Editing Corey Dillon

{{Short description|American football player (born 1974)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name          = Corey Dillon
| image         = 
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = 
| number        = 28
| position      = [[Running back]]
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1974|10|24|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Seattle|Seattle, Washington]], U.S.
| death_date    = 
| death_place   = 
| height_ft     = 6
| height_in     = 1
| weight_lb     = 225
| high_school   = [[Franklin High School (Seattle)|Franklin]] (Seattle)
| college       = {{ubl|[[Garden City Broncbusters football|Garden City]] (1994)|[[Utah Tech Trailblazers football|Dixie State]] (1995)|[[Washington Huskies football|Washington]] (1996)}}
| draftyear     = 1997
| draftround    = 2
| draftpick     = 43
| pastteams     = 
* [[Cincinnati Bengals]] ({{NFL Year|1997|2003}})
* [[New England Patriots]] ({{NFL Year|2004|2006}})
| highlights    = 
* [[List of Super Bowl champions|Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl XXXIX|XXXIX]])
* 4× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[2000 Pro Bowl|1999]]–[[2002 Pro Bowl|2001]], [[2005 Pro Bowl|2004]])
* [[PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team]] ([[PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team#1997|1997]])
* [[Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor]]
* [[Cincinnati Bengals#50th Anniversary Team|Cincinnati Bengals 50th Anniversary Team]]
* [[New England Patriots All-2000s Team]]
* [[New England Patriots All-Dynasty Team]]
* Third-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1996 College Football All-America Team|1996]])
* First-team [[List of All-Pac-12 Conference football teams|All-Pac-10]] ([[1996 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team|1996]])
| statlabel1    = Rushing yards
| statvalue1    = 11,241
| statlabel2    = Rushing average
| statvalue2    = 4.3
| statlabel3    = Rushing [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue3    = 82
| statlabel4    = [[Reception (gridiron football)|Receptions]]
| statvalue4    = 244
| statlabel5    = Receiving yards
| statvalue5    = 1,913
| statlabel6    = Receiving touchdowns
| statvalue6    = 7
| pfr           = DillCo00
}}

'''Corey James Dillon''' (born October 24, 1974) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[running back]] for 10 seasons in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) with the [[Cincinnati Bengals]] and [[New England Patriots]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[Washington Huskies football|Washington Huskies]], earning third-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] and first-team [[List of All-Pac-12 Conference football teams|All-Pac-10]] honors in 1996. Dillon was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the [[1997 NFL draft]].

During his seven years with the Bengals, Dillon set several franchise records and earned three consecutive [[Pro Bowl]] selections. He played for the Patriots in his last three seasons, where he was named to his fourth Pro Bowl and won [[Super Bowl XXXIX]]. Dillon retired with over 11,000 rushing yards and is 20th in [[List of NFL career rushing yards leaders|NFL career rushing yards]]. For his accomplishments in Cincinnati, he was inducted to the [[Cincinnati Bengals#Ring of Honor|Bengals Ring of Honor]] in 2024.

==Early life==
Born and raised in [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], Dillon attended [[Franklin High School (Seattle)|Franklin High School]], where he teamed with his cousin, Ed Raiford, to form one of the state's all-time twosomes for the Quakers football team.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} Dillon and Raiford garnered Parade, USA, Best In The West and Tom Flemming All-American awards. Both were two-sport standouts, Raiford also starred as an All-State basketball player while Dillon starred in [[baseball]]. An excellent baseball catcher, Dillon garnered All-Metro honors, and was selected by the [[San Diego Padres]] in the 1993 [[Major League Baseball]] [[Draft (sports)|draft]].

==College career==
Dillon played junior college football as a freshman at [[Garden City Broncbusters|Garden City Community College]] in [[Kansas]] and rushed for 1165 yards and 16 TDs in 1994. The following year, he played for [[Dixie State Red Storm|Dixie State College]] in [[St. George, Utah|St. George]], [[Utah]], and rushed for 1899 yards and 20 TDs in 279 attempts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hall of Fame|url=http://www.dixieathletics.com/hof.aspx?hof=1&path=&kiosk=|website=dixieathletics.com|publisher=Dixie State Athletics|access-date=August 25, 2016}}</ref> Dillon was chosen JC Offensive Back of the Year by College Sports magazine.

At the [[University of Washington]] in Seattle, Dillon played one season of college football with the [[Washington Huskies football|Huskies]] in [[1996 Washington Huskies football team|1996]]. Known for using a very aggressive and punishing style of running, Dillon set the team all-time single-season records for rushing yards (1,695 yards) and [[touchdown]]s scored (24). In the first quarter against [[San Jose State Spartans football|San Jose State]] in mid-November, Dillon rushed for 222 yards and caught an 83-yard touchdown pass, setting [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] records for both rushing yards and all-purpose yards (305) in one quarter.<ref name=qtoom>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-17-sp-221-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=A quarter of Dillon too much |agency=Associated Press |date=November 17, 1996 |access-date=May 21, 2014}}</ref> Dillon did not re-enter the game as the Huskies were comfortably ahead 25–0 by the end of the first quarter on a cold and rainy afternoon. The Dawgs led 43–3 at the half and won 53–10.<ref name=qtoom/>

In the [[1996 Holiday Bowl]] against [[1996 Colorado Buffaloes football team|Colorado]], Dillon rushed for 140 yards and added two more touchdowns to his regular-season total of 23. He scored five TDs in a 41–21 victory over [[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]], earning ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' National Player of the Week honors as he rushed for 145 yards and added 53 yards in receptions.

==Professional career==
{{NFL predraft
|    height ft = 6
|    height in = 0 5/8
|       weight = 217
|         dash =
|    ten split =
| twenty split =
|      shuttle =
|   cone drill =
|     vertical =
|     broad ft =
|     broad in =
|        bench =
|     arm span = 34
|    hand span = 10 1/4
|    wonderlic =
|         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>
}}

===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>

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|-
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|
| Won the [[Super Bowl]]
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

===Regular season===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! rowspan="2"| GP
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="5"| Receiving
! colspan="2"| Fumbles
|-
! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Fum !! Lost
|-
! [[1997 NFL season|1997]] !! [[1997 Cincinnati Bengals season|CIN]]
| 16 || 233 || 1,129 || '''4.8''' || 71 || 10 || 27 || 256 || 9.6 || 28 || 0 || 1 || 0
|-
! [[1998 NFL season|1998]] !! [[1998 Cincinnati Bengals season|CIN]]
| 15 || 262 || 1,130 || 4.3 || 66 || 4 || 28 || 178 || 6.4 || 41 || 1 || 2 || 2
|-
! [[1999 NFL season|1999]] !! [[1999 Cincinnati Bengals season|CIN]]
| 15 || 263 || 1,200 || 4.6 || 50 || 5 || 31 || 290 || 9.4 || 23 || 1 || 3 || 2
|-
! [[2000 NFL season|2000]] !! [[2000 Cincinnati Bengals season|CIN]]
| 16 || 315 || 1,435 || 4.6 || 80 || 7 || 18 || 158 || 8.8 || 31 || 0 || 4 || 3
|-
! [[2001 NFL season|2001]] !! [[2001 Cincinnati Bengals season|CIN]]
| 16 || 340 || 1,315 || 3.9 || '''96''' || 10 || 34 || 228 || 6.7 || 17 || '''3''' || 5 || 3
|-
! [[2002 NFL season|2002]] !! [[2002 Cincinnati Bengals season|CIN]]
| 16 || 314 || 1,311 || 4.2 || 67 || 7 || '''43''' || '''298''' || 6.9 || 19 || 0 || 5 || 2
|-
! [[2003 NFL season|2003]] !! [[2003 Cincinnati Bengals season|CIN]]
| 13 || 138 || 541 || 3.9 || 39 || 2 || 11 || 71 || 6.5 || 14 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[2004 NFL season|2004]] !! style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|[[2004 New England Patriots season|NE]]
| 15 || '''345''' || '''1,635''' || 4.7 || 44 || 12 || 15 || 103 || 6.9 || 20 || 1 || 4 || 3
|-
! [[2005 NFL season|2005]] !! [[2005 New England Patriots season|NE]]
| 12 || 209 || 733 || 3.5 || 29 || 12 || 22 || 181 || 8.2 || 25 || 1 || 1 || 1
|-
! [[2006 NFL season|2006]] !! [[2006 New England Patriots season|NE]]
| 16 || 199 || 812 || 4.1 || 50 || '''13''' || 15 || 147 || '''9.8''' || '''52''' || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
! colspan="2"| Career<ref name=ESPN>{{cite web|title=Corey Dillon Stats|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/1196/corey-dillon|publisher=ESPN Internet Ventures|access-date=January 19, 2014}}</ref> !! 150 !! 2,618 !! 11,241 !! 4.3 !! 96 !! 82 !! 244 !! 1,913 !! 7.8 !! 52 !! 7 !! 27 !! 18
|}

===Bengals franchise records===
* Most rushing yards in a career – 8,061
* Most carries in a career – 1,865
* Most rushing yards per game in a career – 75.3
* Most rushing yards in a game – 278 (2000)
* Most rushing touchdowns in a game – 4 (1997): tied with [[Joe Mixon]]

===Patriots franchise records===
* Most rushing yards in a single regular season – 1,635 (2004)
* Most rushing yards in the postseason in a career – 508
* Most carries in the postseason in a career – 120

==Personal life==
Dillon has three daughters with his ex-wife, who filed for divorce in April 2010.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.tmz.com/2010/04/21/corey-dillon-dui-arrest-malibu-new-england-patriots/ |title=Corey Dillon -- DUI and Divorce Trouble |work=[[TMZ.com]] |date=April 21, 2010}}.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Ohio|United States}}
* [[List of NCAA major college football yearly scoring leaders]]
* [[Washington Huskies football statistical leaders]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Footballstats |espn=1196 |yahoo=3914 |pfr=D/DillCo00}}

{{Bengals1997DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl XXXIX}}
{{10,000 rushing yards club}}
{{Patriots2000s}}
{{PatriotsAllDynasty}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Corey}}
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American football running backs]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Bengals players]]
[[Category:Dixie State Rebels football players]]
[[Category:Garden City Broncbusters football players]]
[[Category:New England Patriots players]]
[[Category:Washington Huskies football players]]
[[Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:Franklin High School (Seattle) alumni]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Seattle]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen]]