Who Has the Best Yards Per Carry in NFL History?

The answer may surprise you. We take a look at the best yards per carry in NFL history.

Introduction

In the National Football League (NFL), a good running back is hard to come by. In fact, many experts say that a team’s success often depends on how strong their running game is. While there are a number of factors that contribute to a successful running game, one of the most important is the yards per carry (YPC).

The YPC measures how many yards a running back gains on average when they attempt to run the ball. It’s used as a way to compare running backs and see who is the most efficient. In other words, it helps determine which running back is able to gain the most yardage per carry.

So, who has the best YPC in NFL history? Let’s take a look at the top five running backs with the highest YPC.

The All-Time Leaders

There have been some great running backs in NFL history. But who is the best of the best? That’s a tough question to answer, but one way to measure a running back’s greatness is by their yards per carry (YPC).

Here are the all-time leaders in YPC:

-Jim Brown: 6.4 YPC
-Barry Sanders: 5.8 YPC
-Walter Payton: 5.5 YPC
-Adrian Peterson: 5.4 YPC
– Bo Jackson: 5.4 YPC

The Modern-Era Leaders

The current leader in yards per carry among running backs with at least 750 attempts is Jamaal Charles, who averaged 5.4 yards per carry from 2008 to 2015. Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders is second on the all-time list, averaging 5.0 yards per carry over his 10-year career.

Other notable names among the leaders in yards per carry include Hall of Famers Jim Brown (4.7), Walter Payton (4.6) and Emmitt Smith (4.5). Brown is the only player in NFL history to average at least 4.5 yards per carry over his career and he did it while carrying the ball 2,359 times – more than any other player on this list.

The Active Leaders

The active leader in YPC is Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson, who has averaged 5.48 yards per carry over his three-year career. Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is second at 5.33 YPC, followed by scheme-fit playmaker Dion Lewis of the New England Patriots at 5.20 YPC. The leader among players with at least 1,000 career carries is Lewis, who checks in at fifth on the all-time list behind only Johnson, Bo Jackson, Herschel Walker and Jamaal Charles.

The Single-Season Leaders

The Single-Season Leaders
Emmitt Smith is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards, but he’s not the league’s all-time leader in yards per carry. That distinction belongs to Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Jim Taylor, who averaged an eye-popping 5.71 yards per carry in 1962.

Taylor’s record is one of the most unbreakable in NFL history. In the 60 years since Taylor set the mark, only four running backs have averaged even five yards per carry for a season: O.J. Simpson (1973), Adrian Peterson (2009), Jamaal Charles (2012) and DeMarco Murray (2014). All four of those seasons rank among the 10 best in NFL history.

Illegal blocks and tackling have changed a lot since Taylor’s day, making it much harder for running backs to break loose for big gains. As a result, the league average for yards per carry has declined steadily over time, from a high of 4.81 in 1934 to a low of 3.82 in 2020. Even in Taylor’s era, 5.71 was an outlier; only three other running backs exceeded 5.50 yards per carry in a season between 1950 and 1969

The Rookie Leaders

Since 1950, there have been 27 running backs who have averaged at least five yards per carry in their rookie seasons (minimum 100 carries). Here are the leaders:

Player Yards Per Carry Career YPC
Eric Dickerson 6.40 4.53
Adrian Peterson 6.03 4.72
Jim Brown 5.61 5.22
Trent Richardson 5.42 3.31
Thurman Thomas 5.37 4.58
Emmitt Smith 5.35 4.52
Tony Dorsett 5.32 4.39

The Playoff Leaders

In the playoffs, there have been 44 running backs who have carried the ball at least 50 times. Of those 44, only 14 have averaged at least 5 yards per carry. Here are the leaders:

Emmitt Smith – 6.63
Darren McFadden – 6.50
Michael Vick – 6.40
Adrian Peterson – 6.37
Marshawn Lynch – 6.33
Reggie Bush – 5.94
Barry Sanders – 5.78
Jerome Bettis – 5.76
Bo Jackson – 5.74
Thurman Thomas – 5.71
Alan Ameche – 5.70
Deuce McAllister – 5.69
Corey Dillon – 5.67

The Super Bowl Leaders

The Super Bowl Leaders are the annual statistical leaders of the National Football League’s (NFL) Super Bowls. The list below shows the annual leaders since the first Super Bowl in 1967. Also included is each player’s career total for yardage gained in all regular and postseason games combined.

The Conclusion

In conclusion, after looking at all the evidence, it is clear that Barry Sanders is the best running back in NFL history when it comes to yards per carry. He averaged an incredible 5.0 yards per carry over his career, which is over half a yard more than the next best running back. Sanders was also incredibly durable, playing in all 16 games in 10 of his 11 seasons. When you add in his 48 touchdowns and 15,269 career rushing yards, it’s clear that Sanders is one of the greatest running backs of all time.