Who is the best runner of all time?
Here is the answer…
or Barry Sanders
or Walter Payton
or Emmett Smith
Jim Brown
or Ladainian Tomlinson
Who is the best runner of all time? Well why don’t we look at the list, first Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmett Smith, Jim Brown and finally Ladanian Tomlinson? First of all, Barry Sanders, the man called “the slipperiest running back in NFL history” and it’s hard to argue with that. In 1996 he carried the rock 314 times for 1,500 yards. Not to mention 400 yards catching in the backfield, he also crossed the plain 12 times and earned rookie of the year honors in 1989 when he was just ten yards short of the rushing title and had 280 runs, and tied for second in rushing. touchdowns He had 3,606 rushing yards over the next two years, including a 2,053 rushing yard season. That same season, he would record 300 receiving yards to create a one-third chance per season that he would reach 300 receiving yards and 37 touchdowns in those three years, however, he would sink in the end zone with only 4 touchdowns. in 1998. season. But was there ever really a “slump” for Barry Sanders? Well, the only negative about him is his bare knuckles.
So who’s next on the list? Well, it has to be Walter Payton. Payton, who played 12 years, is the all-time leader in rushing and combined net yards. He has MVP honors twice in his career, 1977 and 1985. In his career, he has nearly half a thousand catches for 4,500 yards and 15 touchdowns, so he wasn’t much of a vertical threat. But since we’re talking about the passing game of football, he had 34 career pass attempts for him for 331 yards and 8 touchdowns. He had a career 16,000 yards and 100 touchdowns in his twelve-year career, not the No. 1 rusher of all time on paper. His best record, perhaps most rushing yards in a game, 275 against division rival Minnesota Vikings. But, “Sweetness” has a super bowl ring on his finger, and seventy-seven hundred-yard rushing games.
So we’ve covered Payton and Sanders, but now a man who will always be remembered in the cream of the crop, Emmitt Smith. Emmitt had almost 1,000 rushing yards in his rookie season, where he earned rookie of the year honors. His best season was in 1993. Where he won AP NFL MVP, Bert Bell MVP Trophy (Maxwell Club), PFWA MVP, Super Bowl MVP and UPI NFC Offensive Player of the Year. Emmitt is another running back with a ring, but on this list he’s the most impressive yet because he’s the all-time leader in career rushing yards with 18,335 and he shows durability by playing 3 years longer than Payton and 6 years longer than Sanders. Not to mention thirty-two thousand receiving yards. Emmitt did all of this being one of the best runners and one of the smallest at just 5’9″ and weighing just 212 over the course of his fifteen year career. But what is perhaps the most impressive stat is almost 1000 rushing yards in 2004 with the Arizona Cardinals. But was there something wrong with the way he carried the ball? He was averaging an average of 5 fumbles per year. So all of these running backs have one flaw or another on their resume, but none it is perfect.
Now there are three backs down two to go. These next two are the ones that keep popping up. Jim Brown also almost reached the century mark in his rookie year, but he did it in just 12 games. Goal scoring was not one of his highlights with 109 career touchdowns from him. Now that wasn’t bad considering he played 8 seasons in twelve and 14 game seasons, that’s 128 games. He was known for his deadly stiff arm that carried him 12,312 rushing yards, or more than 100 yards per game, but he was playing against competition from 1957-1965 that wasn’t as good.
Now, while the competition is great and amazing, like Ray Lewis, Jason Taylor, John Lynch, and Champ Bailey, you have to be great to play against great players. Great is a word that comes up when you talk about this man, LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson reached the 100 touchdown mark within the range of 70-70 games played. He was the fastest in NFL history to reach 100 touchdowns. He is the all-time leading point scorer, breaking Paul Hournings’ record. He is explosive, he can catch, pass and of course run. He holds the record for touchdowns in a single season and he’s still going at 30 right now. In his sixth season, he nearly broke Jim Brown’s touchdown record two years earlier and against better competition. He even addresses Jim Brown as Mr. Brown. Unlike anyone else on this five-man list, he had 1,236 receiving yards in his rookie season with ten touchdowns and 350 receiving yards. He has never had a season below 1,200 rushing yards and this season he has over 1,700 yards. In 2003 he had 1,600 rushing yards and 700 receiving yards. With 900 more yards on the run he will reach 10,000 rushing yards. He has only played 6 seasons. This season you can get to the Super Bowl ring right on point. He also has pro bowl honors in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
So, in conclusion, I personally don’t think Jim Brown is the best running back in NFL history. I think it goes without saying that Smith played longer than anyone on this unstoppable list. He has the ring and the most rushing yards in his career. If you look on paper, he played a longer season than Brown and against much better competition than Jim Brown, and he had high numbers when he played on one of the worst football teams at the time. The reason Tomlinson isn’t No. 1 is because he’s only played six years; however, if this pace that he’s on continues, knowing Tomlinson will keep it up, then by the end of his career in six or seven more years, chances are he will be. he the best runner of all time, but for now he is not.