Looking Back at Career of Former Bills RB LeSean McCoy
LeSean McCoy didn't compile Hall-of-Fame credentials during his four seasons with the Buffalo Bills. But added to what he accomplished with the Philadelphia Eagles before his arrival, there's a good chance the running back will wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
We here at Bills Central are taking a deeper look into his long career now that he officially announced his retirement on Wednesday.
In his four years with the Bills (2015-18) he rushed for 3,814 yards and 25 TDs on 885 attempts (4.3 yards per carry) and caught 175 passes for 1,334 more yards and five more TDs. He made the Pro Bowl in three of his first four seasons with them.
More than solid numbers, to be sure.
But most of the damage he did came during his first six years, which were spent with the Philadelphia Eagles, where Bills coach Sean McDermott worked as their defensive coordinator when McCoy was drafted.
McCoy had the good fortune of overlapping with with another Eagles' great, Brian Westbrook, who taught him all he knew about being a force in the passing game as both a receiver and a blocker.
McCoy took it from there. With the Eagles, he surpassed 1,000 rushing yards four times. In 2013, Chip Kelly's first year as Eagles' coach, McCoy exploded for an NFL-high 1,607 rushing yards on 314 carries, which also led the league.
He was never more explosive in the passing game that year too, finishing with a career-high 539 yards on 52 receptions on his way to leading the league with 2,146 yards from scrimmage.
Despite that production, he was traded by Kelly to the Bills, who gladly gave up linebacker Kiko Alonso in return.
Here are McCoy's final career credentials:
Seasons: 12
Games: 170 (141 starts)
Rushing: 11,102 yards on 2,457 carries (4.5 average)
Receiving: 3,898 yards on 518 receptions
Touchdowns: 89 (73 rushing)
Yards from scrimmage: 15,000
Ball security also was a specialty of McCoy's, as he finished with just 25 fumbles on 2,975 career touches.
McCoy even went on to earn a pair of Super Bowl rings at the end of his career after going on to spend the 2019 season with the Kansas City Chiefs and the 2020 season with the Tampa Bay Bucs.
In the end, McCoy earned six Pro Bowl berths and twice was a first-team All-Pro.
All of this points to Canton for the Harrisburg, Pa. native known better by his nickname of "Shady."
"Shady had one heck of a career," former Bills teammate Eric Wood told the Bills' website. "Smart, competitive, really good runner with the football. From the outside it would appear that he had the worst ball security the way he would carry the ball like a loaf of bread and holding it out at times and almost making basketball type moves with the football.
"At one point, though, I remember [former coach] Rex Ryan brought up the stat that he had the least amount of fumbles per carry over the time of his career in the NFL. So great ball security even though he wasn't a traditional ball carrier."
McCoy plans to sign a one-day contract with the Eagles to mark his retirement, which will be acknowledged in a public ceremony when the Eagles host the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday.
Added Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie in a statement: "LeSean possessed a unique combination of speed, elusiveness and an exceptional playmaking ability that made him one of the most dynamic players in the league and one of the most productive players in the history of our franchise. "LeSean carried himself with a rare blend of confidence and youthful enthusiasm, but he also was driven by a desire to be one of the all-time greats at the running back position, and that’s what made him such an exciting player to be around and watch every week. He provided so many memorable plays and performances over the course of his career. We are honored to share in this special day with LeSean and look forward to recognizing him as the Eagles Legend of the Game on Sunday.”
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
