| No. #20 | |
| Running Back/Kick Returner | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: January 2, 1959 | |
| Place of birth: Sacramento, California | |
| High School: Pius X H.S. (Downey, CA) | |
| Career information | |
| College: Stanford | |
| Debuted in 1982 for the Minnesota Vikings | |
| Last played in 1992 for the Minnesota Vikings | |
| Career history | |
| 1982-1989 Minnesota Vikings 1989-1990 San Diego Chargers 1991-1992 Minnesota Vikings | |
| Roster status: retired | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Rushes-Rushing yards-Rush AVG. | 1,020-4,442-4.4 |
| Receptions-Receiving yards-Yards per catch | 286-2,559-8.9 |
| Games Played-TD's | 152-23 TDs |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Darren Milo Nelson (born January 2, 1959 in Sacramento, California) is a former professional American football player in the National Football League who played for the majority of his career with the Minnesota Vikings. Nelson grew up in Sacramento and nearby Downey, California.
Biography[]
Nelson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1st round (7th overall) in 1982 NFL Draft after graduating from Stanford University. He spent eight seasons with the Vikings; 1982–1989, before going to the San Diego Chargers. Nelson would spend the final nine games of the 1989 season and the entire 1990 season with the Chargers. Following his year and a half away from the Vikings, Nelson returned to the team in 1991 and stayed there for the final two years of his career, 1991–1992.
Nelson was actually traded from the Vikings to the Cowboys as part of the infamous Herschel Walker Trade in 1989. However, after refusing to report to Dallas, he was subsequently flipped to the Chargers.
As a running back, Nelson was a threat as both a runner and as receiver out of the backfield. For his career, Nelson rushed for 4,442 yards, caught 286 passes for 2,559 yards and scored 23 touchdowns (18 rushing and 5 receiving) in 152 games. As of 2007, Nelson works with Stanford University as a Senior Associate Athletic Director - External Relations/Development.
Career stats[]
| Season | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yards | AVG | TD | Long | Catches | Yards | YPC Avg. | TDs | ||||||
| 1977 | 183 | 1,069 | 5.8 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 524 | 10.6 | 3 | |||||
| 1978 | 167 | 1,061 | 6.4 | 6 | 0 | 50 | 446 | 8.9 | 4 | |||||
| 1979 | ||||||||||||||
| 1980 | 161 | 889 | 5.5 | 4 | 40 | 47 | 552 | 11.7 | 4 | |||||
| 1981 | 192 | 1,014 | 5.3 | 11 | 0 | 67 | 846 | 12.6 | 5 | |||||
| NCAA Career Totals | 703 | 4,033 | 5.7 | 24 | 40 | 214 | 2,368 | 11.1 | 16 | |||||
| Season | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Att | Rush Yds | AVG | TD | Long | Catches | Rcvg YDS | YPC | TD | Long | |
| 1982 | 7 | 44 | 136 | 3.1 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 100 | 11.1 | 0 | 22 |
| 1983 | 15 | 154 | 642 | 4.2 | 1 | 56T | 51 | 618 | 12.1 | 0 | 68 |
| 1984 | 15 | 80 | 406 | 5.1 | 3 | 39 | 27 | 162 | 6.0 | 0 | 17 |
| 1985 | 16 | 200 | 893 | 4.5 | 5 | 37 | 43 | 301 | 7.0 | 1 | 25T |
| 1986 | 16 | 191 | 793 | 4.2 | 4 | 42 | 53 | 593 | 11.2 | 1 | 34 |
| 1987 | 10 | 131 | 642 | 4.9 | 2 | 72 | 26 | 129 | 5.0 | 3 | 13 |
| 1988 | 13 | 112 | 380 | 3.4 | 1 | 27 | 16 | 105 | 6.6 | 0 | 27 |
| 1989 | 5 | 31 | 124 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 52 | 7.4 | 0 | 7 |
| 1989 | 9 | 36 | 197 | 5.5 | 0 | 28 | 31 | 328 | 10.6 | 0 | 49 |
| 1990 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 7.3 | 0 | 10 |
| 1991 | 16 | 28 | 210 | 7.5 | 2 | 29 | 19 | 142 | 7.5 | 0 | 13 |
| 1992 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 0.5 | -- | 9 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| NFL Career Totals | 152 | 1,020 | 4,442 | 4.4 | 18 | 72 | 286 | 2,559 | 8.9 | 5 | 68 |
References[]
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