Droughns played college football at the University of Oregon in 1998 and 1999 and was a two-year starter after a stellar two-year career at Merced Junior College in California, and was a first-team All-Pac-10 choice as a senior. He ranks sixth on Oregon's all-time rushing list with 2,058 yards. Droughns had 1,234 yards and nine touchdowns on 277 carries as a senior, including rushing for over 200 yards in three contests. In his first game for Oregon, he ran for 202 yards and two scores against Michigan State. One of his most impressive performances came at UCLA, where he ran for 172 yards and a score despite fracturing his right fibula during the contest, an injury that would force him to miss the rest of the season. Droughns was a history major at Oregon. He was a JUCO All-America at Merced after leading the nation in yards in 1997 with 1,611 and leading the state of California in all-purpose yardage with 1,984. Prep Star Magazine deemed him the nation's top JUCO running back after that campaign. He was an honorable mention All-American as a freshman.
Professional career
Detroit Lions
2000 season
He was drafted by the Detroit Lions out of the University of Oregon, in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Droughns spent the 2000 season on injured reserve after separating his right shoulder on his first carry in Detroit's opening preseason game against the New England on August 4, then placed on injured reserve August 22.
2001 season
During the 2001 season, he played in nine games and started three for the Lions, rushing for 72 yards on 30 carries and catching four passes for 21 yards and a touchdown. He was waived by Detroit after Week 1 and was signed to Miami's practice squad on September 18 before being re-signed by the Lions on October 9.
Denver Broncos
2002-2004 seasons
Droughns played for the Denver Broncos for three seasons from 2002 to 2004. Although originally intended to be a fullback, he ultimately rushed for 1,240 yards in 2004. He also tied a playoff franchise record by returning 6 kickoffs in the wildcard loss to Indianapolis, January 4, 2004. Despite this production, Droughns was not guaranteed the starting job for the 2005 season, so he asked for a trade.
On March 9, 2007, Droughns was traded to the New York Giants in exchange for wide receiverTim Carter. Droughns battled Derrick Ward for the back-up job but became the third running back for the Giants, and helped the Giants replace the retired Tiki Barber. However, due to his poor performances throughout the year, he dropped to fourth on the Giants depth chart behind rookie Ahmad Bradshaw, and was replaced by Domenik Hixon as kick returner after similar special-teams performances. He was however, primarily used as a goal-line/third down back for most of the regular season, recording a team-leading 6 touchdowns for the season. During the 2008 preseason, the emergence of D.J. Ware dropped Droughns to fifth on the Giants depth chart at running back, but he managed to make the final 53-man roster playing primarily on special teams. Droughns was released by the Giants on February 9, 2009.
Legal trouble
During the 2005 season on November 1, Droughns was pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence after a breathalyzer showed he was over the legal limit. Nevertheless, he missed no playing time, and on May 9, 2006, he was acquitted of all charges.
