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Kenneth Gainwell

Kenneth Gainwell (born March 14, 1999) is an American professional football running back and kickoff returner for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Memphis Tigers.

Kenneth Gainwell
refer to caption
Gainwell with the Eagles in 2021
No. 14 – Philadelphia Eagles
Position:Running back / Kickoff returner
Personal information
Born: (1999-03-14) March 14, 1999 (age 25)
Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:Yazoo County (Yazoo County, Mississippi)
College:Memphis (2018–2020)
NFL draft:2021 / round: 5 / pick: 150
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-AAC (2019)
  • AAC Rookie of the Year (2019)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024
Rushing yards:1,010
Rushing average:4.4
Rushing touchdowns:11
Receptions:90
Receiving yards:638
Receiving touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Gainwell grew up in Yazoo City, Mississippi and attended Yazoo County High School. He was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Panthers. As a junior, he passed for 1,184 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for 1,292 yards and 20 touchdowns. During the summer going into his senior season Gainwell committed to play college football at Memphis over offers from Ole Miss and Tulane.[1] As a senior, he passed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns and ran for 1,834 yards and 32 touchdowns. Gainwell was named Class 3A Mr. Football as he led the Panthers to a 14–1 record and an appearance in the Class 3A state championship game.[2][3][4] Gainwell finished his high school career with 3,682 yards passing and 32 passing touchdowns and 4,730 rushing yards and 75 rushing touchdowns with one kickoff returned for a touchdown.[5]

College career

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Gainwell moved to running back during summer training camp and played in four games as a true freshman before deciding to redshirt the rest of the season. He finished the season with four carries for 91 yards and a touchdown, a 73-yard run, and six receptions for 52 yards.[6]

As a redshirt freshman, Gainwell was named the Tigers' starting running back following the departure of Tony Pollard. He was named the co-American Athletic Conference (AAC) player of the week after rushing for 104 yards and a touchdown and gaining 204 yards and scoring two touchdowns on nine receptions on October 19, 2019, in a 47–17 win over Tulane.[7] He rushed for 1,459 yards with 13 touchdowns on 231 carries and caught 51 passes for 610 yards and three touchdowns and was named the AAC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-AAC.[8][9] He was named a second-team All-American by the Sporting News and the American Football Coaches Association and the National Freshman of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America.[10][11][12]

Gainwell opted out of his final college season six days before the season opener after multiple family members died from COVID-19.[13]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 8+3⁄8 in
(1.74 m) 		201 lb
(91 kg) 		30+5⁄8 in
(0.78 m) 		9+7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		 4.44[14] s 1.62 s 2.57 s 4.46 s 7.26 s 35.0 in
(0.89 m)		 10 ft 1 in
(3.07 m)		 21 reps
All values from NFL Combine[15][16]

Gainwell was selected in the fifth round (150th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2021 NFL draft.[17] Gainwell was happy to be drafted by Philadelphia, as he grew up an Eagles fan, and his favorite player while growing up, Darren Sproles, works for the team as a consultant. Gainwell also said that he modeled his game after Sproles.[18] He signed his four-year rookie contract with Philadelphia on June 3, 2021.[19] Gainwell found moderate success as a rookie, as he ended the year with 68 carries for 291 yards and five touchdowns, while adding 33 receptions for 253 yards and one touchdown.[20] Gainwell appeared in 16 games as a rookie, as he was a healthy scratch for the Eagles' week 11 showdown with the New Orleans Saints.[21]

In the 2022 season, Gainwell had 53 carries for 240 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 23 receptions for 169 receiving yards.[22] In the team's 38–7 Divisional Round victory over the New York Giants, he had 10 carries for a career high 112 yards and a touchdown, as well as one reception for nine yards.[23] This performance made him just the sixth Eagles player to rush for at least 100 yards in a postseason game.[24] Gainwell helped the Eagles reach Super Bowl LVII where they lost 38–35 to the Kansas City Chiefs. In the Super Bowl, Gainwell had seven carries for 21 rushing yards and four receptions for 20 receiving yards.[25]

Gainwell got off to a slow start during the 2023 season. During a Week 9 game against the Washington Commanders in which he lost a fumble, Gainwell received criticism for responding to a fan’s critical Instagram post at halftime. In the 2023 season, he had 84 carries for 364 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go with 30 receptions for 183 receiving yards.[26]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular Season

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Year Team Games Rushing Receiving
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Tgt Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2021 PHI 16 1 68 291 4.3 18 5 50 33 253 7.7 19 1
2022 PHI 17 0 53 240 4.5 13 4 29 23 169 7.3 20 0
2023 PHI 16 2 84 364 4.3 32 2 37 30 183 6.1 19 0
2024 PHI 1 0 1 2 2.0 2 0 1 1 10 10.0 10 0
Career 50 3 206 897 4.4 32 11 117 87 615 7.1 20 1

Postseason

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Year Team Games Rushing Receiving
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Tgt Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2021 PHI 1 0 1 6 6.0 6 0 5 5 49 9.8 20 1
2022 PHI 3 0 33 181 5.5 35 1 9 7 55 7.9 17 0
2023 PHI 1 0 4 3 0.8 4 0 2 2 10 5.0 9 0
Career 5 0 38 190 5.0 45 1 16 14 114 8.1 20 1

Personal life

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Gainwell's younger brother, Kory, played defensive back and running back at Yazoo County and is committed to play at Memphis.[27] Gainwell is the cousin of former Eagles player Fletcher Cox.[28]

References

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  1. ^ Claxton, Ben (June 28, 2017). "Yazoo County QB Kenny Gainwell Commits To Memphis". DeltaDailyNews.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  2. ^ Jordan, Jonah (October 17, 2019). "Older brother helps Kory Gainwell tackle recruiting process". The Daily Memphian. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Turner, Ethan (November 18, 2017). "Yazoo County's Gainwell steps up". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "2017 Class 3A Mr. Football: Kenneth Gainwell". MissHSAA.com. Mississippi High School Activities Association. December 15, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  5. ^ Jordan, Jonah (September 26, 2019). "Gainwell relishes lead running back role as Tigers face Navy". The Daily Memphian. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  6. ^ Vannini, Chris (June 13, 2019). "State of the Program: Memphis is the team to beat in the AAC West, and it has its sights set higher". The Athletic. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  7. ^ Greer, Jarvis (October 22, 2019). "Tigers' Gainwell earns top weekly honor in AAC". WMCActionNews5.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  8. ^ Fowler, Christian (January 14, 2020). "Gainwell has fifth best odds to win Heisman Trophy in 2020". 247Sports.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  9. ^ Barnes, Evan (December 4, 2019). "Memphis' Antonio Gibson, Kenneth Gainwell among Tigers honored in 2019 All-AAC awards". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  10. ^ "Memphis Tigers running back Kenneth Gainwell named freshman player of the year". LocalMemphis.com. January 13, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  11. ^ Greer, Jarvis (December 18, 2019). "Tigers running back, Kenny Gainwell, earns All-American status". WMCActionNews5.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  12. ^ Barnes, Evan (December 17, 2019). "Memphis freshman Kenneth Gainwell earns second-team All-American honors from Sporting News, AFCA". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  13. ^ Walker, Teresa M. (April 20, 2021). "Memphis running back ready for NFL draft after opting out". AP NEWS. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "2021 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "Kenneth Gainwell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  16. ^ "Kenneth Gainwell, Memphis, RB, 2021 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  17. ^ McPherson, Chris (May 1, 2021). "Eagles draft RB Kenneth Gainwell". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  18. ^ Erby, Glenn (May 6, 2021). "Philadelphia Eagles' rookie RB Kenneth Gainwell says he's a 'rare breed'". Eagles Wire. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  19. ^ Levine, Ben (June 3, 2021). "Eagles Sign Three More Draft Picks". Pro Football Rumors. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  20. ^ "Kenneth Gainwell 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  21. ^ Erby, Glenn (November 21, 2021). "Eagles vs. Saints inactives: Kenneth Gainwell a healthy scratch with Miles Sanders returning". Eagles Wire. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  22. ^ "Kenneth Gainwell 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "Divisional Round – New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles – January 21st, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  24. ^ Kerr, Jeff (January 22, 2023). "Kenny Gainwell unlikeliest of heroes as third-down RB etches himself into Eagles playoff lore". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  25. ^ "Super Bowl LVII – Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs – February 12th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  26. ^ "Kenneth Gainwell 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  27. ^ Cook, Joe (January 28, 2020). "Yazoo County's Kory Gainwell commits to Memphis". WAPT.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  28. ^ Kerr, Jeff (May 1, 2021). "Eagles select Kenneth Gainwell: Three things to know about Philly's fifth-round pick". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
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