Arizona Cardinals: Top Five Running Backs in History

Jan 23, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; General view of NFL shield logo at midfield of University of Phoenix Stadium in advance of Super Bowl XLIX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

2. Garrison Hearst

This guy was going to be money.  He was pretty much a sure thing when drafted out of Georgia in 1993.  Like so many others though, his career here was cut short by injury.

In 1993, when the franchise was still the Phoenix Cardinals, Hearst was drafted third overall.  There wasn’t much not to like about the guy.  He was supposed to be the guy to revitalize the Cardinals running game.  The in his rookie season, he got hurt.  He played six games.  In 1994, his second season, just eight games played.

In 1995 Hearst was finally healthy enough to play a full season for the Cardinals.  He played in all 16 games and rushed for 1,070 yards.  However he had just one rushing touchdown.  He had a receiving touchdown to go along with that.

In 1996 he left the Cardinals for the Cincinnati Bengals where he lasted one season before moving on to his most successful NFL stop with the San Francisco 49ers.  He rushed for at least 1,200 in four of five seasons he played for them, one of them rushing for 2,105 yards.  He missed all of the 1999 and 2000 seasons due to a serious injury.

There is no doubt Hearst could have had the same successes here in Arizona had he stuck here.  Hearst had great success after his two injury-riddled seasons in Arizona and the same could be said after two-injury riddled seasons in San Francisco.  He ended his career with the Denver Broncos in 2004.

Best Cardinals season: 1995: 1070 yards rushing and one touchdown.  Also had 29 receptions for 243 yards and a touchdown.

Best Cardinals game: October 8, 1995 at New York Giants: 23 carries for 122 yards, two receptions for 40 yards