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Who are the top running backs in NFL history? Here is our top 10 countdown:
Note: Updated in 2022.
10. Marshall Faulk: perhaps the best dual-threat running back in history, Faulk was only the second running back with 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in a season (after Roger Craig); moreover, he is the only running back in history with at least 12,000 rushing yards (12,279 yards with seven 1,000-yard seasons) and 6,000 receiving yards, which includes 136 touchdowns scored (100 rushing and 36 receiving).
9. Adrian Peterson: with eight 1,000-yard seasons and three rushing titles (including a 2,097-yard campaign in his 2012 MVP season), Peterson racked up nearly 15,000 rushing yards with 120 rushing touchdowns in his career.
8. Earl Campbell: while his bruising running style ultimately shortened his career, Campbell led the NFL in rushing his first three years, and rushed for a total of 9,407 yards and 74 touchdowns in just eight seasons.
7. LaDainian Tomlinson: one of the most prolific touchdown scorers in NFL history, Tomlinson set a record with 31 total touchdowns scored in 2006; overall for his career, he had eight 1,000-yard seasons and led the NFL in rushing 2x en route to 13,684 rushing yards and 145 rushing touchdowns.
6. Eric Dickerson: the NFL’s single-season rushing leader (2,105 yards in 1984), Dickerson had seven 1,000-yard seasons and four rushing titles as part of his 13,259 career rushing yards and 90 rushing touchdowns.
5. Emmitt Smith: one of the cornerstones of the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s, Smith is the NFL’s all-time rushing leader with 18,355 rushing yards and 164 rushing touchdowns (also a record) on the strength of 11 1,000-yard seasons and four rushing titles.
4. Gale Sayers: though injuries limited him to effectively five full NFL seasons, Sayers was electric when he played – a 5x All-Pro who led the league in rushing twice and also has the highest kickoff return average in history (30.6 yards), he remains the youngest ever inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
3. Barry Sanders: though he retired just shy of breaking Walter Payton’s then-career rushing record, Sanders led the NFL in rushing 4x in his decade-long career, including a 2,000-yard season in his 1997 MVP season (2,053 yards); overall, he had 1,000+ rushing yards every season and racked up totals of 15,269 rushing yards and 99 rushing touchdowns.
2. Walter Payton: the NFL’s career rushing leader upon retirement (16,726 yards), Payton interestingly only won one rushing title, but was a model of consistency with 10 1,000-yard seasons and 110 rushing touchdowns that earned him an MVP and five All-Pro selections.
1. Jim Brown: a 3x MVP who led the NFL in rushing yards 8x in nine seasons played, Brown averaged 5.2 yards per rushing attempt and is the only player to average over 100 rushing yards per game (104.3) en route to 12,312 rushing yards and 106 rushing touchdowns, all of which were records when he retired to pursue an acting career.
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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