Who Is The All Time Leading Rusher In The NFL?
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Who is the all time leading rusher in the NFL? We take a look at the top contenders and what they’ve done to earn their spot on the list.
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith is the all time leading rusher in the NFL. He played for the Dallas Cowboys for 13 seasons and is the only player in NFL history to rushed for over 18,000 yards. Smith was a three-time Super Bowl champion and was named the Super Bowl MVP in 1993.
His NFL career
Emmitt Smith played running back for the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals. He was drafted by the Cowboys in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft, and became the Cowboys’ starting running back during his rookie season. Smith is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. He led the league in rushing four times during his career (1991, 1992, 1993, 1995), and was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1993.
In 2002, Emmitt Smith was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team and the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.
His stats
Emmitt Smith played for the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at the University of Florida, where he was a consensus All-American. Smith was drafted in the first round of the 1990 NFL draft by the Cowboys, and became the NFL’s all-time leading rusher during his thirteen seasons with the team. After being released by Dallas in 2002, he signed with Arizona in 2003 and played until he was released prior to the start of the 2004 season.
In his fifteen seasons as a professional, Smith had 18,355 rushing yards, more than any other player in NFL history at the time of his retirement, and 164 rushing touchdowns. He also holds the record for career rushing attempts with 4,409. Smith is currently second on the list behind only Adrian Peterson. He also won four Super Bowl titles with Dallas and was named Super Bowl MVP after their victory in Super Bowl XXVIII.
Walter Payton
In October of 2002, the NFL lost one of its premier players of all time. Payton, also known as “Sweetness”, was the all time leading rusher in the NFL, a Super Bowl champion, and a Hall of Famer.
His NFL career
In his 13 NFL seasons, Payton played 186 games and missed only one contest in 1977 due to a viral infection. He retired as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher after the 1987 season, having compiled 16,726 rushing yards. His career total of 21,803 yards from scrimmage ranks second in league history behind only Jerry Rice. Payton is one of only four players to have had more than 8,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards (the other three are Harry Carson, Marcus Allen and Brian Westbrook).
His stats
In thirteen NFL seasons, Payton played 207 games and amassed 16,726 rushing yards, 42 rushing touchdowns, 490 receptions for 4,538 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns, 18 kickoff returns for 436 yards, and one touchdown, and three punt returns for 66 yards. As of the 2019 season, he ranks fourth all-time in rushing yards (16,726), trailing only Emmitt Smith (18,355), Adrian Peterson (14,216), and Jerome Bettis (13,662). His career average of 101.6 rushing yards per game is the second best all-time behind only Smith’s rate of 108.7 ypg. He holds the NFL’s record for most 1,000-yard rushing seasons with 10.
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders is the all time leading rusher in the NFL. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 1989 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma State, where he was a two-time All-American. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
His NFL career
Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is a former American football running back who spent his entire professional career with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). A Pro Bowl invitee in each of his ten NFL seasons and twice named a First-Team All-Pro, Sanders led the league in rushing four times and retired as the NFL’s third all-time leader in rushing yards with 15,269.
Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004 and had his No. 20 jersey retired by the Lions. He was ranked by NFL Network’s NFL Top 10 program as the most elusive runner in NFL history, and also ranked by ESPN as one of the most famous athletes of the 20th century.
His stats
Barry Sanders (born 16 Sanders in Wichita, Kansas) is a former professional American football running back who spent his entire 10-year career with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). A Pro Bowl invitee in each of his 10 NFL seasons and a first-team All-Pro selection six times, Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and was among the top five rushers nine times. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility.
During his time with the Lions, Sanders became known for making quick cuts and eluding tacklers rather than trying to power through them. This style earned him many nicknames, including “Barry” from teammates and fans who caught on to his ability to make people miss tackles. He also was nicknamed “The Great Court” for his elusiveness.
Adrian Peterson
Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He has played in the NFL since 2007, and his 10,190 career rushing yards rank sixth all time in league history.
His NFL career
Adrian Peterson was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings seventh overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma.
In his rookie season, he set an NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game (296) and was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The following season, he became the first running back to have back-to-back 200-yard rushing games, and was named to his first Pro Bowl. In 2010, he led the league in rushing for the second time in his career, and was again named to the Pro Bowl. In 2012, Peterson became the seventh player in NFL history to have 2,000 or more rushing yards in a single season, and concluded the year with 2,097 total rushing yards; this was nine yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s all-time single season record of 2,105 yards. Peterson finished second on Mel Kiper Jr.’s “Big Board” of NFL prospects behind only JaMarcus Russell.[1] He ran a 4.4 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine.[2]
He was ranked as the number one running back prospect by Scouts Inc. and was ranked higher than any other running back prospect by draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr..
His stats
Adrian Peterson is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Vikings seventh overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma.
Peterson set the NCAA freshman rushing record with 1,925 yards as a true freshman during the 2004 season. As a member of the Vikings, he was named a first-team All-Pro four times and voted NFL MVP in 2012. He has been selected to seven Pro Bowls, rushed for over 10,000 yards in eight seasons, and is ranked as the NFL’s third all-time leading rusher behind only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton.
Jim Brown
Jim Brown is a retired American football player who was a running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 to 1965. He is considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL. Brown was a Pro Bowl invitee every season he was in the league, was the AP NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times, and was selected for the All-Pro team eight times. He led the league in rushing yards in eight out of his nine seasons, and by the time he retired, he had shattered nearly every rushing record.
His NFL career
Brown’s rookie season in 1957 was spectacular. He rushed for 942 yards and 10 touchdowns, caught 20 passes for 321 yards, and returned 27 kickoffs for 758 yards and two touchdowns, leading the league in all three categories. He was selected as the NFL Rookie of the Year and was voted to the Pro Bowl. In his second season, he rushed for 1,527 yards— then a league record—and scored 17 touchdowns. In 1958, he was voted the NFL MVP and was again selected to the Pro Bowl. Brown continued his exceptional level of play in 1959, rushing for 1,429 yards and 13 touchdowns, catching 27 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns, and returning 18 kickoffs for 524 yards. He was once again selected to the Pro Bowl as well as being voted first-team All-Pro by both the AP and UPI
His stats
Brown was a powerfully built, bruising runner who broke tackles and ran over defenders. He averaged 104.3 rushing yards per game over his nine-year career, which is still the NFL record. He also holds the all-time record for most rushing yards in a season with 1,863, set in 1963. Brown was such a dominant force that he changed the way NFL teams played offense.
