STEVEN JACKSON

FOOTBALL

Position: Running Back
Born:July 22, 1983; Las Vegas, Nevada
Played For: St. Louis Rams (2004-2012), Atlanta Falcons (2013-2014), New England Patriots (2015)

Throughout the entirety of his career, Steven Jackson was one of the best running backs in the NFL. The Oregon State University product accumulated more rushing yards and more yards from scrimmage than any other player from 2005-2012 and appeared in three Pro Bowls.

Jackson was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, and starred in track and football at Eldorado High School. He rushed for more than 6,000 yards and scored 81 touchdowns for the Sun Devils. At Oregon State he was twice named first-team All-Pac-10 and graduated with more than 4,300 yards from scrimmage and 45 touchdowns.

The Rams selected Jackson with the 24th pick in the NFL draft in 2004 and he started three games that season backing up future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk. Jackson rushed for 673 yards and scored four touchdowns. It would be the only season of his nine years in St. Louis that he did not rush for more than 1,000 yards.

The bruising running back took over the starting role from an aging Faulk in 2005, rushed for 1,046 yards, had 320 receiving yards, and scored ten touchdowns. He enjoyed his finest rushing game as a pro with a 179 yard performance in a 24-21 win over Jacksonville at the Edward Jones Dome.

After the dismissal of head coach Mike Martz and the departure of Faulk in 2006, Jackson had his best season when he rushed for more than 1,500yards and scored 13 touchdowns. He also led all running backs with 90 receptions for 806 yards and added three receiving touchdowns. Jackson led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage with 2,334, earning a trip to his first Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro.

In 2010, Jackson became the franchise leader in rushing, surpassing NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson.

“I’m really happy for Steven,” Dickerson told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “He’s been the backbone of the Rams’ offense through some really lean years. He’s a workhorse back. There are very few guys like a Steven Jackson. A guy that you can hand the ball off to 25, 35 times if you have to and he can still carry the ball and come back and play the next week. That’s a tribute to him and his work ethic as a football player.”

In 2012, Jackson became the 27th running back in NFL history to rush for over 10,000 yards, and the sixth running back in league history to compile eight consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He ended his last season in St. Louis with 1,042 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

After spending two seasons in Atlanta, Jackson was signed by New England late in the 2015 season and scored his first and only career playoff touchdown in the AFC Championship, a 20-18 loss to the Denver Broncos. It would be Jackson’s final NFL game.

Jackson is still the Rams all-time leading rusher with 10,138 yards and is third with 56 rushing touchdowns. He retired with 11,438 career rushing yards and 69 touchdowns. He also added 461 receptions for 3,683 yards.