5 Best Philadelphia Eagles rookie seasons from 2000-2009
Correll Buckhalter. 28. player. 54. . .
Correll Buckhalter was a nice rushing paring for Duce Staley during his rookie season.
In the 2001 NFL Draft, Philadelphia was looking for another running back to share the load with starter Duce Staley. The team found their guy in the fourth round. Correll Buckhalter was the choice, a six-foot, 223-pounder that made his name at the University of Nebraska as a member of the Cornhuskers.
Buckhalter fit nicely into the rushing attack. He tallied 586 rushing yards with two touchdowns on 129 carries that year during 15 games, and he turned in another 130 yards on 13 receptions. Only Duce Staley produced a higher rushing yards total (604).
Correll’s 4.5 yards per carry average that season broke the franchise record, one that was previously held by Keith Byars.
Buckhalter produced the sixth most rushing yards by a rookie halfback league-wide in 2001, and after five seasons with Philly that spanned from 2001 until 2008 (he missed the 2002, 2004, and 2005 seasons because of injury), he racked up 2,155 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.
He would go on to play two more seasons in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, but he’ll be remembered as an Eagle. How good might he have been had he not had so many injury issues?