It’s time to establish the run.
If you receive the ball to start the game and get to pick just one running back to do that, who would you pick?
Well, there is arguably no position in NFL history that has a more storied history than running back. For much of the early seasons of the NFL, the tailback was the focal point of a team’s offense.
As the game has evolved, the importance of the running back has been redefined in more recent seasons. But there are still several running backs who’ve emerged as all-time greats in recent decades.
So, which running back would you pick to give the ball on first-and-10? Here are the 10 greatest running backs of all time.
1. Emmitt Smith
Smith was arguably the most important piece of the Cowboys‘ dynasty in the 1990s. He became one of the league’s best running backs right away, rushing for 937 yards and 11 touchdowns to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and earn his first of eight Pro Bowl nods in 1990. He rushed for 1,563 yards the next season, winning his first of four rushing titles. He rushed for even more yards in 1992, putting up 1,713 yards en route to the Cowboys’ Super Bowl-winning season.
Smith helped the Cowboys win back-to-back titles in 1993, rushing for 1,418 yards to win MVP before rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns in Super Bowl XXVIII to win MVP of the game. He also helped the Cowboys win their third Super Bowl title in 1995 before adding to his stats in the late 1990s through 2004, playing two seasons with the Cardinals.
Smith finished as the NFL’s all-time rushing leader (18,335) and all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (164).
2. Walter Payton
Prior to Smith, Payton held the all-time rushing yards record. The Bears legend rushed for 16,726 career yards, dominating on the ground in the late 1970s through the mid-80s. He was named an All-Pro eight times and a Pro Bowler nine times in his career. He rushed for 1,852 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1977 to win MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. Eight years later, he finished second in MVP voting when he rushed for 1,551 yards and nine touchdowns. That year also ended with Payton winning his first and only Super Bowl, with his presence helping the Bears offense flourish in the postseason.
3. Adrian Peterson
In an era dominated by quarterbacks and the passing game, Peterson had a season so special that he broke through and won MVP. He rushed for 2,097 yards (second-most ever in a season) and 12 touchdowns in 2012, making him the most recent running back to win MVP. Five years earlier, Peterson won Offensive Rookie of the Year when he rushed for 1,341 yards in 14 games. In one game that year, he rushed for 296 yards, the most ever in an NFL game. Peterson finished his career fifth in rushing yards (14,918) and fourth in rushing touchdowns (120) as he earned seven Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods.
4. Barry Sanders
In every single season Sanders played, he was named a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro. The 10-time Pro Bowler dominated the NFL from 1989-98, winning MVP in 1997 and two Offensive Player of the Year awards. He led the league in rushing four times (1990, 1994, 1996, 1997) and in rushing touchdowns once in 1991. Sanders’ abrupt retirement ahead of the 1999 season hurt his ranking in all-time stats, but he’s still fourth all-time in rushing yards (15,269) and 11th in career rushing touchdowns (99) because of his dominance.
5. Jim Brown
Similar to Sanders, Brown had a dominant but relatively brief career for a man who became an all-time great. He was also named a Pro Bowler in all nine seasons he played (1957-65). He won MVP three times (1957, 1958, 1965) and led the league in rushing in all but one of his nine seasons. He also helped the Browns win their most recent NFL championship in 1964. When he retired ahead of the 1966 season, Brown had the all-time rushing yards record (12,312) and the NFL’s total touchdown record (126), holding both records for decades.
6. LaDainian Tomlinson
Tomlinson’s 2006 season might be the best ever for any player. The Chargers great dominated as a running back and had a strong year as a receiver, too. He rushed for 1,815 yards and 28 touchdowns to go with 508 receiving yards and three receiving scores, giving him the record for most touchdowns ever in a season (31) as he won MVP. Tomlinson was strong outside of that season, too. The six-time All-Pro led the NFL in rushing twice and rushing touchdowns three times. The Hall of Famer finished his career seventh in rushing (13,684) and third in total touchdowns (162).
7. Marshall Faulk
Before Tomlinson, Faulk put on one of the greatest dual-threat running back displays in NFL history. In his MVP-winning season in 2000, Faulk rushed for 1,359 yards and 18 touchdowns to go with 830 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns. His performance that season was sandwiched between a pair of Super Bowl appearances for the Rams, winning it all in 1999. He actually had 1,359 rushing yards and 1,048 receiving yards in their Super Bowl-winning season. Faulk finished with 19,190 all-purpose yards (eighth-most of all time) and 136 total touchdowns (seventh-most all-time).
8. Eric Dickerson
No one has ever rushed for more yards in a single season than Eric Dickerson. When he was with the Rams in 1984, the second-year running back took off for an NFL record 2,104 rushing yards to go with 14 rushing touchdowns. That actually came after a tremendous rookie campaign where he rushed for a league-leading 1,808 yards along with 18 touchdowns, finishing second in MVP both seasons. Dickerson remained one of the game’s best running backs through the 1980s, even after his trade to the Colts. He finished his career as a six-time Pro Bowler with 13,259 (ninth-most all-time) and 90 career rushing touchdowns (14th-most all-time).
9. Curtis Martin
Not many running backs were as consistent as Martin. The 11-year pro rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of his first 10 seasons, scoring 32 total touchdowns over his first two seasons in the league with the Patriots as he helped them reach the Super Bowl in 1996. He continued that strong play with the Jets, helping the organization’s turnaround in the late 1990s as he rushed for over 2,700 yards in his first two years in New York. He actually had his best season in the penultimate year of his career, going for 1,697 yards in 2004. That consistency helped Martin earn five Pro Bowl nods and rush for 14,101 yards in his career, which is the sixth-most ever.
10. Frank Gore
As Martin was consistent in the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s, Gore seemingly carried that consistency torch. The longtime 49ers running back rushed for at least 1,000 yards in all but three seasons from 2006-16, helping the 49ers emerge as one of the best teams in football at one point during that stretch. His consistency helped him earn five Pro Bowl nods, earning an All-Pro honor when he rushed for a career-high 1,695 yards in 2006. Gore’s longevity (16 seasons) and consistency helped him finish third all-time in rushing yards with exactly 16,000.
Honorable mentions:
Tony Dorsett
Marcus Allen
Thurman Thomas
Franco Harris
Edgerrin James
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