The Top 10 Running Backs of All Time

This is a tricky question because I think if you asked football fans who is the greatest running back of all time and you also asked them who is the greatest all-around running back of all time, most people would give you two different answers. 

For example, I would answer, without much hesitation, Jim Brown and Walter Payton, respectively to these to questions.

At first glance, it would seem logically, you should give the same answer.  However, given the high percentage of importance that just plain running the football is to a NFL running back, football fans tend not to see it that way.

Rightly or wrongly, when most football fans talk about the best running backs, what sticks out in their mind is how great a "runner" that player is and little else matters.  Hence, that is how I chose to answer this ranking question.

I can remember that people in the football media would refer to Thuman Thomas as the best all-around back in the league and he would get insulted and say, "why not the just the 'best running back in the league'" as if "all-around running back" was a lesser title. 

It seemed to Thomas that they were saying he was the "best runner/receiver/blocker" in the league, but not the "best pure runner." Some people thought he was being overly sensitive and not appreciative of the compliment, but I think Thomas had a point because that is in fact what some people were saying. 

Anyways, I do not think there is a right or wrong answer to all of this, however, I just went with how I think the majority of people rate running backs. Hence, running backs who were also great receivers out the backfield (Payton, Thomas, and Marshall Faulk) and blockers (again Payton, Larry Csonka, and Jim Taylor) would be higher if I went more with "all-around backs" in my rankings.

I figured I needed to point that out since I only placed the beloved Payton fifth.  Yes, he was the greatest all-around back of all time, but, definitely not the best "pure runner."  No, that award goes to Jim Brown and while it maybe close, it is clear that Brown is No. 1 in that department.

Brown is also (along with Jerry Rice) considered the greatest player in the history in the NFL. Brown hated to block, however, he  was a good receiver out of the backfield.  And he sure could run and get any type of yardage you needed. 

Brown set several records and retired with a 5.22 yards per carry for his career (highest among running backs with at least 1000 attempts).  He led the league in rushing an amazing eight out the nine years that he was in the league (the one year that he did not he played with a sore ankle). 

He is the only rusher in NFL history to average over 100 yards per game for a career.  Brown scored 126 touchdowns (106 rushing, 20 receiving) and rushed for 12,312 yards in just 118 games.

Unfortunately, I can only remember watching Jim Brown run live once—in his final game when I was six years old and my Packers held him to fewer than 50 yards as they beat Cleveland, 20-12, for the 1965 NFL Championship.

Although I have seen lots of highlights of him through the years including some insane footage in Spike Lee's Jim Brown:  All-American (2002).  It often took several defenders to bring him down.  While he does not have the most charming personality in the world, he sure is a joy to watch run.

The week after Packers-Browns 1965 Championship game, I was watching the NFL Pro Bowl by myself and I got my first glimpse of Gale Sayers run as he returned a kick-off.

I still remember the chill running threw my body as I watched him run.  It was the most exciting thing I had ever seen in my short life and I ran in the other room to get my father.  My father was a football fan and of course, he already knew all about the Chicago Bears' sensational Rookie of the Year. 

Sayers is still the most exciting runner I have ever seen and maybe the best. Sadly, injuries to his knees in his fourth and sixth seasons prematurely ended his career.  2007's Rookie of the Year, Adrian Peterson, looks a lot like Sayers when he runs—let's hope he doesn't have any more injuries (which are more likely to occur given his running style).

Little has to be said of the electrifying Barry Sanders since he a recent running back.  Like Sayers, he averaged 5.0 yards per carry, but was more durable.  Hence, I put Sanders second and Sayers third all-time.

The infamous O.J. Simpson (4.7) was also a better pure runner than Payton and more exciting to watch run.

I consider yards per carry (especially during their peak years) to be the most important statistic for a running back.  Hence, you will notice each runners yards per carry at the bottom in my list.

Runners with very high career yards per carry averages such as Marion Motley (5.0, 1696 yards in the NFL; his first four seasons seasons were in the AAFC), Mercury Morris (5.1, 4133 yards), and Bo Jackson (5.4, 2782) did not gain enough yards to make my top 10 list. 

It goes without saying that if Jackson had just played football and had not gotten seriously injured, he had the potential to be the greatest runner ever. He was basically a modern day Jim Brown with a little bit more speed.

Perhaps Motley deserves to be in the top 10; however, I never saw him run (other than a couple of highlights) so I probably underrated him. 

To me, the other most important factor is just plain watching them run. Hence, runners before 1965 were at a disadvantage for my evaluation and my top 10 was limited to runners that I actually saw run (with Brown somewhat of an exception). 

While Emmit Smith gained the most yards in history (18,355), he also benefited from running behind one of the best offensive lines in history. Runners such as Brian Westbrook (4.7), Fred Taylor (4.7), Edgerrin James (4.1), and Peterson (5.6) can always be added once they finish their careers. 

That all being said, here is my top 10 running backs of all time:

1.  Jim Brown (5.2)
2.  Barry Sanders (5.0)
3.  Gale Sayers (5.0)
4.  O.J. Simpson (4.7)
5.  Walter Payton (4.4)
6.  Eric Dickerson (4.4)
7.  Emmitt Smith (4.2)
8.  Earl Campbell (4.3)
9.  Marshall Faulk (4.3)
10. LaDainian Thomlinson (4.4)

Honorable Mention (in no particular order): Marion Motley (5.0), Bronko Nagurski (4.4), and Steve Van Buren (4.4) (allthree3 on the NFL's 75 Anniversary Team), Joe Perry (4.8), Hugh McElhenny (4.7), Tiki Barber (4.7), Jim Taylor (4.4), Paul Hornung (4.2), Lenny Moore (4.8), Leroy Kelly (4.2), Mercury Morris (5.1), Larry Csonka (4.3), Franco Harris (4.1), Greg Pruitt (4.7), John Riggins (3.9), Terrel Davis (4.6), Curtis Martin (4.0), Jerome Bettis (3.9), Tony Dorsett (4.3), Marcus Allen (4.1), Thurman Thomas (4.2), Herschel Walker (4.2), Bo Jackson (5.4), Priest Holmes (4.6), Ricky Watters (4.1), and Roger Craig (4.1).

Bonus Honorable Mention (almost no stats (for NFL careers) or footage to see):  Jim Thorpe and Harold Red Grange (the Galloping Ghost).