Darwin Thompson

Darwin Thompson (born February 12, 1997) is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah State and was drafted by the Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.[1]

Darwin Thompson
Thompson with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020
No. 34 – Kansas City Chiefs
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1997-02-12) February 12, 1997
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Height:5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:Jenks High School, Jenks, Oklahoma
College:Utah State
NFL Draft:2019 / Round: 6 / Pick: 214
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • Super Bowl champion (LIV)
  • Second-team All-MWC (2018)
  • Second-team NJCAA All-American (2017)
  • Southwest Junior College Conference Offensive MVP (2017)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020
Rushing yards:225
Rushing average:3.5
Rushing touchdowns:2
Receptions:16
Receiving yards:108
Receiving touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Thompson grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and attended Jenks High School. As a senior in 2014, he rushed for 942 yards and 10 touchdowns on 152 carries as the backup running back, and helped the team win a Class 6A-I state championship.[2] As a football prospect, he was rated as a three-star recruit and the 16th highest rated recruit in the state of Oklahoma by the 247Sports Composite.[3]

College career

Thompson received zero NCAA Division I scholarship offers coming out of high school.[1] He enrolled at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a junior college in Miami, Oklahoma, and redshirted the 2015 season.[4] As a redshirt freshman in 2016, he posted 1,029 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 150 attempts. As a redshirt sophomore in 2017, he was named Offensive MVP of the Southwest Junior Football Conference and an NJCAA second-team All-American after he ran for 1,391 yards and eight touchdowns on the year. His 2,420 career rushing yards is the second-most in Northeastern Oklahoma A&M school history.[5]

Coming out of junior college, Thompson was again rated as a three-star recruit, ranked as the best JUCO all-purpose back in the country by 247Sports.[6] He committed to play at Utah State on December 17, 2017.

Thompson played one season at Utah State, starting in nine games and playing in 13 during the 2018 season. On November 3, he rushed for a career high 140 yards and three touchdowns against Hawaii, and was named Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week.[7] He rushed for 1,044 yards and 14 touchdowns on 153 attempts on the year, and was named second-team All-Mountain West Conference.[8]

Professional career

Thompson was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round (214th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.[9] As a rookie, Thompson appeared in 12 games and recorded 37 carries for 128 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with nine receptions for 43 receiving yards.[10] In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Houston Texans, Thompson recovered a fumble forced by teammate Daniel Sorensen on punt returner DeAndre Carter during the 51–31 win.[11] The Chiefs went on to win Super Bowl LIV after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 31–20 to give Thompson his first championship.[12]

In Week 17 of the 2020 season against the Los Angeles Chargers, Thompson recorded 110 yards from scrimmage, 1 rushing touchdown, and 1 receiving touchdown during the 38–21 loss.[13]

Personal life

Darwin is the son of Rueben and Lashonne Thompson. He is the nephew of former St. Louis Rams and Oklahoma State running back David Thompson.[2] Thompson is a Christian.[14]

References
  1. D'Andrea, Christian (April 27, 2019). "Darwin Thompson thinks he can be the Chiefs' late-round Barry Sanders". SBNation.com.
  2. "Darwin Thompson bio". UtahStateAggies.com. Utah State Aggies Athletics. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  3. "Darwin Thompson, Jenks, All Purpose Back". 247Sports.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. Farabaugh, Nick (March 1, 2019). "2019 NFL Draft: Darwin Thompson is out to prove his doubters wrong". Behind The Steel Curtain. Vox Media.
  5. McMullen, Matt (April 27, 2019). "Five Things to Know About Sixth-Round Pick RB Darwin Thompson". Chiefs.com.
  6. "Darwin Thompson, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Running Back". 247Sports.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  7. Glade, Matthew (November 5, 2018). "Darwin Thompson Named MWC Offensive Player of the Week". KSLsports.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  8. "Mountain West Announces 2018 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors". TheMW.com. Mountain West Conference. November 28, 2018.
  9. Swanson, Kent; Sweeney, Pete (April 27, 2019). "NFL Draft results: Chiefs select Utah State RB Darwin Thompson at No. 214". Arrowhead Pride. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  10. "Darwin Thompson 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  11. "Chiefs rally from 24-0 hole to beat Texans 51-31 in playoffs". www.espn.com. Associated Press. January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  12. "Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV". NFL. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  13. "Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs - January 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  14. Ackerman, Jon (January 29, 2020). "Chiefs RB Darwin Thompson aims to be 'identified as follower of Christ before football player'". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
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