Darren Sproles' Legacy

(via phillyvoice.com)

By Constantine Martin

Twitter: @gusmartin321

On Sunday, 13-year-veteran running back Darren Sproles announced that the 2018 season would be his last in the NFL.

The spunky 5'6" speedster has been dazzling San Diego, New Orleans and Philadelphia fans for longer than most running backs last in professional football. With his time finally coming to an end, it's important to reflect on how the smallest man on the field always seemed to play bigger than his competition.

Sproles was drafted 130th overall in 2005 by the then San Diego Chargers. While he didn't see the field on offense much his rookie year, only accumulating 90 yards from scrimmage, he was immediately thrust into being the team's primary kickoff returner and rotation punt returner and gained 1,696 all purpose yards, which was a strong indication of how his career would play out.

An ankle injury sidelined Sproles for the entirety of his sophomore campaign, but as the seasons went on, opposing teams started to see flashes of what this little guy could do.

When you watch Sproles, you never feel like his size or inconsistent usage in the team's offense ever hinders him on the field, and as a result he pops off the screen when you watch him bolt for big runs or make a timely catch. He's always felt like a guy his team could rely on.

In his career, Sproles was never utilized as the lead back, always being rotated in the mix or used as a passing threat on third down, so his box scores never garnered significant attention.

What did make you look twice was his all around production in the running, receiving and return games. Sproles gained over 19,000 all purpose yards in his career, led the league in punt return touchdowns and yards in back-to-back seasons and also led the league in all purpose yards in 2011.

Not a small feat.

He also made the Pro Bowl in three consecutive seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, although one could argue he deserved a couple more appearances. But that's fitting for a guy that never really got the respect or attention I feel he deserved.

Sproles has scored 59 touchdowns in his career, racked up solid rushing and receiving yards and consistently been one of the NFL's elite special teams returners. Whenever I watched Sproles play, I was always excited, amazed and joyful witnessing him bolt past giants and make it look easy, and I was happy to see him win a ring in 2018 with the Eagles, even though an injury allowed him to play only three games last year.

When Sproles' finally hangs his cleats up and says goodbye, the league, and I, will surely miss him. He was a professional through and through, never failing to be there when his team needed a spark. I'd categorize him as the NFL's version of a NBA 6th man.

Based on the graphic above from an article on bleedinggreennation.com by Lee Stifford, it doesn't seem like Sproles has the stats or the hardware to make it into the Hall of Fame. But his many fans and teammates will never forget the great seasons he's provided them, and hopefully he can shine on the gridiron a few more times during his final ride.