The Other Great Rookie: Alfred Morris

Robert Griffin III got a lot of earned love from Redskin fans and the national media during his rookie season. He has rejuvenated the franchise and led the team to their first NFC East title since 1999. However, one common misconception has been that he did this all by himself. While what RGIII did was amazing he was not the only rookie on the Redskins having an unbelievable year.

Alfred Morris

Alfred Morris had one of the greatest rookie seasons by a running back ever. Unfortunately for him he was out shadowed by great rookie QBs and fellow rusher Doug Martin. Because of this he still doesn't get the recognition he deserves.



Not only was Alfred Morris 2nd for the season in rushing yards he was 2nd in rushing touchdowns, and 7th in yards per attempt among running backs putting him ahead stars like Frank Gore, Ray Rice, Matt Forte, Arian Foster, fellow rookie Doug Martin, and every other NFC East running back outside of Bryce Brown (who only had 115 carries).
In fact if you take only running backs with 200 carries or more he was only behind Adrian Peterson, C.J. Spiller, Jamaal Charles, and Marshawn Lynch in yards per attempt.

The Redskins were significantly more effective when Morris touched the ball more. When he handled 20 carries or more the Redskins went 9-1. The one loss was to the Giants in week 7 a game the Redskins could have and should have won. In the first half of the season before the Redskins went on their 7 game run Morris was only averaging 18.22 carries a game after the bye he averaged 24.43 carries. Clearly Morris's touches directly impact the success of the team.

Alfred Morris had a fantastic rookie season and all signs point to him having continued success. The Redskins looked to be settled at running back for the future.

All stats provided by ESPN