Running back is a unique position. It’s constantly devalued in today’s NFL as the modern game is centered primarily on pass-happy offenses and high-volume numbers. But when you have a special player like Adrian Peterson – a ball-carrier who can run with the football, catch passes, and block – he’s a franchise player worth keeping around. The greatest of all-time were those who could do everything a running back needed to do, and most importantly, they stayed on the field for many seasons.
What I Looked At to Compile My Rankings:
Running backs on here are judged by their raw skills – power, speed, ability to block, and catch the football. Longevity helps, but a player’s peak is valued more for this position than any others, considering the lifespan of a great running back can be just a few seasons. Postseason accolades didn’t make or break a running back, but they certainly helped.
I ranked 100 running backs on this list, so I broke the article into three parts for easier reading. This part will focus on the running backs ranked 50 through 21. Part III will be for the game’s 20 greatest running backs of all-time.
Click here to read Part I: running backs ranked 100-51.
50. Jamal Lewis (2000-2009)
Jamal Lewis won’t make the Hall of Fame, but he had a very successful career. Lewis rushed for 1,364 yards and helped the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl in his rookie season. He rebounded from a serious knee injury in ’01 to put up another 1,300-yard campaign in ’02, and he put up what was then the second-highest single-season rushing total (2,066 yards) in league history in 2003. Lewis is one of 29 running backs to top the 10,000-yard career rushing mark.
49. Chris Johnson (2008-Active)
Chris Johnson is one of the fastest running backs to ever play, and he used that speed to put up a 2,000-yard campaign in his second NFL season. Only two running backs in history (Eric Dickerson and Earl Campbell) have topped Johnson’s rushing output in his first three seasons (4,598 yards). Johnson’s 2,509 yards from scrimmage in 2009 is the single-season record, and he did that with a Vince Young-led passing game that rated 23rd in yards. Johnson is still producing, having put up 814 ground yards for the 2015 Arizona Cardinals at the age of 30.
48. Warrick Dunn (1997-2008)
There are only three Hall of Fame-eligible running backs with 15,000 yards from scrimmage who have not been elected: Dunn, Tiki Barber, and Edgerrin James. Dunn got better as his career went on, producing more rushing yards in his last six years (5,840) than his first six (5,127). What keeps Dunn from ranking higher is that he was nearly touchdown-averse; he rushed for just six total touchdowns in his first 47 games, despite starting 39 of those and carrying the ball 664 times. Five separate times he accumulated over 200 carries in a season without even reaching five rushing touchdowns.
47. Larry Csonka (1968-1979)
Larry Csonka was the best running back on the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins team that rode their three-headed monster of a backfield to a Super Bowl title and then another one the following season. There aren’t many running backs throughout history that measured 6’3”, 237 pounds, especially not 40 years ago. Csonka played through countless injuries – broken noses, concussions, and a ruptured eardrum – and earned a reputation as the toughest man in football. In the Dolphins’ perfect ’72 run, Csonka rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl, then posted the following statlines in the ’73 repeat: 20-71-1, 29-117-3, and 33-145-2.
46. Roger Craig (1983-1993)
Roger Craig was the closest thing to Marshall Faulk before there was Marshall Faulk. Craig was a terrific runner, but an even better receiver out of the backfield, and he was the first player ever to post 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season (1985). Craig was arguably better in ’88, earning AP Offensive Player of the Year, as he rushed for 1,502 yards and caught 76 passes for 534 yards. For his career, Craig is one of three halfbacks to lead the league in receptions in a season, he’s the only running back ever to post 100 receiving yards in a Super Bowl, and his total of 566 career catches is the sixth-best total ever for a running back.
45. Herschel Walker (1986-1997)
Herschel Walker was, and still is, a physical specimen. He was the 1979 national high school scholar-athlete of the year, a two-time All-American and Heisman Trophy winner at Georgia, a USFL superstar before he joined the NFL, a participant in the 1992 Winter Olympics (bobsledding!), and an active mixed martial arts fighter. It’s unfortunate his NFL career is best remembered for the trade that sent him from Dallas to Minnesota and catapulted Dallas to three Super Bowl championships; after all, Walker did amass over 8,000 rushing yards, 4,800 receiving yards, and 5,000 kick return yards in his NFL career. If you combine his USFL numbers with his NFL numbers, he would rank first in history with 25,283 all-purpose yards. Walker was remarkably durable in his career, missing just one NFL game in 12 seasons.
44. James Brooks (1981-1992)
James Brooks was a similar player to Roger Craig, and every bit the receiver Craig was. Brooks is one of just three players in history with 45+ rushing touchdowns and 30+ receiving touchdowns in his career. He made four Pro Bowls and put up a pretty impressive 4.73 career yards-per-carry average.
43. Clinton Portis (2002-2010)
Clinton Portis was involved in one of the rarest player-for-player trades in NFL history, as the Denver Broncos shipped him to Washington for Champ Bailey (and a second-round pick). Portis had rushed for 1,500-plus yards in each of his first two seasons, then he put up 1,315 and 1,516 in his first two campaigns with the Redskins. There are only two other running backs ever to put up at least 1,300 rushing yards in each of their first four NFL seasons – Earl Campbell and Eric Dickerson.
Portis wasn’t as effective in D.C. as he was in Denver’s extremely running back-friendly offense, but he still averaged over 1,200 rushing yards in Washington from ’04 through ’08. Portis finished just shy of 10,000 career rushing yards, surprisingly making just two Pro Bowls in his career.
42. Arian Foster (2009-Active)
In a span of 18 months, Arian Foster went from being an undrafted rookie free agent to NFL rushing champion (his 1,615 yards is the single-season record for an undrafted player). Even if Foster never plays another down (torn Achilles tendons are extremely difficult to come back from), he’s had an incredibly successful career in an offense –lacking an elite QB – that was predicated on getting Foster the ball constantly. He made four Pro Bowls in a five-year span, led the league in total touchdowns twice, and has an impressive 4.5 yards-per-carry average. Foster is a fine receiver as well, adding close to 250 receptions and 2,200 yards out of the backfield. It’s a shame Foster didn’t get to play in the postseason more; in four lifetime playoff games, Foster has rushed for 24/153/2, 27/132/1, 32/140/1, and 22/90/1. He’s averaged 165.75 yards from scrimmage in those four playoff contests; that’s the all-time NFL record.
41. Ricky Williams (1999-2011)
Ricky Williams had a bizarre NFL career, to say the least (and he’s also featured in one of the best 30 for 30 ever). A former Super Bowl winning head coach once traded his entire draft to acquire Williams. Williams averaged 1,271 rushing yards per season in his first five years, then amassed 758 total over a four-year span from 2004-’07 as he dealt with suspensions, injuries, and a brief retirement. Williams rebounded to excel in a part-time role with the Miami Dolphins from 2008 through 2010, and he wrapped up his career with just over 10,000 rushing yards and 74 total touchdowns. He was a similar runner to Marshawn Lynch in his prime, and if he had played out that middle stretch of his career, he may be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame today.
40. Ricky Watters (1991-2001)
A strong Canton case could be made for Ricky Watters. He made the Pro Bowl in each of his first five NFL seasons. He averaged over 1,000 rushing yards and close to 1,500 yards from scrimmage in his 10 years, and he’s one of two running backs in history to put up a 1,000-yard rushing season for three different teams. Watters once scored five touchdowns in a playoff game, and in his only Super Bowl appearance, he found the end zone three times. Perhaps the biggest reason he’s not ranked higher on this list is a relatively low yards-per-carry average; his lifetime 4.06 mark is just 83rd among the 100 running backs on this top 100 list.
39. Hugh McElhenny (1952-1964)
Hugh McElhenny wasn’t a high-volume running back, never handling even 200 carries or topping 1,000 rushing yards in a season. What he was though was a playmaker in every sort of the word. McElhenny led the league in yards per carry and all-purpose yards as a rookie, excelling as a runner, receiver, and punt returner. He made five Pro Bowls and two First-Team All-Pro squads with the San Francisco 49ers, then another Pro Bowl with Minnesota in 1961.
38. Corey Dillon (1997-2006)
Corey Dillon’s early career success in Cincinnati was remarkable; he rushed for 1,100 yards in each of his first six seasons, despite having yearly subpar quarterback play. Dillon is the only eligible non-Hall of Famer to start his career with such a string of 1,100-yard seasons; the others are Eric Dickerson, Curtis Martin, Barry Sanders, and LaDainian Tomlinson. Dillon was shipped to New England in 2004 and rushed for 37 touchdowns in 43 regular-season games, helping the Patriots win a Super Bowl.
37. Shaun Alexander (2000-2008)
For a five-year stint, Shaun Alexander’s raw fantasy numbers stack up against any running back who ever lived. He played all 80 games from 2001-2005, averaging 1,501 rushing yards and 20 total touchdowns per season. He made three Pro Bowls, won a league MVP award, and set the (then) single-season record with 28 touchdowns.
It was all downhill from there though; after Alexander signed an eight-year, $66 million contract in the offseason, All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson left in free agency, and then Alexander broke his wrist during the year. The following year, Alexander’s fullback, Mack Strong, had to retire, and Alexander continued suffering injuries before being released after ’07. Alexander was an unbelievable touchdown machine in his prime – his career rate of 0.81 rushing TD/game is higher than any runner in history but Jim Brown, LT, and Steve Van Buren. But not every player gets the offensive line (Walter Jones and Hutchinson) that Alexander had, and that has to factor into his ranking.
36. Jerome Bettis (1993-2005)
Jerome Bettis wasn’t there to run outside the tackles or catch passes; what he did was gain yards in tough situations. Bettis was a workhorse, finishing fourth all-time in rushing attempts (3,479), sixth in rushing yards (13,662), and 11th in rushing touchdowns (91). Bettis was a six-time Pro Bowler and eight-time 1,000-yard rusher. Like many big running backs (Bettis was generously listed at just 252 pounds), he was a non-factor in the passing game and put up a paltry yards-per-carry average; his 3.93 lifetime mark is third-lowest among 10,000-yard rushers.
35. Marshawn Lynch (2007-2015)
Beast Mode was a fun running back to watch in his prime; he fueled the Seattle Seahawks’ dominance, grinding out tough yards and excelling in the postseason. Marshawn Lynch likely won’t make the Hall of Fame, but one more carry in the playoffs may have been enough. Lynch racked up four consecutive seasons of 1,200-plus rushing yards and 10 scores, leading the league in rushing touchdowns twice and making the Pro Bowl every season. In the playoffs, Lynch had more games of 100 rushing yards (six) than not (five).
34. Priest Holmes (1997-2007)
Few remember Priest Holmes as being a backup to Jamal Lewis on the 2000 Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, but he gained national recognition for his unbelievable success with the Kansas City Chiefs.
From 2001 through 2003, Holmes played in 46 of 48 games, averaging the following numbers per season: 1,530 rushing yards, 19 rushing scores, plus 69 receptions for 659 yards and two more touchdowns; that means he averaged 2,188 scrimmage yards and 21 touchdowns over a three-year span. Holmes was a First-Team All-Pro for three years in a row and set the single-season record for rushing touchdowns (27, although Shaun Alexander topped it two seasons later). In total, he scored 83 touchdowns in 65 games in Kansas City.
The reason he’s not ranked higher is a combination of the short peak he had with the Chiefs, the quality of the Kansas City offensive line (Willie Roaf, Will Shields, and Brian Waters combined for seven Pro Bowls during Holmes’ tenure), and the fact that as soon as Holmes declined, Larry Johnson stepped right in and essentially replicated Holmes’ success.
33. Frank Gore (2005-Active)
Heading into 2016, Frank Gore is still a starting running back and he has a chance to become the oldest 1,000-yard rusher since John Riggins. Last season, Gore ground out 967 tough yards with the largely Andrew Luck-less Indianapolis Colts, making him the 15th running back to top the 12,000-yard mark. He’s remarkably durable, having played every game since 2011, and he’s a five-time Pro Bowler who could find himself in the Hall of Fame with one more quality season.
32. Steven Jackson (2004-2015)
For nearly a decade, Steven Jackson was the lone source of offense for the St. Louis Rams. While the passing attack averaged a 24th place finish from 2007-2012 and Jackson never played with a Pro Bowl offensive lineman after Orlando Pace retired, Jackson was busy churning out 1000-yard rushing seasons. In all, he had eight of them, and he was a fine receiver as well – his 461 receptions for 3,683 yards give him just over 15,000 total scrimmage yards. It’s doubtful Jackson makes the Hall of Fame; he made just three Pro Bowls, never led the league in rushing yards, and scored an underwhelming amount of touchdowns given his career number of touches. On a better team though, Jackson would have been a perennial MVP candidate.
31. Edgerrin James (1999-2009)
The Indianapolis Colts traded away Marshall Faulk to draft Edgerrin James fourth overall in the 1999 NFL draft. James didn’t waste any time establishing himself as an impact player – James rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown in each of his first two games. He played in each of his first 32 games, leading the league in rushing as a rookie (1,553) and then again as a second-year player (1,709). James rebounded from a torn ACL in 2001 to gain over 5,300 more rushing yards with the Colts, then over 3,000 more with the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks.
James has the most career rushing yards (12,246) of any non-Hall of Famer, and it’s probably because people don’t know how to factor in the Peyton Manning effect. James was extremely blessed to play with arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time; in fact, James’ numbers nosedived after he left Indianapolis to play for the weakened Cardinals. He may get in the Hall eventually, but it will likely take some time.
30. Jamaal Charles (2008-Active)
Since he entered the NFL, Jamaal Charles has been one of the most electrifying players in the league, a running back capable of scoring a touchdown every time he touches the ball, no matter where he is on the field. Look no further than Charles’ career (to date) yards-per-carry average of 5.47; that’s the highest in history for a running back.
Charles has averaged over five yards per rush every year of his career, and his 6.38 yards-per-carry average in 2010 is the highest in modern NFL history for a running back with at least 200 carries (a full quarter yard higher than runner-up Barry Sanders). Even in the postseason (admittedly, a small sample size), Charles has a 8.33 career yards-per-carry average. As he heads into 2016, the 30-year-old Charles is attempting to rebound from a torn ACL, and it’s inevitable that his career YPC drops as he enters his twilight years. Still, if players like Leroy Kelly and Joe Perry are in the Hall of Fame, there’s no reason to leave Charles out.
29. Ollie Matson (1952-1966)
Ollie Matson was a star wherever he lined up in the 1950s – running back, wide receiver, punt returner, and kick returner. As a runner, Matson rushed for over 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns, he added 3,285 yards and 23 touchdowns as a receiver, and he ran back a ridiculous nine kicks/punts for scores. Twice Matson led the NFL in all-purpose yards, and he earned six Pro Bowl selections and five First-Team All-Pro nominations for his success. Matson was so revered that he was once traded to the Los Angeles Rams for nine players.
28. Joe Perry (1948-1963)
Nicknamed “The Jet,” Joe Perry was a terrific running back for the San Francisco 49ers. He debuted in 1948, did his best work in the 1950s, and then retired in 1963 after 16 seasons; he and Marcus Allen are the only two halfbacks in history to play at least eight games in as many seasons. If you include his brief stint in the AAFC, Perry’s career 5.04 yards-per-carry average is the sixth-best in history for running backs with at least 500 carries. Perry led the league in rushing yards three times and made three Pro Bowls, making him a well-deserved Hall of Famer.
27. Fred Taylor (1998-2010)
It’s remarkable that Fred Taylor managed to play 13 seasons, rush for 11,695 yards and 66 touchdowns on a solid 4.6 yards-per-carry average, and make just a single Pro Bowl – and at the age of 31, no less. Taylor has some rough luck in his career – he was overshadowed by Barry Sanders and Terrell Davis in the late ‘90s, then Priest Holmes, Shaun Alexander, and LaDainian Tomlinson in the mid-2000s. Still, Taylor compiled six seasons of at least 1,100 rushing yards, and yet he finished just sixth in the league in rushing yards in 2003 when he put up 1,572 yards
26. Leroy Kelly (1964-1973)
It’s not easy replacing an all-time legend like Jim Brown, but Leroy Kelly did pretty well for himself. He took over as the full-time starter in 1966 and led the NFL in rushing touchdowns each of his first three seasons and rushing yards twice. In all, Kelly made the Pro Bowl his first six seasons as a starter, which means the Cleveland Browns went a remarkable 15 consecutive years with a Pro Bowl running back. Kelly missed just four games to injury in 10 seasons.
25. Jim Taylor (1958-1967)
Jim Taylor remains the only man to beat out Jim Brown for a rushing title (1,474 yards in 1962); in fact, Taylor was league MVP that season and helped the Green Bay Packers win the NFL championship. Taylor ran the Packer sweep to perfection, averaging 1,214 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns from 1960-’64, making the Pro Bowl every season. What keeps him from ranking higher on the list is the ridiculous amount of talent he played with – 17 All-Pro offensive linemen blocked for him over a 10-year span – plus a Hall of Fame quarterback (Bart Starr) and coach (Vince Lombardi) helping him out.
24. Frank Gifford (1952-1964)
Frank Gifford was the best player on the field for most of his NFL career, earning eight consecutive Pro Bowl selections, four First-Team All-Pro nominations, and a league MVP award with the New York Giants in the ‘50s. Like Lenny Moore, Gifford played a lot of running back and wide receiver, actually finishing with significantly more receiving yards (5,434) than rushing yards (3,609). Gifford also played defensive back, returned punts and kicks, and threw 14 touchdowns in his career, more than any other non-quarterback in history.
The late Gifford is still remembered for being knocked out by Chuck Bednarik in a hit in 1960 that many thought killed Gifford; he retired and then came back in ‘62 as a wide receiver, scoring 19 more touchdowns before he officially retired.
23. Lenny Moore (1956-1967)
Lenny Moore was the closest thing to Frank Gifford of the same time period, although he was more of a pure runner than Gifford. Moore is the only NFL player ever to score 40 rushing touchdowns and 40 receiving touchdowns; he also compiled over 11,000 scrimmage yards, averaging a ridiculous 16.6 yards per catch. The only running back with a greater career yards-per-carry average and more total touchdowns than Moore (4.84, 111) is Jim Brown. Simply put, Moore made plays happen every time he touched the ball.
22. John Riggins (1971-1985)
Big John Riggins had one of the more peculiar careers you’ll find from a running back. The 6’2”, 230-pounder went sixth overall to the New York Jets in the 1971 NFL draft, but did his best work a full decade-plus later with the Washington Redskins. At age 33 (two years after he briefly retired due to a contract dispute), Riggins led a strike-shortened year in carries (177), plus another 136 in four postseason games that culminated with Riggins winning Super Bowl MVP for the Redskins. He put up a 375-1,347-24 statline in 1983 at age 34 (!), then handled 327 more carries for 1,239 yards and a league-best 14 touchdowns at 35 years old. That’s an age when most running backs have been out of the game for five or six seasons.
Riggins didn’t catch passes (he had just five all year in ’83) and he inexplicably managed to make just one Pro Bowl in his whole career (curiously enough, in a fairly routine 1975 season with the Jets when he rushed for 1,005 yards and eight touchdowns). But he’s a deserving Hall of Famer. Only five running backs scored more regular-season rushing touchdowns, and only three had more in the postseason
21. Franco Harris (1972-1984)
There are a lot of similarities between John Riggins and Franco Harris. They’re both listed at 6’2”, 230 pounds. Their careers spanned almost the exact same time frame. And both were playoff heroes. Riggins had the famous 4th-and-1 run in the Super Bowl, but Harris came down with The Immaculate Reception, perhaps the most legendary touchdown in NFL history. Harris finished with 12,120 rushing yards and 91 touchdowns, plus some of the greatest postseason numbers ever (400 carries, 1,556 yards, and 16 touchdowns) for a Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty that won four Super Bowls in the ‘70s. Two interesting facts about Harris: He’s one of only eight players in NFL history – at any position – to make the Pro Bowl in his first nine seasons. And he also holds the all-time record for fumbles (90) by a running back.
Stay tuned for Part III, which will count down the top 20 running backs of all-time.
Follow Cody Swartz on Twitter (@cbswartz5).
