Best Running Backs in NFL History
Walter Payton was tough to tackle.
The best thing we can say about the greatest running backs in National Football League history is the variety.
There are small, compact scat backs.
There are big, powerful, punishing runners.
There are magicians, whose moves still can’t be explained.
But they all have one thing in common — they helped craft and define the running back position as we know it today.
Here are the best players to ever hold down the position.
25. Ollie Matson
Ollie Matson with the Chicago Cardinals in 1954.
Career: 14 seasons (1952-66)
Teams: Chicago Cardinals (1952-58), Los Angeles Rams (1959-62), Detroit Lions (1963), Philadelphia Eagles (1964-66)
Stats: 171 games, 1,170 attempts, 5,183 rushing yards, 4.4 yards/attempt, 40 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: Ollie Matson was one of the league’s first great punishing runners.
He was so good that the Rams acquired him from the Chicago Cardinals in 1959 and traded nine players just for Matson.
A Hall of Famer, Matson retired with 12,799 all-purpose yards in 1966 — second only to Jim Brown at the time.
24. Tiki Barber
New York Giants running back Tiki Barber in 2006.
Career: 10 seasons (1997-2006)
Teams: New York Giants
Stats: 154 games, 2,217 attempts, 10,449 rushing yards, 4.7 yards/attempt, 55 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: Tiki Barber was a shifty, quick runner with a great ability to make defenders miss.
Much of that was due to having a "hitter’s eye" and the ability to spot a hole.
Barber is one of the few players with more than 10,000 rushing yards not in the Hall of Fame.
23. Marion Motley
Cleveland Browns fullback Marion Motley in 1950.
Career: 9 seasons (1946-55)
Teams: Cleveland Browns (1946-53), Pittsburgh Steelers (1955)
Stats: 105 games, 820 attempts, 4,720 rushing yards, 5.7 yards/attempt, 31 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 1 (1953)
Bottom line: Marion Motley’s stats seem awfully modest, but for a reason — he was a two-way player who was a linebacker on defense.
His 5.7 yards per carry is phenomenal and still leads all running backs in that category.
If you needed one yard, Motley was the man to get it with his relentless style.
22. Joe Perry
Joe Perry ran 9,723 yards in his career.
Career: 14 seasons (1948-62)
Teams: San Francisco (1948-60, 1963), Baltimore Colts (1961-62)
Stats: 183 games, 1,929 attempts, 9,723 rushing yards, 5.0 yards/attempt, 71 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: Joe Perry was the first black player to be named the NFL’s MVP.
When he finally decided to retire, he was the league’s all-time leading rusher at the time.
Perry, who made three Pro Bowls, is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
21. John Riggins
Washington Redskins running back John Riggins in 1977.
Career: 14 seasons (1971-85)
Teams: New York Jets (1971-75), Washington Redskins (1976-85)
Stats: 175 games, 2,916 attempts, 11,352 rushing yards, 3.9 yards/attempt, 116 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 1 (1983)
Bottom line: John Riggins was one of the NFL’s great all-time characters. He once famously, if mostly inebriated, told then-Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to "Lighten up, Sandy."
Riggins also was one the game's greats, and his career took with the Redskins.
His fourth-and-1 carry for a 43-yard touchdown helped clinch the Super Bowl against the Dolphins.
20. Jim Taylor
Green Bay Packers running back Jim Taylor in 1960.
Career: 10 seasons (158-67)
Teams: Green Bay Packers (1958-66); New Orleans Saints (1967)
Stats: 142 games, 1,941 attempts, 8,597 rushing yards, 4.4 yards/attempt, 93 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 4 (1961, 1962, 1965. 1966)
Bottom line: No question Jim Taylor is one of football's best running backs.
His accolades include an MVP award, five Pro Bowls and four championships, including the first-ever Super Bowl.
Famous for his personal rivalry with New York Giants lineman Sam Huff, Taylor took an abnormal amount of punishment in games — but also dished it out.
19. Jerome Bettis
All aboard.
Career: 13 seasons (1993-2005)
Teams: Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams (1993-95), Pittsburgh Steelers (1996-2005)
Stats: 192 games, 3,479 attempts, 13,662 rushing yards, 3.9 yards/attempt, 94 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 2006
Bottom line: After starting his NFL career with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for the Rams, Jerome Bettis had a subpar third season with just 637 yards on the ground.
He was traded in the offseason. Big mistake.
Bettis thrived with the Steelers and became one of the NFL’s greatest power runners.
18. Terrell Davis
T.D., as in touchdown.
Career: 7 seasons
Teams: Denver Broncos (1995-2001)
Stats: 78, games, 1,655 attempts, 7,607 rushing yards, 4.6 yards/attempt, 65 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 2 (1998, 1999)
Bottom line: Imagine if Terrell Davis had stayed healthy enough to play as long as NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith?
In reality, Davis played just five full seasons as his last three years added up to just one full season.
Smith played 15 years and averaged 1,224 yards per season. If Davis was healthy enough to average that, he would have hit 18,355 yards in two fewer seasons.
17. Edgerrin James
Beware of "Edge."
Career: 11 seasons (1999-2009)
Teams: Indianapolis Colts (1999-2005), Arizona Cardinals (2006-08), Seattle Seahawks (2009)
Stats: 148 games, 3,028 attempts, 12,246 rushing yards, 4.0 yards/attempt, 91 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: Edgerrin James was one of the best all-around backs in the NFL.
A premier runner, he also played seven seasons with Peyton Mannings and turned into one of the league’s best pass-catching backs.
A four-time Pro Bowl selection, James is currently 13th on the all-time rushing list.
16. Marshall Faulk
Off to the races.
Career: 12 seasons (1994-2005)
Teams: Indianapolis Colts (1994-98), St. Louis Rams (1999-2005)
Stats: 176 games, 2,836 attempts, 12,279 rushing yards, 4.3 yards/attempt, 136 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 1 (2000)
Bottom line: Tremendous career, and he seemingly got better as he got older.
A league MVP, Marshall Faulk was voted to the Pro Bowl seven times and was later elected to the Hall of Fame.
His game was vastly improved due to the fact that he was a prolific receiver who also caught 36 touchdown passes.
15. Thurman Thomas
Can you say underrated?
Career: 13 seasons (1988-2000)
Teams: Buffalo Bills (1988-99), Miami Dolphins (2000)
Stats: 182 games, 2,877 attempts, 12,074 rushing yards, 4.2 yards/attempt, 88 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: Thurman Thomas had a terrific career. The only thing missing was a Super Bowl championship after four tries.
Nonetheless, the one-time MVP was voted to the Pro Bowl five times and was later enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
14. Curtis Martin
Baller.
Career: 11 seasons (1995-2005)
Teams: New England Patriots (1995-97), New York Jets (1998-2005)
Stats: 168 games, 3,518 attempts, 14,101 rushing yards, 4.0 yards/attempt, 100 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: Arguably the quietist 14,000-yard, top-10 rusher in NFL history.
Curtis Martin might not have been loud or flamboyant, but he was incredibly talented and consistent with 10 1,000-yard seasons in 11 years.
A Hall of Famer, Martin was a five-time Pro Bowl selection.
13. Adrian Peterson
All Day.
Career: 14 seasons (2007-present)
Teams: Minnesota Vikings (2007-16), Arizona Cardinals (2017), New Orleans Saints (2017), Washington Redskins (2018-present)
Stats: 164 games, 3,036 attempts, 14,216 rushing yards, 4.7 yards/attempt, 117 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: Adrian Peterson has had some untimely injuries that have impeded his career.
Yet as it stands right now, Peterson is fifth on the all-time NFL rushing list after surpassing Curtis Martin.
A.P. or A.D., as he is known, has been a four-time All-Pro selection.
12. Frank Gore
San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore (21) runs with the ball during an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008, in Seattle.
Career: 15 seasons (2005-present)
Teams: San Francisco 49ers (2005-14), Indianapolis Colts (2015-17); Miami Dolphins (2018), Buffalo Bills (2019-present)
Stats: 226 games, 3,548 attempts, 15,347 rushing yards, 4.3 yards/attempt, 97 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: If there’s a deterioration of skills, it’s hard to catch.
Frank Gore might seem an unlikely choice to be the NFL’s third greatest rusher of all time, but he has been a picture of consistency.
He has registered 13 seasons of rushing for more than 900 yards or better in 14 years.
11. Gale Sayers
Gale Sayers played in only 68 NFL games.
Career: 7 seasons (1965-71)
Teams: Chicago Bears
Stats: 68 games, 991 attempts, 4,956 rushing yards, 5.0 yards/attempt, 48 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: You won’t find Gale Sayers in the top 10, or even the top 50, of all-time rushers, not with his career cut short by knee injuries.
He is, however, in the top 10 all-time for yards per attempt with 5.0, showing just how great Sayers really was.
In his first five years — the last two he only played a total of four games — Sayers led the league in rushing twice and was voted to the Pro Bowl four times. He is enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
10. O.J. Simpson
O.J. had the juice on the football field.
Career: 11 seasons (1969-79)
Teams: Buffalo Bills (1969-77), San Francisco 49ers (1978-79)
Stats: 135 games, 2,404 attempts, 11,235 rushing yards, 4.7 yards/attempt, 75 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: This is a football conversation, and from a football standpoint, O.J. Simpson was perhaps the most talented back in the league of his era and since the days of Jim Brown.
Simpson remains the only player in NFL history to gain 2,000 rushing yards in a 14-game season when he did it in 1973.
9. Marcus Allen
Marcus Allen in 1982.
Career: 16 seasons (1982-97)
Teams: Los Angeles Raiders (1982-92); Kansas City Chiefs (1993-97)
Stats: 222 games, 3,022 attempts, 12,243 rushing yards, 4.1 yards/attempt, 144 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 1 (1984)
Bottom line: Marcus Allen might have had the greatest individual run from scrimmage in the Super Bowl with his reverse-course touchdown against Washington.
A league MVP, he became the first back in the league to reach 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving.
He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
8. Earl Campbell
Houston Oilers running back Earl Campbell turns the corner in 1978.
Career: 9 seasons (1978-85)
Teams: Houston Oilers (1978-84), New Orleans Saints (1984-85)
Stats: 115 games, 2,187 attempts, 9,407 rushing yards, 4.3 yards/attempt, 74 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: One of the toughest, most difficult players to take down in NFL history.
A one-time MVP, Earl Campbell led the league in rushing three times and was voted to five Pro Bowls.
He is enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
7. Eric Dickerson
Good luck catching Eric Dickerson.
Career: 12 seasons (1983-93)
Teams: Los Angeles Rams (1983-87), Indianapolis Colts (1987-91), Los Angeles Raiders (1992), Atlanta Falcons (1993)
Stats: 146 games, 2,996 attempts, 13,259 rushing yards, 4.4 yards/attempt, 96 TD
Super Bowl titles (or NFL championships): 0
Bottom line: Eric Dickerson’s resume is unparalleled.
He led the league in rushing four times, still holds the NFL record for most rushing yards in a season (2,105 yards) and was voted to the Pro Bowl six times.
He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
6. LaDainian Tomlinson
Take that.
Career: 11 seasons (2001-11)
Teams: San Diego Chargers (2001-09), New York Jets (2010-11)
Stats: 170 games, 3,174 attempts, 13,684 rushing yards, 4.3 yards/attempt, 162 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: Maybe the most prolific touchdown scorer in league history.
In his first nine years in the league, LaDainian Tomlinson never had a season with less than 10 touchdowns and had an amazing 28 rushing scores in 2006.
Tomlinson is in the Hall of Fame.
5. Tony Dorsett
Tony Dorsett was tough to catch.
Career: 12 seasons (1977-88)
Teams: Dallas Cowboys (1977-87), Denver Broncos (1988)
Stats: 173 games, 2,986 attempts, 12,739 rushing yards, 4.3 yards/attempt, 90 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 1 (1978)
Bottom line: Given the resume that Tony Dorsett has, and given the success of the Dallas Cowboys franchise, it’s almost hard to believe that during his tenure as a Cowboy, he only won one Super Bowl.
Nonetheless, with more than 16,000 yards from scrimmage, Dorsett is one of the all-time greats, as his Hall of Fame selection attests.
4. Walter Payton
Sweetness.
Career: 13 seasons (1975-87)
Teams: Chicago Bears
Stats: 190 games, 3,838 attempts, 16,726 rushing yards, 4.4 yards/attempt, 125 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 1 (1985)
Bottom line: He wasn’t called "Sweetness" for nothing.
And the NFL’s Man of the Year award isn’t named after him for nothing, either.
A tremendous career, with more than 21,000 yards from scrimmage, Walter Payton was a Super Bowl champion, a league MVP, nine times a Pro Bowler, and is in the Hall of Fame.
3. Emmitt Smith
There goes Emmitt.
Career: 15 seasons (1990-2004)
Teams: Dallas Cowboys (1990-2002), Arizona Cardinals (2003-04)
Stats: 226 games, 4,409 attempts, 18,355 rushing yards, 4.2 yards/attempt, 175 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 3 (1993, 1994, 1996)
Bottom line: The NFL’s all-time rushing leader, with a figure that will be difficult to beat.
Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson are roughly 3,000 and 5,000 yards away, respectively, but both are lucky if they have a season or two left, if that.
Smith not only has the most yards and touchdowns in league history. His 1,586 rushing yards in the playoffs are also an NFL best.
2. Barry Sanders
See ya, later.
Career: 10 seasons (1989-98)
Teams: Detroit Lions
Stats: 153 games, 3,062 attempts, 15,269 rushing yards, 5.0 yards/attempt, 109 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 0
Bottom line: Another one of those "what if?" players.
What if Barry Sanders hadn’t grown weary of being beat up on some mediocre Detroit Lions teams?
What if he didn’t decide to abruptly retire after 10 years from a career in which the least amount of yards he rushed for was 1,115 — in an 11-game season — and rushed for more than 1,400 yards in his final year at age 30?
What if?
1. Jim Brown
The greatest.
Career: 9 seasons (1957-65)
Teams: Cleveland Browns
Stats: 118 games, 2,359 attempts, 12,312 rushing yards, 5.2 yards/attempt, 126 TD
Super Bowl titles/NFL championships: 1 (1964)
Bottom line: Jim Brown is generally acknowledged as the standard-bearer with it comes to NFL running backs, a dazzling combination of speed and power.
This Hall of Famer was a three-time league MVP who also was selected to the Pro Bowl eight times in his nine years.