Ameer Abdullah in the NFL
In the NFL. Photo: Thundrplaya, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Running back, Nebraska, 2011–⁠14

Ameer Abdullah

Number
No. 8
Height
5′9″
Hometown
Homewood, AL
Born
Jun 13, 1993, in Homewood, Alabama

Wikipedia readers: about 5,853 a month over the past year

Ameer Abdullah played running back at Nebraska (2011–⁠14). The Detroit Lions took Abdullah in round 2, No. 54 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
1,690
Rushing yards, 2013 (Nebraska, 9–⁠4)
Best game
208 yards
Vs. Illinois, week 5, 2014: No. 2 rushing game in FBS that week
Drafted
No. 54
Round 2, 2015 NFL Draft (Detroit Lions)

Career highs

232rushing yards, career highvs. Florida Atlantic, 20144rushing touchdowns, career highat Northwestern, 20146catches, career highvs. USC, 201496receiving yards, career highvs. McNeese, 2014

Honors

Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.

Rushing

Rushing yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2011Nebraska421503.6324
2012Nebraska2261,1375.0845
2013Nebraska2811,6906.0962
2014Nebraska2641,6116.11957
Career8134,5885.63962

Returns

SeasonTeamKRYdsTDPRYdsTD
2011Nebraska267631301070
2012Nebraska173600162091
2013Nebraska4770–––
2014Nebraska143920–––
Career611,5921463161

Receiving

SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2011Nebraska11111.0011
2012Nebraska241787.4226
2013Nebraska262328.9240
2014Nebraska2226912.2358
Career736909.5758

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosHt
2011Nebraska8RB
2012Nebraska8RB
2013Nebraska8RB
2014Nebraska8RB5′9″

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsageAdj. rush
2013Nebraska2860.1785th (n=226)0.0749.731%0.13
2014Nebraska2950.2686th (n=253)0.1275.631%0.38

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). Adjusted pass and rush: EPA per play adjusted for the defenses faced (CollegeFootballData’s WEPA). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2014 Nebraska 13 games, 1,611 rushing yards, 19 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDKRYdsPR
Aug 30vs.Florida AtlanticW 55–⁠7212321–––
Sep 6vs.McNeeseW 31–⁠2417541134–
Sep 13atFresno StateW 55–⁠19191101–––
Sep 20vs.MiamiW 41–⁠31352292481–
Sep 27vs.IllinoisW 45–⁠1422208314–
Oct 4atMichigan StateL 22–⁠2724452248–
Oct 18atNorthwesternW 38–⁠17231464115–
Oct 25vs.RutgersW 42–⁠24192253290–
Nov 1vs.PurdueW 35–⁠14610–––
Nov 15atWisconsinL 24–⁠5918690–––
Nov 22vs.MinnesotaL 24–⁠2820981–––
Nov 28atIowaW 37–⁠34131060–––
Dec 27 ✦vs.USCL 42–⁠45278813120–
2013 Nebraska 13 games, 1,690 rushing yards, 9 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDKRYdsPR
Aug 31vs.WyomingW 37–⁠34191140–––
Sep 7vs.Southern MissW 56–⁠13171142–––
Sep 14vs.UCLAL 21–⁠4123980–––
Sep 21vs.South Dakota StateW 59–⁠20151391–––
Oct 5vs.IllinoisW 39–⁠19202252–––
Oct 12atPurdueW 44–⁠7201261–––
Oct 26atMinnesotaL 23–⁠34191650–––
Nov 2vs.NorthwesternW 27–⁠24241270239–
Nov 9atMichiganW 17–⁠13271051–––
Nov 16vs.Michigan StateL 28–⁠41221230–––
Nov 23atPenn StateW 23–⁠20251470120–
Nov 29vs.IowaL 17–⁠3823851–––
Jan 1 ✦vs.GeorgiaW 24–⁠19271221118–
2012 Nebraska 14 games, 1,137 rushing yards, 8 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDKRYdsPR
Sep 1vs.Southern MissW 49–⁠2015810––3
Sep 8atUCLAL 30–⁠36161192–––
Sep 15vs.Arkansas StateW 42–⁠13301672––3
Sep 22vs.Idaho StateW 73–⁠78491––2
Sep 29vs.WisconsinW 30–⁠271070051423
Oct 6atOhio StateL 38–⁠63728281282
Oct 20atNorthwesternW 29–⁠28191010––2
Oct 27vs.MichiganW 23–⁠9241011–––
Nov 3atMichigan StateW 28–⁠24221100–––
Nov 10vs.Penn StateW 32–⁠23311160–––
Nov 17vs.MinnesotaW 38–⁠1418790–––
Nov 23atIowaW 13–⁠714500––1
Dec 1vs.WisconsinL 31–⁠705180123–
Jan 1 ✦vs.GeorgiaL 31–⁠457480367–
2011 Nebraska 13 games, 150 rushing yards, 3 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDKRYdsPR
Sep 3vs.ChattanoogaW 40–⁠7410––6
Sep 10vs.Fresno StateW 42–⁠2923052113
Sep 17vs.WashingtonW 51–⁠3814031292
Sep 24atWyomingW 38–⁠143360––2
Oct 1atWisconsinL 17–⁠4825071871
Oct 8vs.Ohio StateW 34–⁠27216051113
Oct 22atMinnesotaW 41–⁠147300––1
Oct 29vs.Michigan StateW 24–⁠3–––1281
Nov 5vs.NorthwesternL 25–⁠28100––2
Nov 12atPenn StateW 17–⁠142211153
Nov 19atMichiganL 17–⁠4521912383
Nov 25vs.IowaW 20–⁠712350––2
Jan 2 ✦vs.South CarolinaL 13–⁠304−112441

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

MVP of the 2015 Senior Bowl.

DrillCombine 2015Combine or pro day 2015
Height5′8¾″
Weight205 lb
Arm length30″
Hand size8⅝″
Wingspan72″W
40-yard dash4.60 s
10-yard split1.60 s
Vertical jump42½″
Broad jump10′10″
Bench press24 reps
3-cone drill6.79 s
20-yard shuttle3.95 s

Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

12 seasons, 149 games with a stat; latest team: Jacksonville Jaguars.

SeasonTeamGCarYdsTDRecRec yds
2015Detroit Lions16143597225183
2016Detroit Lions2181010557
2017Detroit Lions14165552425162
2018Minnesota Vikings9110328
2019Minnesota Vikings152311501588
2020Minnesota Vikings118420858
2021Carolina Panthers1751166038289
2022Las Vegas Raiders16420025211
2023Las Vegas Raiders161589019131
2024Las Vegas Raiders1566311240261
2025Indianapolis Colts13146011699
2026 (so far)Jacksonville Jaguars51045022
NFL career1495182,09992211,569

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0), matched to him by his draft pick and college (Player ids: DynastyProcess (GPL-3.0)). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.

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