One-season wonders: NFL players who had one good season

After starring at the University of Cincinnati, Cook was taken fifth overall by Paul Brown's Bengals in the 1969 draft. Right away, Cook was named the starter and AFL Rookie of the Year after throwing for 1,854 yards with 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also averaged 9.4 yards per attempt that season, but shoulder and even biceps issues limited the late Cook to just one more game in his career. 

Though drafted in the third round in 1977 by the St. Louis Cardinals, Middleton's best NFL season came the next year with the Green Bay Packers. Middleton ran for 1,116 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Packers thought they had a special back in Middleton, but he never gained more than 495 yards in a season and was out of the NFL by 1984.

What teenage football fan in the late 1980s didn't do the "Ickey Shuffle" after scoring a touchdown? Woods enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons in league history in 1988, rushing for 1,066 yards with 15 touchdowns to help the Cincinnati Bengals reach the Super Bowl. However, after that year, knee issues limited Woods to just 23 more regular-season and playoff games before his career ended following the 1991 campaign.

"The Majik Man" set the foundation for his stellar season by starting nine of the 13 games he played in his second season of 1988. In '89 with Green Bay, Majkowski led the NFL with 4,318 yards and was third with 27 touchdowns. In true gunslinger fashion, he was also among the league leaders with 20 interceptions. He helped the Packers to a 10-6 mark, highlighted by a memorable, somewhat controversial, win over the rival Chicago Bears. He earned a new contract in 1990, but injuries derailed Majkowski's season and ultimately the rest of a career in which he started just 27 games from 1990-96.

Foster's career lasted five seasons — all with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His performance during his third year in 1992 was the most noteworthy, and still one of the best in the history of the storied franchise. That year, Foster ran for a franchise-record 1,690 yards and posted 12 games of least 100 yards — breaking Franco Harris' single-season record. Injuries, though, plagued Foster the next two seasons and he was out of the NFL after 1994.  

Brown was best remembered for his two-interception-, MVP-winning performance for Dallas in Super Bowl XXX. That capped a stellar 1995 season for Brown, who recorded a career-high six interceptions. All that got Brown to a five-year, $12.5 million deal from the Oakland Raiders. However, after playing just eight games for the Raiders in '96 and being benched and suspended by the team in 1997, Brown was waived. He went back to Dallas in 1998, but saw action in just four games during his final season.

The 1994 Heisman Trophy winner boasts the most tragic tale on this list. Despite holding out most of the preseason, the first-round pick rushed for 1,074 yards and 10 TDs in his first season with Chicago. That, however, would be the highlight of Salaam's brief NFL career. Injuries, drugs and fumbles all played a part in him gaining just 610 yards over 17 more games spanning three seasons. In December 2016, Salaam was found dead in a park in Boulder, Colorado., reportedly of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. 

The 18th-overall pick by New England in 1998, Edwards looked like he was well on his way to a successful NFL career after rushing for 1,115 yards with nine touchdowns and catching 35 passes as rookie. However, in an unfortunate occurrence, Edwards severely injured his knee in a flag football game during the week of the Pro Bowl. Edwards did not return to the field until 2002 with Miami. He played 12 games but gained 107 yards in what was his final NFL season. Thankfully, Edwards landed in the CFL, where he rushed for two 1,000-yard seasons (2005, '06) with Montreal.

We might be stretching a bit by including Beuerlein, one of the more prominent journeymen quarterbacks of all time who had a 14-year career. While he threw for more than 3,100 yards for the then-Phoenix Cardinals in 1993 and 3,730 as a Carolina Panther in 2000, it was Beuerlein's 1999 campaign that led to his only Pro Bowl appearance. He led the NFL with 4,436 passing yards and was second with 36 touchdowns. It seemed so extraordinary for Beuerlein that it was enough to get him on this list.

The fourth-round pick from Georgia got his break as a rookie when Denver star Terrell Davis was injured in '99. Gary rushed for 1,159 yards with seven touchdowns over 12 games. Unfortunately for Gary, the injury bug bit him in 2000 and he played only three more seasons after that, never coming close to the production he enjoyed as rookie.

Jeffers is probably a name most NFL fans of a certain age probably don't remember. It would not be hard to forget, considering he played just five seasons and in only double-digit games for two of those. The most successful came in 1999 with the Carolina Panthers, after playing for Denver and Dallas, when he caught 63 passes for 1,082 yards and tied for the team lead with 12 receiving touchdowns. He and Muhsin Muhammad were the first receivers in Panthers history to record 1,000-yard receiving seasons that year.

Many fans might not even remember Robinson, a fourth-round pick by the Chicago Bears in 1998. It was the next year that the 6-foot-3 Robinson ranked among the top 10 in the league with 84 receptions and 1,400 yards. That earned him a nice contract but also plenty of attention from opposing defenses. Robinson played seven more seasons but never caught more than 55 passes in a year.

The 15th overall pick by Tampa Bay in 2004, Clayton led the Buccaneers with 80 catches, 1,193 yards and seven touchdowns. However, that season proved to be the highlight of an eight-year career. Clayton never caught more than 38 passes in a year and recorded just three TD receptions following the 2004 season. 

With Clinton Portis hurt, Betts enjoyed a breakout season in the fifth of his nine NFL seasons in 2006. The Iowa product rushed for a career-best 1,154 yards and also was third on the team with 53 receptions. However, that was the only season Betts rushed for more than 371 yards and was once again a relatively forgotten man thereafter.

Former Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith had a token line while Grossman struggled and dealt with injuries during the last two years (2007 and '08) of his career in the Windy City: "Rex is our quarterback." There was never a doubt who should be under center in 2006, when the former first-rounder threw for 3,193 yards with 23 touchdown passes and overcame 20 interceptions to lead the Bears to the Super Bowl. Chicago fans thought there was a chance Grossman was the future face of the franchise, but he played in just 12 games with Chicago over the next two seasons.

A sixth-round pick in 2005 by Baltimore, Anderson rode the bench for Cleveland in 2005 and started three games in 2006. Then came his breakout season of 2007 when he earned the starting job early on and finished with 3,787 yards and 29 touchdowns and also 19 interceptions. That performance earned him a Pro Bowl nod, but Anderson, who threw five TDs against Cincinnati on Sept. 16, 2007, never came near to achieving that kind of success while starting just 31 games over his next 11 seasons. 

A decorated running back at West Virginia, Slaton became a starter as a rookie for the Houston Texans, and made the most of the chance by rushing for 1,282 yards with nine touchdowns and 50 receptions. That promise was short-lived, as Slaton dealt with fumbling issues and injuries in 2009. By 2011, the Texans waived Slaton, who hooked up with Miami for a brief time during this final NFL season.

Considered by many to be the poster boy for the one-year NFL wonder, Hillis followed his first two seasons with Denver by stopping in Cleveland, where he ran for 1,177 yards with 11 TDs and caught 61 passes for 477 yards to set the NFL fantasy football world on fire in 2010. That season earned Hillis a spot on the cover of the "Madden NFL 12" video game. Now many like to attribute the infamous "Madden Curse" for his slide, but injuries and overall ineffectiveness played a part, as Hillis rushed for 587 yards over 10 games in '11. He played just three more seasons in the NFL as a relatively forgotten man.

Is it fair to have a guy who is still playing on this list? Griffin made all Washington gave up to get him — moving up to the second-overall pick in 2012 - look good by throwing for 3,200 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions and rushing for 815 while leading his team to the playoffs as a rookie. Though Griffin threw for 3,203 yards the following season, he was picked off 12 times, ran much less and Washington finished 3-13. An ankle injury dampened his 2014 season, and he was a backup by 2015 before being released by Washington the next offseason. A failed stint in Cleveland was followed by his current stay as a backup in Baltimore.

This decade has produced a number of quality tight ends, and Barnidge earns a mention for the season he had in 2015 for Cleveland. He was one of the few bright spots for the 3-13 Browns that year, leading the team with 79 catches, 1,043 yards and nine touchdowns. It looked as if Barnidge had finally hit big in his seventh NFL season. Unfortunately, the next season was his last, and though he caught 55 passes, he found the end zone just twice.