then left school to enter the 1997 NFL Draft, where he was picked by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round.
During his rookie season, he set an all-time rookie record by gaining 246 yards in one game, breaking Jim Brown's 40-year-old record. He finished the season with 1129 yards and 10 touchdowns, and finished second to Warrick Dunn in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
He remained extremely consistent throughout his first 6 seasons with the Bengals, always gaining at least 1100 yards on the ground, peaking at 1435 in 2000, and he was named to the Pro Bowl 3 years in a row, from 1999 to 2001. The Bengals were consistent during that time as well, never getting close to making the playoffs.
In 2000, he broke Walter Payton's record for most rushing yards in a game when he gained 278 yards against Denver, taking down a record that had stood for 23 years. Jamal Lewis broke his record 3 years later, and Adrian Peterson broke that one 4 years after that, but Dillon held the record for a few years.
He was plagued by injuries in 2003, and though he only missed 3 games, he had only 138 carries and 541 yards on the season, and once the season ended he was traded to the New England Patriots. In 7 seasons with the Bengals, he had never seen the playoffs, but that changed quickly.
In his first season with New England, Dillon had his best season as a pro. He gained 1635 yards on the ground and scored 12 touchdowns, both career highs to that point, and the Patriots went all the way to the Super Bowl. He ran for 75 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl as the Patriots beat the Eagles and Dillon became a champion.
Injuries slowed him again the next season, but he was still counted on to score by the Patriots, racking up 12 touchdowns, even though he had only 733 yards on the season. When the 2006 season went pretty much the same, Dillon was released and retired from the NFL.
Dillon produced a lot of yardage early in his career on bad teams, then made a big contribution to a champion late in his career. He is in the top 20 all time in rushing yards and touchdowns, but was never really close to being the league's top rusher. He was a very good running back for a long time, and that is enough to make him on of the best of all time.
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