Jacksonville Jaguars: 30 greatest players in franchise history

• Pride of the Jaguars (2012)
• Franchise leader in rushing yards (11,271), rushing attempts (2,428)
• Seven 1,000-rushing yard seasons
• 1x Pro Bowl, 1x Second-Team All-Pro (2007)
• Franchise leader in all-purpose yards (13,640), 51 100+ yard rushing games

Though Maurice Jones-Drew is the franchise record holder for trips to pay dirt, Fred Taylor is able to hold him off as the greatest running back in Jacksonville history of all-time. It is a testament to Taylor’s longevity in Jaguars uniform.

The Jaguars used their No. 9 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft to select the star running back out of Florida. Jacksonville had to love what they saw out of the former Gator in a handful of World’s Largest Cocktail Parties down in Duval for the Jaguars to take him in the top-10. It turned out to be one of their better first-round selections in franchise history

Taylor had an outstanding rookie campaign with the Jaguars in 1998. He rushed for 1,223 yards on 264 carries for 14 touchdowns. Somehow, this total wasn’t good enough to garner him a trip to the Pro Bowl, or even NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. It would become a trend with Taylor during his Jaguars career of getting grossly overlooked in terms of individual accolades.

Nevertheless, he just kept being productive as the Jaguars’ starting running back from the late 1990s and into the mid-2000s. After missing six games in 1999, Taylor bounced back with another 1,000-yard season with the 2000 Jaguars. He led the league in 107.6 yards per game.

Despite missing the bulk of his first four years in the league due to injury, Taylor would prevail to be one of the most consistent runners in football into his early 30s. Taylor rushed for over 1,000 yards seven times in his 11 years with the Jaguars.

A nifty receiving threat out of the backfield, Taylor ended up with 286 catches for 2,361 yards and eight touchdowns in his Jaguars career. This led him to being the franchise leader in all-purpose yards (13,640) and rushing yards (11,271).

Finally in 2007, Taylor would get his due and make it to his first, and only, trip to the Pro Bowl. He rushed for 1,202 yards on 223 carries for five touchdowns. He would leave Jacksonville in 2009 to spend his last two professional seasons with the New England Patriots before retiring.

Overall, Taylor’s case for Canton enshrinement will take some time. Though he has over 11,000 career rushing yards, only one Pro Bowl and one second team All-Pro nod to his name doesn’t help. Even though he was often overshadowed in the ground game nationally, Taylor was inducted into the Pride of the Jaguars in 2012 for his accomplishments on the Jacksonville gridiron.