Jacksonville Jaguars: 15 best running backs of all-time
By John Buhler
Rashad Jennings. 8. player. 52. . RB. (2009-12)
Rashad Jennings may be better known by some as the winner of Dancing with the Stars‘ 24th season back in spring 2017. However, he did have a solid eight-year NFL career with three franchises, the first being the Jaguars.
Jennings played his college ball at Liberty after transferring from Pittsburgh after one season with the Panthers. Though a good player for the Flames, he would only end up being a seventh-round pick by the Jaguars in the 2009 NFL Draft. It largely happened because he was coached by the Jacksonville staff during the Senior Bowl down in Mobile.
Jennings spent his first four NFL seasons with the Jaguars, playing with the team from 2009 to 2012. He played 15 games as a rookie in 2009, rushing for 202 yards and a touchdown on 39 carries, while grabbing 16 balls for 101 yards as a receiver.
He would see his role with the team increase a bit in year two in 2010. That season saw Jennings rush for 459 yards on 84 carries for four touchdowns. He also had 26 catches for 223 yards as a receiver out of the backfield.
Jennings was poised for a breakout season in year three, but suffered a knee injury during the preseason that kept him out for the entire 2011 NFL season. He played one more season with the Jaguars in 2012, where he rushed for 283 yards and two touchdowns on 101 carries, to go along with 19 carries for 130 yards.
Even though he was largely seen as a backup to Fred Taylor and later Maurice Jones-Drew, Jennings had a few good years left in the tank. It just so happens that they came with the Oakland Raiders in 2013 and the New York Giants from 2014 to 2016.
Jennings retired after the 2016 with 3,772 career rushing yards and 23 touchdowns on 930 carries. While he was certainly a more productive player in his final three years in the league with the Giants, Jennings amassed 944 yards and seven touchdowns on 224 carries with the Jaguars.
It would have been nice to see what his totals would have looked like in Jacksonville if he never got hurt in 2011. Jennings has since done work as a football studio analyst on FOX, as well as his continued appearances on Dancing with the Stars.