I would also like to nominate William Andrews, the premier running fullback of the 1980s while playing with Atlanta. Like Gale Sayers before him, albeit with a very different style, Andrews was a dominating running back until a severe knee injury cut short his promising career.
Andrews made four pro bowls in his first five years, and was the second player in NFL history to log two 2,000-total-yard seasons. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry and averaged over 50 catches per season before the injury.
As quoted by wikipedia
"Andrews played professionally with the Atlanta Falcons. After a promising beginning to his career (He was one of the first NFL players with two 2,000 yard rushing/receiving seasons to his credit), he sustained a serious knee injury during the 1984 preseason that sidelined him for two years. He returned in 1986 for one season, largely as a tight end, before retiring. To celebrate his career, his number (31) was retired and hasn't been used by any Atlanta player since."
Code:
| Rushing | Receiving |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year TM | G | Att Yards Y/A TD | Rec Yards Y/R TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1979 atl | 15 | 239 1023 4.3 3 | 39 309 7.9 2 |
| 1980 atl | 16 | 265 1308 4.9 4 | 51 456 8.9 1 |
| 1981 atl | 16 | 289 1301 4.5 10 | 81 735 9.1 2 |
| 1982 atl | 9 | 139 573 4.1 5 | 42 503 12.0 2 |
| 1983 atl | 16 | 331 1567 4.7 7 | 59 609 10.3 4 |
| 1986 atl | 15 | 52 214 4.1 1 | 5 35 7.0 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| TOTAL | 87 | 1315 5986 4.6 30 | 277 2647 9.6 11 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
Seasons among the league's top 10
Rushes: 1980-7, 1981-7, 1983-4
Rushing yards: 1980-4, 1981-7, 1983-2
Rushing TDs: 1981-7t, 1982-10t
Receptions: 1981-4, 1982-8t
Yards from scrimmage: 1980-4, 1981-1, 1982-2, 1983-2
Rush/Receive TDs: 1981-9t, 1982-9t
William Andrews is not in the all-time top 50 in any major category.
Postseason data
Please read this fine print before using this data or sending questions or corrections.
Year Opp Result | RSH YD TD | REC YD TD
---------------------+-----------------+-----------------
1980 dal L,27-30 | 14 43 0 | 2 19 1
1982 min L,24-30 | 11 48 0 | 0 0 0
---------------------+-----------------+-----------------
TOTAL | 25 91 0 | 2 19 1