5 Best Philadelphia Eagles rookie seasons from 2000-2009
. . LeSean McCoy. 25. player. 54.
LeSean McCoy wound up as the Eagles’ leading rusher during his rookie campaign en route to becoming the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.
Jeremy Maclin wasn’t the only stud Philly found in the 2009 NFL Draft. They also rolled the dice on a tailback out of Pitt on Day 2 in the second round. We’re still chuckling about Howie Roseman’s story about how it happened. Give that one a read after you finish checking out this story.
The Eagles wanted to get younger at the running back position. They selected LeSean McCoy in an attempt to make that happen.
McCoy would see a lot of playing time during his rookie season, as Brian Westbrook was having a tough time and battling injuries throughout the campaign.
During the 2009 season, ‘Shady’ ran wild for 637 rushing yards with four touchdowns in 16 games. He also added 308 receiving yards to Philly’s cause on 40 receptions.
Despite only starting in four games, the former Pittsburgh alum led the Eagles in rushing that year. He broke Correll Buckhalter’s aforementioned rookie rushing record (586 yards), and he ended the season having produced the third most rushing yards by a rookie in 2009. Only Arizona Cardinals star Beanie Wells (793) and Denver’s Knowshon Moreno (947) had more.
LeSean would play six seasons for Philadelphia, He racked up 6,792 rushing yards with 44 touchdowns. He’s still the Eagles’ all-time leading rusher. He would then go on to play with the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and finish his career as a two-time Super Bowl winner.
He’s a two-time First-Team All-Pro (2011, 2013), a six-time Pro Bowler (2011, 2013–2017), and a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team thanks in part to him being the NFL rushing yards leader in 2013 and the NFL rushing touchdowns leader in 2011.
