10 best Texas football football NFL careers

Priest Holmes was one of two superstar talents for the Longhorns at running back in the mid-to-late 1990s. It's crazy to think now that Holmes had limited snaps out of the backfield during his career at Texas thanks to the emergence of the 1998 Heisman Trophy-winning running back Ricky Williams.

Due to a combination of limited touches and injuries during his time at Texas, Holmes went undrafted and signed as a free agent with the Ravens following the 1997 NFL Draft. He was arguably one of the best undrafted free agent signings of the 1990s, breaking onto the scene for the Ravens at running back in his second year in the league in 1998.

Holmes rushed for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns as a breakout player for the Ravens during the 1998 season. In the following two seasons, he was unfortunately limited due to injuries.

Holmes wound up being replaced by star rookie running back Jamal Lewis as the Ravens starter when Baltimore won the Super Bowl in 2000.

After getting supplanted by Lewis with the Ravens in 2000, Holmes signed a contract with the Chiefs in free agency heading into the 2001 season. He had one of the best three-season runs we've seen from a running back in their late 20s and early 30s from 2001 to 2003 in Kansas City.

Holmes rushed for over 1,400 yards in three consecutive seasons with the Chiefs from 2001 to 2003. He was a First-Team All-Pro and a Pro Bowl selection in each of those campaigns. Holmes led the league in rushing during the 2001 season (with over 1,500 yards). And he led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2002 and 2003.

The insane run for Holmes in 2002 and 2003 saw him combine for over 50 total touchdowns and 48 rushing scores.

In 2002 and 2003, Holmes finished in the top five in the AP MVP voting and was the AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2002.

A combination of injuries and age wound up wearing Holmes down in the mid-2000s. He was on pace to have another MVP-caliber season for the Chiefs in 2004 before he suffered season-ending injury after eight games.

Holmes also suffered a season-ending injury in 2005, which gave the starting job to emerging Chiefs star running back Larry Johnson. He continued to deal with injury issues in 2006 and 2007, before officially retiring entering the 2008 offseason.

There literally isn't any other Texas Ex who had a better three-season run in the NFL regarding approximate value and league-leading categories than Holmes from 2001 to 2003. He was statistically the best running back in the NFL in those three seasons combined.