Darren Sproles made a career of outsized production from a small role

The shifty, change-of-pace back has been a staple of NFL offenses for as long as any of us can remember: the little runner who operates mostly as a third-down specialist; a smaller player thought to be less durable than the prototypical every-down back, but absolute hell on defenses. Once upon a time it was Dave Meggett who best exemplified that concept. In more recent years, no one has embodied the role as well as Darren Sproles, who this past weekend announced that the 2018 season will be his last.

Sproles almost certainly won’t make it to the Hall of Fame given that his career stats don’t rank among the best in any glamorous categories. He only once led his team in rushing, totaling 603 rush yards with the pass-happy 2011 Saints, despite finishing third on the team in carries, posting an astounding 6.9 yards per carry. He topped that with 710 receiving yards that season, combining for 1,313 yards from scrimmage on the year, a remarkable figure for a back who only touched the ball 173 times that season.

He excelled in all these roles, as well as a returner, for which he's made the Pro Bowl three times as an Eagle late in his career.

Sadly, it was a 2017 season in which Sproles was cut down early by a serious injury that one of his teams finally broke through for a Super Bowl title. That doesn’t mean he lacks notable postseason performances in the span of his 12-year career, but that’s the kind of thing that lifts a good player from just being appreciated by knowledgeable fans to embraced by the public at large.

That Sproles registered as one of the most dynamic offensive weapons in the league over the course of a decade is a testament to how much he could do with limited opportunity. Never once has Sproles cracked 100 carries in a season, and yet you could easily place him as one of the best skill players on any team he’s been on.

Of course, other than blazing speed and elusive moves in the open field, one of the things Sproles is best known for is his relatively diminutive stature. Listed at 5-6, Sproles often has been the smallest player in the NFL, save for the few seasons that 5-5 Trindon Holliday was playing.

That feeds into the question of durability, and maybe there is some truth to that over the course of a full season. Could Sproles’ body hold up to the punishment that a starting running back is often asked? Could he withstand 300 carries over 16 games?

We’ll likely never know, but there have been instances when Sproles has carried a full-game load and shined. Most notably, he put on a show in the 2008 playoffs, dispatching Peyton Manning and the Colts in the Wild Card round.

That day, Sproles rushed for 105 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, including the walk-off game-winner. He added another 45 yards receiving to go with 178 yards combined on kick and punt returns.