Who Is The Best NFL Running Back?

The answer to who is the best NFL running back is a bit complicated. It really depends on what you are looking for in a running back. Some people might say that Adrian Peterson is the best because of his all-around skills.

Emmitt Smith

Emmitt Smith is considered by many to be the best running back in NFL history. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft. During his time with the Cowboys, Smith won three Super Bowls and was named the Super Bowl MVP in 1993. He also set several league rushing records, including most rushing yards in a season and most rushing touchdowns in a career.

Smith’s NFL career

Smith was the NFL’s all-time rushing leader when he retired in 2002. He is also the only running back to crack the top ten in career rushing yards and career rushing touchdowns. He was a member of the Dallas Cowboys from 1990 to 2002, during which time he helped them win three Super Bowls. In 1993, he was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year.

Smith’s rushing stats

Emmitt Smith is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.

During his 15-year career, he amassed 18,355 rushing yards and 164 rushing touchdowns, both of which are NFL records. He also added 3,224 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns.

Smith was a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first 11 seasons, and was named First Team All-Pro eight times. He was also the NFL MVP in 1993 and Offensive Player of the Year in 1995.

In 2010, Smith was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Barry Sanders

Football fans love to debate who the best players are at each position. While there are a lot of great running backs in the NFL, there is one player who stands out above the rest, and that is Barry Sanders. Sanders was a dominant force during his time with the Detroit Lions, and he is considered by many to be the best running back of all time. In this article, we will take a look at the career of Barry Sanders and why he is considered the best running back of all time.

Sanders’ NFL career

Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is a former American football running back. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions from 1989 to 1998. A pro at the sanders positioning himself to make nfl best runs, he was nicknamed “The Baryy Sander,” after his swift moves on the field. Standing at just 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m), he was considered too short to be an effective running back, but his athleticism and agility made him one of the most elusive runners in NFL history, as well as one of its most dangerous offensive weapons.

Sanders’ rushing stats

In his 10 NFL seasons, Barry Sanders amassed 15,269 yards and 99 touchdowns on 3,062 carries, an average of 5.0 yards per carry. He also had 2,921 yards and 10 touchdowns on 404 receptions.

He had 10 100-yard rushing games in a season four times (1989, 1990, 1994, 1997), and is one of only seven players to do so in NFL history. In 1997, he became the third player in NFL history to rushing for more than 2,000 yards in a season (2,053), joining O.J. Simpson (2,003 in 1973) and Eric Dickerson (2,105 in 1984). His career-high was 2,358 yards rushing in 1997.

In his NFL career, Sanders had fifteen 200-yard rushing games (including playoffs), tied with Walter Payton for second most 200-yard games all-time behind only Jim Brown (17).

Walter Payton

payload was a Running Back who played for the Chicago Bears for thirteen seasons. He is considered to be one of the best running backs of all time.

Payton’s NFL career

Walter Payton was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1975 NFL draft as the fourth overall pick. He started his NFL career slow, rushing for only 679 yards and seven touchdowns during his rookie year. He then exploded during his second season with 1,390 yards and 13 touchdowns. Over the course of his 13-year NFL career, Payton would go on to break numerous rushing records. He was selected to nine Pro Bowls, named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1977, and won a Super Bowl with the Bears in 1985. Payton retired as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Payton’s rushing stats

In his 13 NFL seasons, Payton rushed 3,838 times for 16,726 yards and 110 touchdowns, also adding 1,038 receptions for 5.636 yards and nine touchdowns. He is the only player in NFL history to have more than 15,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards in his career.

At the time of his retirement in 1987, Payton held numerous all-time NFL rushing records including most rushing yards (16,726), attempts (3,838), touchdowns (110) and 100-yard games (77). His ability to both run between the tackles and catch passes out of the backfield made him a versatile threat.

Adrian Peterson

Adrian Peterson is widely considered one of the best NFL running backs of all time. He is a seven-time Pro Bowler and was the league MVP in 2012. Peterson has rushed for over 14,000 yards and has 99 career touchdowns. He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the greatest players in NFL history.

Peterson’s NFL career

Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings seventh overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. Through his first 11 seasons, Peterson amassed 12,276 rushing yards, which ranks sixth all time, and 1,015 receptions for 8,060 receiving yards. In 2012, he became the only player in NFL history to have 2,000 rushing yards in a season with less than 200 carries.[2][3] During his second season with Minnesota in 2008, he set or tied franchise records with 363 carries and 283 scrimmage touches as well as reaching 2 200-yard games at Green Bay and Chicago. That year he also became one of only five running backs to average over 100 yards per game during a full 16-game season without even attempting 400 carries. In 2015, Peterson averaged 1.9 yards per carry during his first four games before suffering a torn meniscus; he returned late in the season to play in three games and finish with 72 carries for 31 yards.[4][5]

Peterson’s rushing stats

In his ten NFL seasons, Adrian Peterson has amassed 12,276 yards rushing and 99 touchdowns on 2,418 attempts, for an average of 5.1 yards per carry. He has also caught 244 passes for 1,845 yards and five touchdowns.

Jim Brown

Jim Brown is often considered the best running back in NFL history. He played for the Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. During that time, he led the league in rushing yards eight times and set the NFL single-season rushing record in 1963. He was a pro bowler every year he played, and he was named the NFL MVP three times.

Brown’s NFL career

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 through 1965. Regarded as one of the greatest players in NFL history, Brown was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1957 and 1965, and won an NFL championship with the Browns in 1964. He led the league in rushing yards in eight out of his nine seasons, and by the time he retired, he had shattered most major rushing records.

In 2002, he was named by The Sporting News as the greatest professional football player ever. He was also inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Brown’s rushing stats

In his nine NFL seasons, Brown rushed for 12,312 yards and 106 touchdowns. He averaged 104.3 rushing yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry. He is the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing yards per game and total rushing yards in a season. Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.