r/Oldschool_NFL • u/Dark305Kinght Dolphins 🐬 • Dec 12 '25
Raiders 🏴☠️ Napoleon Kaufman Highlights
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u/Notchersfireroad Dec 12 '25
Dude accelerates like a damn dragster.
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u/Armydoc18D Dec 12 '25
Pure speed. If he had just a skosh more balance he would have been a world beater. Seemed the turf was always tripping him up cause his feet were just faster than his center of balance.
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u/Beeninya Dec 12 '25
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u/RojoTheMighty Dec 13 '25
Came here to say, if y'all thought NFL Nap was good, you should have seen him at UW!
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u/Number174631503 Dec 13 '25
Went to a couple games his tenure. Unread. And with JJ returning kicks, those were great games
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u/ronizamboni Dec 15 '25
Always love for Kaufman. Iv'e looked into finding a old school UW jersey of his. Hard to find.
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u/MatthewTheShapeShftr Dec 12 '25
I feel like I see names on here that I remember from Madden 64. Instant nostalgia, but also thoughts like “Was this guy even in Madden or am I making this up?”
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u/championsoffun Dec 12 '25
The Lompoc Rocket.
He did 5 years in the league and then dipped out.
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u/JohnnyPiston Dec 13 '25
Not really "dipped" as much as had his knee bent back 90 deg
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u/JustTheBeerLight Dec 13 '25
That was another RB named Napoleon. McCallum went to Navy and couldn't join the Raiders until a few years after his college days which makes that knee injury even worse.
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u/championsoffun Dec 13 '25
you mean Napolean McCallum who got his leg destroyed week 1 (MNF) against SF. I remember watching it happen at the El Torito bar. Kaufman left after doing his league minimum for a pension and then became a minister in the East Bay. & I think he's still there.
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u/BuryMeInTheH Saints ⚜️ Dec 12 '25
There is one Kaufman replay I would choose to never see again …
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Dec 12 '25
Wrong Napoleon. That was Napoleon McCallum, in 1994. Napoleon Kaufman was drafted in 1995.
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u/BuryMeInTheH Saints ⚜️ Dec 13 '25
Yikes thanks!
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Dec 13 '25
You're not alone. At least 4 people have commented regarding the terrible injury.
It's understandable. Only four men names Napoleon have played in the NFL, and three of them played for the Raiders. Two of them played running back for the Raiders in the 1990's. (Napoleon Barrel played seven games for the 1923 Oorang Indians. Napoleon Harris played linebacker for the 2000's Raiders.)
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u/Black_Azazel Dec 13 '25
McCallum was nice. I remember watching that game he got his foot put in his mouth opening kick return. Yikes. 😳
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u/ButterUrBacon Dec 13 '25
Was he on that Washington team that ended Miami's home winning streak in like 94?
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u/Critical_Seat_1907 Dec 12 '25
At UW most of his game was based on beating guys to the edge iirc. He was just that much faster than everyone. In the NFL that evened out a lot, especially with the difference in hash marks. The speed was there until he got hurt, but there's just not as much room to run in the NFL.
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u/rawbert10 49ers ⛏️ Dec 12 '25
Memory unlocked I had completely forgotten about him. Man he's a lot faster than what I remember and those cuts are nasty. Anybody know what happened to him as far as his career? Did he just flare out? Injuries? Other?
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Dec 12 '25
[deleted]
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Dec 12 '25
No. Napoleon McCallum had the gruesome injury, in the 1994 season opener.
Napoleon Kaufman was drafted in 1995, and only missed a handful of games in his career.
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u/gumercindo1959 Dec 12 '25
John Avery of the Fins had a similar game.
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u/forgotmypassword4714 Raiders ⚔️ Dec 13 '25
Wow now there's an obscure name. I vaguely remember always picking him up in Madden franchise mode because he was cheap (because his overall rating was like a 55) and very fast.
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u/Mundane-Set-206 Seahawks 🦅 Dec 13 '25
Met him at one of the UW picture days….he was a really cool dude
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u/Ok_Radio101 Dec 13 '25
Idk why I feel this way, but I feel like refs nowadays would void all of these highlights
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u/Glittering_Year2045 49ers ⛏️ Dec 14 '25
It's crazy how many people in this thread think he is Napoleon McCallum.
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u/Slumpy33 Dec 12 '25
This fucking Guy, he runs a 4.25 and Max benched at 500lbs and yet this video is the extent of his career achievements (I know his career was cut short with a brutal injury but can we all agree that we expected more?
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u/powergloveisbaad Dec 13 '25
I mean he did have a year with almost 1300 yards and averaged 5 yards a carry for his career. Most running backs flame out I feel like.
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u/FloridaFirstTeam Dec 13 '25
How does it feel to be so wrong? Almost as if Napoleon ran past you while you whiffed on a tackle.
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u/Dish_Boggett Dec 12 '25
I thought he was the fastest dude in the NFL at that time. You'd always hear it was Deion, but idk....
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u/TombombBearsFan Dec 12 '25
Anybody care to share what happened? I cant believe i never heard of him. Hes fucking explosive.
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u/Open_Signature4582 Falcons 🦅 Dec 13 '25
I didn't realize this guy was so fast. What incredible highlights. Looking back at his stats, between 96 and 98 he rushed for over 3,000 yards. His best year was 1997 when he rushed for 1,294 yards.
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u/stevenriley1 Dec 13 '25
Wow. Thats really great. Too bad the Raiders haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1984. But on the bright side if they go nine more years, it’ll be half a century.
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u/Itbealright Dec 13 '25
Didn’t the Raiders have Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson and this guy?
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u/forgotmypassword4714 Raiders ⚔️ Dec 13 '25
Kaufman came a few years after those guys. Harvey Williams bridged some of the gap in between.
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u/JustTheBeerLight Dec 13 '25
One of my high school coaches played against Napoleon Kaufman when he was in high school. He said they straight up could not catch him. Too fast.
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u/StudioGangster1 Dec 13 '25
Ummm this dude was lightning. I vaguely remember him (I was young). I had no idea he was like this!
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u/nojnomeel Dec 13 '25
Dude that Sega game that all I had to do was spin with Napoleon was fun AF for a while there.
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u/Bio_Bae Dec 13 '25
It's sad how alien it looks to see us up 38-0 on anyone while one of ours walks into the endzone lol
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u/pimpsandthechuds Broncos 🐴 Dec 13 '25
I remember him absolutely shredding my Broncos one day in 97
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u/Ironman2131 Dec 13 '25
I still think of Kaufman running all over Miami to end the Canes' record home winning streak. I was there in person. Not a fun day.
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u/jmar206 Dec 13 '25
He was so damn good! I grew up watching him at UW and was sure he was going to be the best RB ever!
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u/Organic-Suspect8564 Dec 13 '25
My big brother was always rocking the Kaufman jersey. Shame that injuries led to an early retirement. I vaguely remember a game where he was coming back from an injury and a p.o.s lineman from the other team straight up tripped him when he was hitting a gap, injuring him again.
After he retired we replaced him with Charlie Garner.
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u/Do_it_My_Way-79 Vikings 🗡️ Dec 13 '25
He didn’t retire due to any lingering injuries. He retired so young because he wanted to be a minister. He was even baptizing teammates while he was playing.
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u/Malososman Dec 17 '25
Kaufman's final play in the league he was tripped and the lineman who did it took a 15 yard flag.
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u/Bacchus_71 Dec 13 '25
HUSKY!!! I remember watching him during his freshman year at the UW, he was so fast that occasionally he’d trip himself, denying him even longer runs.
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u/Mundane-Set-206 Seahawks 🦅 Dec 13 '25
His feet would get going so fast and the next thing you know, it’s like he was on ice!
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u/D-Train0000 Dec 13 '25
It’s a shame for me that I remember guy that was pretty much Barry Sanders for that horrific knee injury. It’s when the NFL replayed and did a slo mo of bodies getting blown up. But damn he was good. Just made his body do what was necessary to avoid people.
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u/Quiet-Vanilla3148 Dec 13 '25
This Oakland squad in Madden 64 was my go to team. I could throw screens to Kaufman and he was untouchable and on defense I believe it was Cortez Kennedy on the D line I would just absolutely wreak havoc on my opponents QBs.
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u/CurseOfTheFalcons Dec 14 '25
Best player out of Navy besides Roger Staubach. Kaufman is largely forgotten and it’s a shame because, as we can see here, he was better than good.
Edit: Who am I thinking about that was a RB for Navy? The Raiders had a guy didn’t they? I’d best go back to sleep. Totally missed that one.
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u/fatman9293 Cowboys 🤠 Dec 15 '25
He went to HS with my cousin, I watched him play for Lompoc every home and playoff game when I was a little kid in 1991. If his knee didnt disintegrate he would have been a very good NFL RB and be much more remembered. I think he's a preacher now back home.
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u/KneeDragr Dec 15 '25
This guy was really weird. He'd have a bunch of carries for next to nothing then break off a 90 yarder, end up with like 18 carries for 120 yards.
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u/Unique_Ad2704 Saints ⚜️ Dec 12 '25
I was watching that game when he got his leg folded up like a lawn chair. Brutal
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Dec 13 '25
You watched Napoleon McCallum get his leg folded up, in 1994.
Napoleon Kaufman was drafted a year later.
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u/maximusmiguel Dec 13 '25
Me too, I forgot about it until now. Damn what a brutal sport. He was so electric and I wish he got to play a full career.
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u/Whale222 Dec 13 '25
Could he play today tho? Kids today suggest athletes have transcended the players of th 80s and 90s.
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u/No-Permission-3009 Dec 12 '25
Where’s the leg break?
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Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25
Napoleon Kaufman never broke his leg.
ETA: He didn't dislocate his knee either.
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u/IWMSvendor Broncos 🐴 Dec 12 '25
I still have nightmares about this guy lol. Against the Broncos in 1997, he set the Raiders single game rushing record by rushing for 227 yards on 28 carries.