Over the past 20 years, the New England Patriots have seen several impressive running backs wear the Flying Elvis, but Corey Dillon stands out as the best among them.
In 2004, the Patriots traded a second-round draft pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for Dillon, who had already achieved three Pro Bowls and accumulated over 8,000 rushing yards in his first seven NFL seasons.
Despite some doubts about how Dillon, a former Washington Husky, would fit into the Patriots’ locker room, he excelled. In his debut season with New England, Dillon rushed for a career-high 1,635 yards (a franchise record) and 12 touchdowns at a 4.7-yard average, contributing to the team’s Super Bowl victory.
In 2005, Dillon dealt with injuries but still managed to accumulate 733 yards and 12 touchdowns over 12 games. As the 2006 season approached, Dillon’s final year with the team and his NFL career, the Patriots used their first-round pick to select Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney, seen as Dillon’s potential successor. Dillon, however, took this in stride.
“OK, you still have to come in here and play. You know what I mean,” Dillon mentioned on the “Pats from the Past” podcast. “Just because you were drafted doesn’t mean anything. A great player told me this, ‘It doesn’t matter what round you were drafted. It matters what you do when you get here.’ That was the great Boomer Esiason. You still have to come here and play. At the end of the day, what’s the worst thing that’ll happen? Somebody gets cut? I’m not getting cut, so I’m not worried about that aspect of it.
“So, what it boiled down to was, we’re gonna mix it up. We split carries, and that’s fine with me. I never griped about that whatsoever. I kind of thought it like I needed a break too sometimes. I never took it as a negative. On top of that, we embrace guys that come in here that can help you win. Who doesn’t want that? I never looked at it in a negative light. I looked at it as another teammate to help us win.”
In the 2006 season, Dillon ran for 812 yards and 13 touchdowns at a 4.1-yard average, while Maroney rushed for 745 yards and six touchdowns at a 4.3-yard average. The Patriots released Dillon the next offseason, and Maroney managed only 1,685 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns over his final three seasons with the team.
