In the annals of professional football, there have been numerous great running backs. Some were built like tanks who powered through the middle of the field, blowing up defensive linemen and middle linebackers, while others used their agility and speed to blow right past their opposition.
All of them played like men among boys, each of them were clearly the best player every time they took the field. The play of these warriors of the gridiron has not surprisingly created a debate, one that is constantly discussed among football fanatics.
These are the five I will consider for the title of greatest running back of all time. In alphabetical order they are: Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, and LaDainian Tomlinson. Let the debate begin.
Jim Brown: Cleveland Browns (1957-1965)
It could be argued that no one player dominated the game the way Jim Brown did. At 6-foot-2. 230 pounds, he was as big or bigger than the defensive linemen he played against, and there was no one player who could take him down one-on-one. Brown loved contact and would wear out every defense he played. He combined size, speed, and explosiveness in a way that was unrivaled by any player at that time. Brown retired on top of his game at age 30, holding all major rushing records.
Walter Payton: Chicago Bears (1975-1987)
"Sweetness," as he was called, was just that: sweet. He could do it all on the field: run, catch, throw, even punt. Payton had great speed and hands, and a ferocious stiff arm he used to brush off defenders. When he retired, he was the all-time leader in rushing yards and touchdowns.
Barry Sanders: Detroit Lions (1989-1998)
Barry Sanders moved liked no other running back had before or since. What he did each and every Sunday was simply jaw dropping. He made professional athletes look stupid; no one could touch him. Sanders was consistently great. In each of the 10 years of his career, he ran for 1,000 yards or more. But despite his great production, he never experienced team success, but you can't blame Sanders for that, as the Lions haven't been good for five decades.
Emmitt Smith: Dallas Cowboys (1990-2004)
Emmitt Smith, the all-time rushing leader, is probably the most successful back of all time. The winner of three Super Bowls, Smith enjoyed more postseason activity than any other back on this list. Some of that may be due to the talent of the players around him, but Smith was key in getting his team to the Super Bowl and winning it. Smith had a prolific career, leading all running backs in touchdowns scored.
LaDainian Tomlinson: San Diego Chargers (2001-present)
The only active player on this list, LaDainian Tomlinson could be the single most productive player in NFL history. He is on pace to shatter every major rushing record. LT joined Eric Dickerson as the only players to start their careers with seven straight 1,200 yard seasons. During that stretch, Tomlinson has also scored 10 or more touchdowns in each season. Tomlinson may also be the best multi-purpose back of all time, rivaling Payton. He can catch, throw, and run, block better than most backs in the league and currently possesses the best stiff arm in the league.
How They Fare Against Each Other (Career)
Brown (9 years, 118 games): 2359 att 12312 yards 106 TDs, 262 rec 2499 yards 20 TDs, 2621 touches 14811 yds 126 TDs 57 Fumbles
Payton (13 years, 190 games): 3838 att 16726 yards 110 TDs, 492 rec 4538 yards 15 TDs, 4330 touches 21264 yards 125 TDs 86 Fumbles
Sanders (10 years, 153 games): 3062 att 15269 yards 99 TDs, 352 rec 2921 yards 10 TDs, 3414 touches 18190 yards 109 TDs 41 Fumbles
Smith (15 years, 226 games): 4409 att 18355 yards 164 TDs, 515 rec 3224 yards 11 TDs, 4924 touches 21579 yards 175 TDs 61 Fumbles
Tomlinson (7 years, 111 games): 2365 att 10650 yards 115 TDs, 458 rec 3375 14 TDs, 2823 touches 14025 yards 129 TDs 24 Fumbles
How They Fare Against Each Other (Season)
Brown: 262 att 1368 yards 12 TDs, 29 rec 278 yards 2 TDs, 291 touches 1646 yards 14 TDs 6 Fumbles
Payton: 295 att 1286 yards 8 TDs, 38 rec 349 yards 1 TD, 333 touches 1636 yards 10 TDs 7 Fumbles
Sanders: 306 att 1527 yards 10 TDs, 35 rec 292 yards 1 TD, 492 touches 1819 yards 11 TDs 4 Fumbles
Smith: 294 att 1224 yards 11 TDs, 34 rec 215 yards 1 TD, 328 touches 1439 yards 12 TDs 4 Fumbles
Tomlinson: 338 att 1521 yards 16 TDs, 65 rec 482 yards 2 TDs, 403 touches 2003 yards 18 TDs 3 Fumbles
How They Fare Against Each Other (Game)
Brown: 20 att 104 yards .9 TDs, 2 Rec 22 yards .16 TDs, 22 touches 125 yards 1.06 TDs
Payton: 20 att 88 yards .5 TDs, 2 Rec 24 rec .07 TDs, 23 touches 112 yards .6 TDs
Sanders: 20 att 100 yards .7 TDs, 2 rec 19 rec .06 TDs, 22 touches 119 yards .7 TDs
Smith: 20 att 81 yards .7 TDs, 2 rec 14 yards .04 TDs, 22 touches 95 yards .8 TDs
Tomlinson: 21 att 96 yards 1.03 TDs, 4 rec 30 yards .12, 25 touches 126 yards 1.2 TDs
Conclusion
Statistically speaking, Smith is the greatest running back per career, Tomlinson the greatest per season, while per game is a toss up between Brown and Tomlinson. Smith, however, falls short of the rest when looking at game and season averages, although there is something to be said for longevity.
Barry Sanders and Jim Brown each averaged over a 100 yards a game, while Sanders and Tomlinson averaged over 1,500 yards a season. It is also interesting to note how close every back is in terms of touches a game, besides Tomlinson, who touches the ball considerably more. Whether this is a hindrance or a credit to his durability is up to interpretation.
Tomlinson blows the competition away when it comes to scoring touchdowns. He is the only back to average more than one rushing touchdown a game. He also catches about twice as many balls per season and per game.
So who is the greatest back? Jim Brown dominates per game with a 5.2 yard a carry average, Barry Sanders is consistently great, while LaDainian Tomlinson is a workhorse who produces more and turns it over less than any other back.
For those reasons, it is my opinion that when he hangs them up, LaDainian Tomlinson will be the greatest back to ever play. But as of right now, Barry Sanders is the greatest running back of all time.
Verdict: Barry Sanders (now)/LaDainian Tomlinson (future)
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about 1 month ago
Earl Campbell
Eric Dickerson
Gale Sayers
about 1 month ago
i like your article, and you did a good job pointing out stats and info.. with that being said, i disagree with your choice.. Barry Sanders is the all-time leader in negative rushing yardage.. some say he had a bad offensive line, which just isn't true at all.. he had 2 Pro Bowlers on his line his entire career.. they also always took Sanders out on short yardage situations and replaced him with a backup because he wasn't as good at hitting the hole.. he was a fun human highlight reel homerun threat, no doubt, but he wasn't a winner and he wasn't a complete back like Payton/Emmitt/LT.. Emmitt and Payton were a lot alike- great runners, great blockers, great receivers, and great competitors and leaders.. and they won in the postseason.. Emmitt had the greatest stastical career and by far the most postseason success.. some want to say its cause he had a great team, but those Cowboys teams could never win without Emmitt..
1. Emmitt Smith
2. Walter Payton
3. Jim Brown
4. Barry Sanders
5. LaDainian Tomlinson
about 1 month ago
I have to go with
1.Barry Sanders
2. Walter Payton
3.Jim Brown
4. Ladainian Tomlinson
5. Emmitt Smith
1-4 could really go in any order and are very arguable.
Emmitt is the only one that I have a problem with. He only broke the rushing record because he kept coming back even when he was well past his prime.
about 1 month ago
Great article and very well argued. However, I think you gave short shrift to Jim Brown's 5.2 yard per carry average. That was his average, not for one game, not for one season, but for his entire nine year career. Consider he played less games per season than Tomlinson and like LT was consistently targeted by opposing defenses as the guy to stop, and yet Brown still rushed for a first down essentially every other time he touched the ball. No one else comes close. Extrapolate those numbers over another five or six seasons and it becomes a no brainer, IMHO. :)
from 15 days ago
Brown was definitely the best ever if you don't take into account the competition, but he was 255lbs playing against 250lbs defensive tackles. When you are a running back that is bigger than the defensive linemen, of course he ran for 5.2 ypc with his abilities. Eddie George, Natrone Means, and Jerome Bettis would have crushed the competition if they were playing in the '50's. Of course, Brown can't help who he played against.
about 1 month ago
Nice Article Indeed, my pick is Barry Sanders, but in a few years he will be passed by Adrian Peterson.
about 1 month ago
LT can't make this list...not yet at least. The names you have him pitted against are legendary in the game of football and Tomlinson hasn't done enough for long enough to be considered as such. Good article, great stats, and a good idea, but some names were left off the list that showed enough to be ahead of LT at this point.
from about 1 month ago
Jim Brown played 118 career games
LaDainian Tomlinson has played 111 games
i think its fair to put him up there
from 15 days ago
I wouldn't put LT in there either, but can there be any doubt that LT is an all-time great if he decided to retire after this year?
about 1 month ago
I forgot to mention that I do believe LT will go down as one of the best ever, but let him finsih a career before we start tallying stats...
about 1 month ago
There's one key thing missing from this argument: Jim Brown is the only player on this list to spend his entire career playing in 12 and 14 game seasons. Added up over the course of his career, that amounts to playing in quite a few less games than the other guys. Since he only played until he was 30, he missed 26 games that he would have had had he played in a 16 game era, which, according to the stats provided, means that his career totals could have been as high as 2879 attempts, 15016 rushing yards, 129 rushing TD's, 314 receptions, 3071 receiving yards, and 24 receiving touchdowns.
The only other player to play in the shorter years is Payton, and he only played in three seasons that were 14 games.
from about 1 month ago
Excellent points. There should be no arguments. It is Jim Brown. In only nine "short" seasons the numbers he put up were incredible. Yards, TDs, YPC and the receiving numbers are ridiculous. Especially when you consider the era he played in RBs were not utilized as pass catchers, he never wore down and was consistant all 9 seasons and team would game plan to stop him and couldn't.
It's Jim Brown and it's not even close. I would concur that Sweetness is next in line, however.
about 1 month ago
It is a good idea, and a great article, but I think you missed on some of the great players. Or did you filter them out before you wrote this?
Earl Campbell
O.J. Simpson
Bo Jackson (short Career)
Terrell Davis
Herschel Walker
By no means is Tomlinson the greatest running back ever.
from 15 days ago
Tomlinson can't be considered the best ever yet, however, is there a running back that holds more NFL records than LT?
about 1 month ago
Agree that OJ Simpson, first 2k yard rusher should be in the list for consideration. Tyler Rose - Earl Campbell as well, his juggernaut runs were unforgettable.
Still when his career is done, I believe LT will go down as the greatest of all time.
about 1 month ago
There is no way that Emmitt Smith is a better running back than Barry Sanders.
"Barry wasn't good at hitting the hole..."
Haha.
Barry had a great o-line? Whatever.
Smith was a superior blocker, they were both good receivers, and Barry was a superior runner. If you say Barry leads the NFL in runs for losses...please do not discount the fact that he probably leads the league in runs of over 10/20/30/40/50, etc. yards. And please, SOMEONE...please provide the number of times each of these backs lost yards...because the only stat I can ever find is that "Barry Sanders leads the league in runs for losses". How many times did Payton lose yards, Smith, etc...? It's hard to make a valid comparison when I can't find who is second, third, fourth, etc...on that list.
Put Sanders behind that Dallas wall and we aren't even discussing this.
about 1 month ago
Funny how LDT (I will NOT call him LT) might be the greatest ever, yet he spent the last five or six quarters of this season sulking on the bench with a helmet on.
You think Barry Sanders wouldn't give his left nut to even sniff a conference championship game? You think it would take less than 25 other football players to keep him on the bench, no matter what his injury was?
Yeah, me neither.
about 1 month ago
No Bo Jackson?!?!?!
about 1 month ago
Good article...for a few chuckles.
Impossible to compare Brown vs LT...different times, different offensive/defensive schemes
To make the argument a lot more accurate...try comparing yrds per carry vs teams with a top 10 run defense....that will equal the generational playing field.
With no proof of my own...I'm willing to bet the house that Brown takes it!!!
about 1 month ago
No Thurman Thomas on this list?
about 1 month ago
No Thurman Thomas on this list?
about 1 month ago
Brown was a beast...one of the few guys that if you said he was #1 hands down, no one should laugh.
And yeah Sean, Thurmal was special.
about 1 month ago
Jim Brown was a beast and he played less games a season, like 12 which is crazy. However. the defensive players have really gotten WAY better. They can be the best athlete on the field these days, that was not the case back then. I would have to rate them like this.
1) Barry Sanders - Best moves ever
2)Walter Payton - Biggest heart/Great motor/well rounded
3)Jim Brown - Physical Specimen
4) Emmitt Smith - Toughest RB ever (played with more injuries than 95% of fans ever knew, and played well
5) LT - Greatest combinitaion of RB skills ever. Seemingly heir apperant to the top spot.
13 days ago
I don't mean to discredit LDT at all. He is tremendous, but I'm not sold on the fact that he will forever be remembered as the greatest. Too many times he has sat whining and trying to find the words to explain why his performance suffered. He is a tremendous talent and arguably the greatest skill set of all time, but Sanders and Brown and Smith and Thurman Thomas and even OJ have left lasting tastes in our mouths; a thirst that football fans have been dying to quench.
LDT is on the cusp. He is in prime position to attain his seat in the top five, but stats alone do not grant someone that seat (ask Pete Rose). Sure his numbers are outstanding. Sure he holds records. Barry Sanders left prematurely, (anyone who would like to argue this I'm game. He did, admit it). Terrell Davis left due to chronic migraines. Circumstances are such that arguing who is the greatest ever will be difficult, in any sport that is true, which is the one reason that numbers don't solidify sainthood.
I want to see LDT do it with the grace of Sanders, the humility of Smith, with the heart of Brown, and with the passion of Sweetness. At this point he is a tremendous talent, but to rise to the peak and sit with the Gods, you have to play like one. Seperate numbers from the way that they reached them.
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