draftyear finalyear birth_place debutyear statvalue article_title position finalteam statlabel draftround college birth_date nfl number draftpick debutteam
1981 1992 jackson , mississippi 1981 8,074 4.5 38 freeman mcneil
 running back new york jets rushing yards average touchdowns 1 ucla 22 april 1959 mcn519105 24 3 new york jets
freeman mcneil

freeman mcneil -lrb- born april 22 , 1959 -rrb- is a former professional american football player who was selected by the new york jets in the first round as the third overall pick of the 1981 nfl draft .
after leading banning high school to the los angeles city football title , the 5 ' 11 '' , 214 lbs .
running back attended the university of california , los angeles -lrb- ucla -rrb- , where he was a two-time all-pacific-10 conference selection .
in his final game , he caught a deflected pass from quarterback jay schroeder that was tipped by usc defensive back jeff fisher and went 57 yards for the winning touchdown with two minutes left in the bruins ' 20 -- 17 win .
mcneil played in 12 nfl seasons for the jets from 1981 to 1992 .
during the mid to late 1980s he was a member of the jets ' `` two headed monster '' backfield along with teammate johnny hector , a tandem that ranked among the league 's elite .
when he retired he was the jets all-time leading rusher with 8,074 yards ; he was surpassed by curtis martin and currently ranks second in jets team history .
in 1982 , mcneil led the nfl in rushing with 786 yards .
he was the first jet to the lead the league in rushing .
he is one of a few running backs in nfl history to average 4.0 yards per carry in every season he played .
from 1990 to 1992 mcneil was the lead plaintiff in a case won by jury verdict that struck down the nfl 's plan b free agency system , under which teams could protect 37 players .
mcneil and the seven other plaintiffs were among the protected players listed by their teams .
the system was deemed too restrictive and a violation of antitrust laws .
however , freeman was not one of the four plaintiffs awarded damages .
the suit is considered a major step in the achievement of free agency rights by the nfl players association .
in 2005 , he was inducted into the nassau county sports hall of fame .
freeman currently lives in huntington , ny on long island .
