Darren McFadden: How Does His Story Compare with That of Bo Jackson?

Growing up, Darren McFadden has probably heard of the one they call Bo Jackson a few times.  It's hard to image a life of football without mentioning one of the biggest what ifs in NFL history.  

Bo Jackson was one of the most graceful runners the league has ever seen.  Enough power to knock through the likes of Brian Bosworth, but fast enough to burn the field with a 4.12 40-yard dash, unofficially.  Bo had it all going for him and could have been the greatest running back to ever step foot on the football field. 

At Auburn University, Bo was a man among boys.  In his four seasons in college, Jackson ran for over 4,300 yards while missing substantial time in his junior year.  His senior year was an especially dominant one, running for nearly 1,800 yards on his way to being the first overall pick the following draft.

But you all know by now that Bo didn't go that route.  Instead of becoming the franchise player of the lowly Buccaneers, he took his talents to the diamond and played baseball.  He knew he was athletic enough to play both sports professionally, but Tampa declined him that offer, and he declined them the chance of being a great team.

In 1987, the Raiders acknowledged Bo's situation and took the Heisman winner in the seventh round. Teaming him up with Marcus Allen, the Raiders had one of the deadliest running back tandems in the league.  Of course, we all know how that came to play.  As a Raider, Bo built up the reputation that he was one of the leagues most feared runners. 

Over twenty years have passed since that dreadful injury, the Raiders are looking at a similar scenario in their organization today.  

Darren McFadden has almost the exact same story as Bo.  Playing in the SEC, McFadden was too a man among boys.  In his three seasons at Arkansas, McFadden embarrassed the top college defenses by running for a...

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