10 greatest running backs in NFL history

Gale Sayers' career may have been brief, but there is no denying "The Kansas Comet" deserves a spot on this list. The Bears running back was quick and elusive with the uncanny ability to make defensive players miss. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro during his seven-year career, leading the league in rushing yards twice and winning the 1965 AP Rookie of the Year. His 22 rushing touchdowns his rookie season still holds as a rookie record.

Injuries derailed Sayers' career, though, causing him to play four games over his last two years in the NFL before retiring. Yet, his first five seasons in the league were so dominant and impressive he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If not for injuries shortening his career, there is no telling what Sayers could have done with a few more healthy years.

It is hard to find any running back in NFL history that had such a great start to his career as Earl Campbell did. “The Tyler Rose” showed why the Oilers took him first overall by leading the league in rushing his first three seasons in the league, including a 1979 season in which he rushed for 1,697 yards, averaging a remarkable 128.9 yards per game, and led the league with 19 rushing touchdowns to claim the MVP. The next season he one-upped his rushing mark with a career-best 1,934 yards and would have reached 2,000 if he did not miss a game.

Campbell’s career was halted by injuries but he still put together five seasons of at least 1,300 rushing yards and was a three-time AP Offensive Player of the Year as he established a dominance few have seen in the league.

The St. Louis Rams could not be “The Greatest Show on Turf” without Marshall Faulk. The seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro was arguably the most dangerous weapon in the offense. In 1999, Faulk rushed for 1,381 yards and racked up 1,048 receiving yards and remains just one of three players to ever accomplish that feat. He also helped lead the Rams to a Super Bowl that season. In 2000, he led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns en route to an MVP season.

Faulk never led the league in rushing, but did lead the league twice in yards from scrimmage. He had seven seasons of at least 1,000 rushing yards and four seasons of at least 2,000 yards from scrimmage. He is the only running back in NFL history with at least 12,000 rushing yards and 6,000 receiving yards. Faulk’s 767 career receptions are the most all time for any running back. He ranks fifth all time with the most yards from scrimmage and seventh all time for the most rushing and receiving TDs (fourth among running backs).

Eric Dickerson holds one of the most impressive marks in NFL history — the single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, which he set back in 1984. Yet, it was more than just that one special season that made Dickerson a special player. He was a six-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro who led the NFL in rushing yards four times in his career.

He had six straight seasons of at least 1,200 yards and had more than 2,000 total yards from scrimmage in four seasons. He ranks ninth on the all-time rushing leaders list.

The “other LT” is worthy of earning the same nickname as Lawrence Taylor with the career he had. Tomlinson was an electric runner and one of the best scorers in the game’s history, finishing with 145 rushing touchdowns for second all time. His 2006 MVP season was one of the best ever by a running back, rushing for 1,815 yards and 28 touchdowns — the latter a single-season record that still holds.

Tomlinson was a dual-threat out of the backfield, accumulating 624 catches for 4,772 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns in his career, too. He ranks sixth all-time in yards from scrimmage and third all-time with 162 rushing and receiving touchdowns, trailing Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith.

By the way, Tomlinson also threw seven touchdown passes in his career, too, proving he was a rare breed who could do it all.

Playing in an era dominated by the passing game, Adrian Peterson was a throwback to old-school, run-it-down-your-throat football and nobody had an answer to stop him. He is a seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro who led the league in rushing three times and rushing touchdowns twice.

He was the MVP in 2012 — a rarity for a running back in the modern game — rushing for 2,097 yards, falling nine yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season record. Oh, and he did it bouncing back from an ACL injury the previous year. Peterson ranks fourth on the all-time rushing touchdown leaders list with 118 and fifth on the rushing leaders. The 36-year-old’s longevity has been impressive with a robust 15-year career and possibly more but he remains unsigned heading into 2021 training camp.

Emmitt Smith is one of the most accomplished running backs of all time. He is the all-time rushing yards (18,355) and rushing touchdowns leader in NFL history (164) — the former which may never be broken. He is a three-time Super Bowl champion, eight-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro.

Smith won the MVP in 1993 but it probably wasn't even his best season. That came in 1995 when he led the league with a career-high 1,773 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns — breaking the previous record held by John Riggins.

One could argue that Walter Payton deserves the top spot. He certainly has an impressive case to make. The Hall of Fame running back, who went by the nickname "Sweetness," is one of the most prolific runners the game has ever seen. He was a nine-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro in his 13-year career. He was the 1977 MVP when he led the league with 1,852 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns as well as 2,121 yards from scrimmage.

He broke Jim Brown’s record for the all-time career rushing yards leader and held it until Emmitt Smith passed him in 2002. His 110 rushing touchdowns ranks fifth all time and he has the third-most all-purpose yards of all time. Payton had 10 seasons of at least 1,200 rushing yards and 1,500 yards from scrimmage.

Like Payton, there is certainly a case to be made that Barry Sanders belongs at the top of this list. The Hall of Fame running back was one of the most dynamic rushers the game has ever seen. He was a 10-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro, leading the league in rushing yards four times in his 10-year career.

Sanders was MVP in 1997 when he rushed for 2,053 yards (the fourth-best single season mark of all time) and 11 touchdowns. Even in his "worst" statistical season he rushed for 1,115 yards (in 1993) and he missed five games that year. Sanders also retired in his prime at 30 years old, but still ranks fourth on the all-time rushing leaders list and 10th in touchdowns.

Jim Brown played in an era where the running game was dominant and nobody was better than him. In fact, he is arguably a top-five greatest football player of all time. Brown dominated the game like not other, leading the league in rushing in eight of his nine seasons and touchdowns in five of them. He was a three-time MVP and a Pro Bowler in all nine of his seasons and All-Pro in eight.

Brown won a championship with Cleveland in 1964 — rushing for 114 yards on 27 carries — the last time the Browns franchise won a title. Like Sanders, he likely would have gone on to put up even greater career totals and more impressive seasons but retired at age 29 to pursue an acting career.