Editing Corey Dillon (section)

==Professional career==
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|         note = All values from NFL Combine<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?f=Corey&l=Dillon&i=22910 |title=Corey Dillon, Combine Results, RB - Washington |website=nflcombineresults.com |access-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref>
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===Cincinnati Bengals===
The [[Cincinnati Bengals]] selected Dillon in the second round of the [[1997 NFL draft]], the 43rd overall pick.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1997 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1997/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> During his first season in 1997, Dillon rushed 39 times for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 41–14 win over the [[Tennessee Titans|Tennessee Oilers]], breaking [[Jim Brown]]'s rookie single-game record that had stood for 40 years.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/05/sports/football-nfl-dillon-runs-over-oilers.html | title=FOOTBALL: N.F.L.; Dillon Runs Over Oilers | agency=[[Associated Press]] | date=December 5, 1997 | work=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=July 19, 2020}}</ref> That game remains a Bengals rookie record for carries, yards, and touchdowns, and franchise record for touchdowns.<ref>As of 2017 off-season.</ref> His 1,129 yards that season is also still a Bengals rookie record. 
For six seasons, Dillon was one of the few bright spots on otherwise struggling Bengals teams. Dillon voiced his frustrations with the team and owner [[Mike Brown (American football executive)|Mike Brown]], stating "we will never win with the Brown family in Cincinnati," after a 2001 game. 
From 1997 to 2002, he rushed for over 1,000 yards each year, and made the [[Pro Bowl]] 3 times from 1999 to 2001. On October 22, 2000, Dillon set an NFL record for most yards rushed in one game (278 yards) against the [[Denver Broncos]], breaking [[Walter Payton]]'s single-game mark of 275 yards set in 1977.{{efn|Almost a year earlier, one month after Payton's death, coach [[Bruce Coslet]] took Dillon out of a 44–28 victory over the [[Cleveland Browns]] in the third quarter, at a point in the game in which he seemed to be on pace to break Payton's record long before game's end. Coslet explained to reporters afterward that Payton had set that record in a 10–7 win.<ref name="1999 Corey Dillon near-record">{{cite news|last=King|first=Peter|author-link=Peter King (sportswriter)|title=Inside the NFL|url=https://www.si.com/vault/2000/01/10/272121/inside-the-nfl|newspaper=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=January 10, 2000|access-date=June 17, 2019}}</ref>}} That record has since been broken by [[Jamal Lewis (American football)|Jamal Lewis]] (295 yards) on September 14, 2003, and [[Adrian Peterson]] (296 yards) on November 4, 2007. Dillon's mark remains a franchise record for yards and yards-per-carry (12.64).

In 2003, Dillon rushed 138 times for 541 yards and two touchdowns due to injury.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corey Dillon 2003 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DillCo00/gamelog/2003/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

===New England Patriots===
In 2004, Dillon was traded to the [[New England Patriots]] for a second-round pick, which the Bengals later used to draft [[Madieu Williams]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clayton |first=John |last2=Pasquarelli |first2=Len |date=2004-04-19 |title=Patriots acquire Dillon from Bengals for draft pick |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=1785718 |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref>

In the 2004 season, Dillon set career highs and franchise records with 1,635 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corey Dillon 2004 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DillCo00/gamelog/2004/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He was a major factor in the Patriots' win over the [[Indianapolis Colts]] in New England's first playoff game that season, rushing for 144 yards and catching 5 passes for 17 yards. New England won its third [[Super Bowl]], due in no small part to the running game built around Dillon. He was the top rusher of [[Super Bowl XXXIX]] with 75 rushing yards and a touchdown, while also catching 3 passes for 31 yards, for 106 total yards. Overall, Dillon rushed for a total of 292 yards, caught 9 passes for 53 yards, and scored 2 touchdowns in New England's 3 postseason games.

In 2005, while injury problems plagued Dillon and he was not able to duplicate his stats from 2004, he remained a major contributor to the team, rushing for 733 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games. The Patriots used Dillon more frequently as a pass receiver, with 23 receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown, which was more receiving yards than he had gained in his past 2 seasons combined.

In the 2006 season, Dillon began sharing the team's rushing duties with rookie running back [[Laurence Maroney]]. With the retirement of [[Curtis Martin]], he spent his final year as the NFL's active leader in career rushing yards. He finished the year with 812 rushing yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns, tied him for third in the league that season.

===Retirement===
The Patriots released Dillon on March 2, 2007. Dillon subsequently told the ''[[Boston Globe]]'' in August that he would retire from the NFL. A month later, Dillon admitted to considering a comeback with the Patriots with the season-ending injury to RB [[Sammy Morris]], but ultimately remained retired.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=NFL&id=3&line=103623&spln=1 | title=Fantasy Football Breaking News – Report: Corey Dillon could return to Patriots | date=November 2, 2007 | publisher=Rotoworld.com | access-date=November 3, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616103424/http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=NFL&id=3&line=103623&spln=1 | archive-date=June 16, 2011 | url-status=dead}}</ref>