Who Has The Most Yards In The NFL?
Contents
Keep up with the NFL statistical leaders with this list of the top 100 yard-gainers in the league.
Introduction
In the National Football League (NFL), a single game record for the most yards gained by a player is 1,099 yards, set by Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 6, 2020. The record for the most career regular season yards is 22,895, held by Emmitt Smith.
NFL Players with the Most Yards
In the National Football League (NFL), the player with the most yards from scrimmage is the one who has racked up the total yardage (rushing and receiving) throughout the course of their career. Here is a look at the top 10 players in NFL history with the most yards.
1. Emmitt Smith – 18,355 yards
2. Jerry Rice – 17,419 yards
3. LaDainian Tomlinson – 16,726 yards
4. Walter Payton – 16,726 yards
5. Barry Sanders – 15,269 yards
6. Curtis Martin – 14,101 yards
7. Franco Harris – 12,120 yards
8. Marcus Allen – 12,243 yards
9. Eric Dickerson – 11,866 yards
10. Tony Dorsett – 11,712 yards
The Different Types of Yards
Gaining yards is how a team moves the ball downfield and ultimately scores points. While there are multiple ways to score points, gaining yards is the most important thing a team can do on offense. The team that gains the most yards in a game is usually the team that wins.
There are three main types of yards: rushing, passing, and total.
Rushing yards are gained by rushing the ball downfield. The player carrying the ball advances it as far as they can before being tackled by the opposing team.
Passing yards are gained by throwing the ball downfield. The quarterback throws the ball to a receiver, who then tries to advance it as far as possible before being tackled.
Total yards are simply the sum of rushing and passing yards.
How Yards are Used in the NFL
Since the National Football League’s (NFL) inception in 1920, the game has slowly but surely become a passing league. quarterbacks, and the skill players they target, rack up a lot of yards through the course of a season. The NFL keeps track of yards gained for both individuals and teams.
There are two types of yards in football: passing and rushing. Passing yards are gained by throwing the football forward to an eligible receiver; rushing yards are gained by carrying the ball past the line of scrimmage. The vast majority of plays in an NFL game are passing plays, which is why quarterbacks and wide receivers tend to lead the league in yardage totals.
Conclusion
As of right now, the player with the most yards in the NFL is Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster. He has accumulated 1,426 yards so far this season.
