Sherman Williams Madden Career 1996-1999 - Peak 81 OVR

Sherman Williams was a star at Alabama before he was a footnote in Dallas. He ran for 1,341 yards as a senior on a then-record 291 carries, made second-team All-American, and played the game of his life in the 1995 Citrus Bowl, 166 rushing and 155 receiving yards against Ohio State, the first Alabama back to top a hundred in both in a postseason game. He had already won a national title with the 1992 Crimson Tide. The Cowboys took him in the second round to back up Emmitt Smith, which is a hard way to make a name.

Behind the leading rusher in NFL history, the carries were never going to come, and the Madden cards tell that story of a talented player with nowhere to play. He opened at a 69 in Madden NFL 96, dropped to a card-glitch 1 that no back has ever been, then found a real level, a 72 and finally an 81 peak in Madden NFL 99 built on an 84 speed rating that hinted at the player Alabama had seen. He won a ring as a rookie on the Super Bowl XXX roster.

His career totaled 1,162 rushing yards across five Dallas seasons, all in relief. The harder story came after football, a 2000 conviction for conspiracy to distribute marijuana and passing counterfeit money that cost him roughly fourteen years in prison. He came home, finished his Alabama degree in 2018, and rebuilt in Tuscaloosa. Madden's 81 is the ceiling of a good back who spent his prime holding a clipboard.