Best NFL Players of All Time: Curtis Martin

Best NFL Players of All Time: Curtis Martin. Ranking the Top Players in History. Place a bet on an NFL football game now.

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Best NFL Players of All Time: Curtis Martin

For the entirety of his incredible 11-year NFL career, Curtis Martin was a blue-collar superstar.

Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Eric Dickerson, and Martin were not seen as glamorous players in the NFL.

But Martin’s output won him a place among the all-time finest running backs in the history of the sport. While Martin is fourth among all-time productive runners with 14,101 yards, Smith, Payton, and Sanders lead the list of all-time rushing yardage.

Following his 1995 draft selection, Martin began his playing career with the Patriots. In his first three years, he was a productive running back for them, setting career highs of 1,487 yards in the air and 1,152 and 1,160 yards the next two seasons. With 14 touchdowns in each of his first two seasons, Martin had been a touchdown machine.

After a stellar collegiate career that saw him selected by the Patriots, Martin signed a three-year deal. However, when the 1998 offseason got underway, he was still a restricted free agent.

The restricted free agent’s original team would be entitled to significant compensation in the form of draft picks if any team desired to sign him. No matter how good the player was, that kind of hefty tariff almost always kept NFL teams from signing those kinds of free agents.

However, by then, Martin’s initial New England Patriots coach, Bill Parcells, had already joined the Jets. Parcells acted quickly to sign Martin when the opportunity arose. Recall that Parcells had long yearned to be his own personnel guy, and when he made the decision to fill the post of general manager, he was exactly looking for the chance to bring a talent like Martin on board. Martin’s tenacity and play would support Bill Parcells in leading the Jets organization.

Martin received a five-year, $36.24 million contract from the Jets in exchange for first- and third-round draft picks from the Patriots.

Though it turned out to be a steal, many in the NFL believed the Jets had given up far too much for a running back.

Parcells was aware that Martin was worth the cost.

When the athlete signed, Parcells stated the Hartford Courant, “I certainly recognize the price is a formidable price to pay for the player, but to me, this was a question of a known vs. the unknown.” “And those draft selections are just pawns right now, even though I would classify them as important.” To begin his career, Martin would put together ten seasons in a row with 1,000 or more rushing yards. The only year he failed to meet his goal was 2005, which ended up being his last year on the field. In his swan song, he nevertheless ran for 735 yards.

Although Martin lacked Olympic-caliber athleticism and sprinter’s speed, his combination of quickness, cunning, toughness, and opportunism made him the perfect running back. When he got into the open, he could make major plays since he was aware of his opponents’ tendencies.

Martin’s initial reaction was to approach defenders. He was able to push and pound opponents backwards because of his exceptional speed and leverage when running.

Many excellent running backs will begin a game in that way, but by the second quarter or later, they start to get tired or lose their impact. One of the main factors in Martin’s constancy was that he would never stop beating.

Off the eld, Martin enjoyed the same level of popularity as he did effectiveness. Because of his skill and demeanor, he garnered nothing but respect from the NFL, and he departed with a ton of friends and fans.

Enemies did not exist. Even after Martin left the Patriots after the 1997 season, owner Robert Kra邝 always had respect for him.

Robert Kraft, the owner of the Patriots, told ESPN New York that Martin’s induction into the Hall of Fame in 2012 was a testament to Martin’s quality of character. “The key to life is having quality people with you,” Kraft said. He will always hold a special place in my heart. Getting him was a really smart move on the part of the Jets. I only wish he were a true Patriot going into the Hall of Fame. Someone who can walk a route that garners respect from both friends and rivals is a rare individual. Martin, however, achieved exactly that, and it allowed him to be named one of the all-time top 65 players.

Best NFL Players of All Time: Curtis Martin Stats

Regular Season

Year Age Tm Pos No. G GS Att Yds TD 1D Succ% Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Tgt Rec Yds Y/R TD 1D Succ% Lng R/G Y/G Ctch% Y/Tgt Touch Y/Tch YScm RRTD Fmb AV
1995 22 NWE RB 28 16 15 368 1487 14 79 41.8 49 4 92.9 23 50 30 261 8.7 1 9 34 27 1.9 16.3 60.00% 5.2 398 4.4 1748 15 5 11
1996 23 NWE RB 28 16 15 316 1152 14 79 46.5 57 3.6 72 19.8 52 46 333 7.2 3 15 51.9 41 2.9 20.8 88.50% 6.4 362 4.1 1485 17 4 13
1997 24 NWE RB 28 13 13 274 1160 4 47 44.2 70 4.2 89.2 21.1 51 41 296 7.2 1 12 51 22 3.2 22.8 80.40% 5.8 315 4.6 1456 5 3 12
1998 25 NYJ RB 28 15 15 369 1287 8 70 43.4 60 3.5 85.8 24.6 57 43 365 8.5 1 17 50.9 23 2.9 24.3 75.40% 6.4 412 4 1652 9 5 14
1999 26 NYJ RB 28 16 16 367 1464 5 87 44.7 50 4 91.5 22.9 49 45 259 5.8 0 9 44.9 34 2.8 16.2 91.80% 5.3 412 4.2 1723 5 2 14
2000 27 NYJ RB 28 16 16 316 1204 9 64 38.9 55 3.8 75.3 19.8 96 70 508 7.3 2 25 50 31 4.4 31.8 72.90% 5.3 386 4.4 1712 11 2 11
2001 28 NYJ RB 28 16 16 333 1513 10 78 46.5 47 4.5 94.6 20.8 63 53 320 6 0 13 39.7 27 3.3 20 84.10% 5.1 386 4.7 1833 10 2 15
2002 29 NYJ RB 28 16 16 261 1094 7 55 42.9 35 4.2 68.4 16.3 56 49 362 7.4 0 17 53.6 28 3.1 22.6 87.50% 6.5 310 4.7 1456 7 0 12
2003 30 NYJ RB 28 16 16 323 1308 2 57 44.6 56 4 81.8 20.2 53 42 262 6.2 0 9 35.8 29 2.6 16.4 79.20% 4.9 365 4.3 1570 2 2 11
2004 31 NYJ RB 28 16 16 371 1697 12 93 52.6 25 4.6 106.1 23.2 49 41 245 6 2 12 44.9 22 2.6 15.3 83.70% 5 412 4.7 1942 14 2 14
2005 32 NYJ RB 28 12 12 220 735 5 37 40 49 3.3 61.3 18.3 30 24 118 4.9 0 3 36.7 14 2 9.8 80.00% 3.9 244 3.5 853 5 2 4
Career 168 166 3518 14101 90 746 44.4 70 4 83.9 20.9 606 484 3329 6.9 10 141 45.5 41 2.9 19.8 79.90% 5.5 4002 4.4 17430 100 29 131
8 yrs NYJ 123 123 2560 10302 58 541 44.6 60 4 83.8 20.8 453 367 2439 6.6 5 105 45.5 34 3 19.8 81.00% 5.4 2927 4.4 12741 63 17 95
3 yrs NWE 45 43 958 3799 32 205 44.1 70 4 84.4 21.3 153 117 890 7.6 5 36 45.8 41 2.6 19.8 76.50% 5.8 1075 4.4 4689 37 12 36

Playoffs

1996 23 NWE RB 3 3 49 267 5 17 49 78 5.4 89 16.3 13 8 55 6.9 2 38.5 20 2.7 18.3 61.50% 4.2 57 5.6 322 5 0
1998 25 NYJ RB 2 2 49 138 3 10 38.8 15 2.8 69 24.5 11 10 97 9.7 6 63.6 27 5 48.5 90.90% 8.8 59 4 235 3 2
2001 28 NYJ RB 1 1 16 106 0 7 75 22 6.6 106 16 8 6 34 5.7 1 25 20 6 34 75.00% 4.3 22 6.4 140 0 1
2002 29 NYJ RB 2 2 31 141 0 6 41.9 15 4.5 70.5 15.5 6 5 43 8.6 3 66.7 19 2.5 21.5 83.30% 7.2 36 5.1 184 0 0
2004 31 NYJ RB 2 2 37 143 0 4 45.9 13 3.9 71.5 18.5 9 8 76 9.5 4 66.7 23 4 38 88.90% 8.4 45 4.9 219 0 0
Career 10 10 182 795 8 44 46.7 78 4.4 79.5 18.2 47 37 305 8.2 16 51.1 27 3.7 30.5 78.70% 6.5 219 5 1100 8 3
4 yrs NYJ 7 7 133 528 3 27 45.9 22 4 75.4 19 34 29 250 8.6 14 55.9 27 4.1 35.7 85.30% 7.4 162 4.8 778 3 3
1 yr NWE 3 3 49 267 5 17 49 78 5.4 89 16.3 13 8 55 6.9 2 38.5 20 2.7 18.3 61.50% 4.2 57 5.6 322 5

 

 

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