For many Redskins fans that started following the team after 1991, the 2012 season was one of the most memorable.
Sure, former quarterback Robert Griffin III had plenty to do with it. RG3 earned the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year award that season, and his flashy and entertaining play led Washington to their first divisional title since 1999.
Besides Griffin, there was another rookie on that team that deserves plenty of credit for the Burgundy and Gold's success that season: running back Alfred Morris.
So, how good was Morris' rookie season? So good that according to Pro Football Focus, no rookie running back finished with a higher overall season grade this past decade than Morris did in 2012.
Highest-graded rookie RBs of the decade
— PFF (@PFF) June 21, 2020
Alfred Morris (2012) - 91.0
Eddie Lacy (2013) - 87.5
Saquon Barkley (2018) - 85.2
Kareem Hunt (2017) - 82.4 pic.twitter.com/bcRDm2xHj7
Yes, you read that right. According to PFF, Morris' season was better than Ezekiel Elliott's in 2016, Kareem Hunt's in 2017, and Saquon Barkley's in 2018.
Morris, who was taken 171 picks after Griffin in the 2012 draft, entered training camp buried on the Redskins depth chart behind Tim Hightower, Evan Royster and Roy Helu. But after an impressive preseason, Morris was named the team's starting running back, and the Florida Atlantic product never looked back.
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As a rookie, Morris broke the Redskins' franchise rushing yards record, finishing 1,613 yards on the ground. His 13 rushing touchdowns were the second-most in the league that season, trailing only Arian Foster.
Morris spent four seasons with the Redskins, and while he never was able to match the production from his rookie season in the years to follow, he remained one of the league's best rushers.
From 2012-2015, only former Vikings and current Redskins RB Adrian Peterson had more rushing yards than Morris during that span. Morris' 33 rushing touchdowns were the league's third-highest mark over those four years, trailing just Peterson and Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch.
It's been close to five years since Morris donned the Burgundy and Gold, but his celebratory home run swing will always be remembered by the Redskins faithful.
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Alfred Morris rookie season with Redskins was the best of any RB during the 2010s, according to PFF originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
