OT - Your Top 5 All-Time Best NFL Running Backs

Submitted by xtramelanin on

Mates,

I am having a discussion with my older sons, and they were asking me who I thought were the top 5 all-time best NFL running backs.  As a Lions fan I will always list Barry Sanders as #1, but then who do you list after that?   Walter Payton was great.  Jim Brown in his day, but I don't think he'd be much of a stand out today.   Marshall Faulk?  Eric Dickerson?   I'm not an Emmitt Smith fan since he got to play with one of the all-time great offensive units every assembled (Jerry Rice, you did too, you sore loser), but he was certainly a very good pro back.  Who else should be considered?  

So, who do you have in your top 5?

1.  Barry

2.

3.

4.

5.

I hope you are with family and friends having a very fun but sane holiday.  

XM

(yes it's OT, but at least it's football related....)

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chomz14

July 3rd, 2016 at 4:04 PM ^

1.Barry (who else?) 2.Bo (career way too short) 3.Faulk (best all purpose back all time) 4.Okoye (had his jersey as a kid) 5.Billy Sims (never saw him play but he does serve a great pulled pork sandwich)

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Goggles Paisano

July 3rd, 2016 at 4:16 PM ^

Billy Sims was freakin awesome!  He was like an adrenaline shot the Lions needed after years of so-so players.  Look up his highlight where he lept in the air and kicked a defender square in the side of the helmet.

Billy Sims was also fantastic on the goal line - he could get some major air when he went over the top.  My brother and I even had a game we played in the living room where he would play defense on his knees and I would try to go over the top and onto the couch for a TD. We named the game "Billy Sims"  

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BallmeBlazer

July 3rd, 2016 at 4:06 PM ^

All my NFL knowledge comes from Tecmo Bowl and Super Tecmo Bowl so. . .

1. Barry Sanders
2. Bo Jackson
3. Walter Payton
4. Emmitt Smith
5. Christian Okoye

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brad

July 3rd, 2016 at 4:07 PM ^

Many backs have better career stats, but the all time greatest backs were
Gale Sayers
Jim Brown
Bo Jackson
Barry Sanders
No need for a fifth.



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SpreadGuru

July 3rd, 2016 at 4:19 PM ^

Obviously a fan base bias here...Barry Sanders was only a runner...rarely caught a pass and he was horrible at pass protection. Honestly, this is Lions fans living for the glory days. He's not even close to Jim Brown, Walter Payton or Emmitt Smith. Honestly, he's closer to Curtis Martin and Herschel Walker.

#BarryNotOnTheListOfOtherFanBases



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DMack

July 3rd, 2016 at 8:46 PM ^

Dude, I just had to respond here because you obviously don't know football. Barry was the best because he is the only one that 1. Could have broke Dickersons single season record but Wayne Fontes took him out of the game early with less than 20 yards to go. 2. He also would had broken Walter Payton's record of all time yards but he retired 3 seasons too early and Emmit continued to play until he was boardering disgrace. 3. He did it on the shittiest teams to ever suit up. He doesn't have to catch and block to win this prize, just watching him run was convincing enough.

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Megatron

July 4th, 2016 at 12:12 AM ^

You can't have a Top 3 without Barry Sanders so what that Sanders didn't catch the ball out of the back field or couldn't block when it was a passing play. Barry made 2 yard losses look good or how he get by the defender for major yards or taking it to the house.

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Bo Schemheckler

July 3rd, 2016 at 4:24 PM ^

1. Barry 2. #20 3. That guy who blew out rod woodson's knee without touching him 4. That really good lions back from the 90s 5. The one whose kid just transferred from Stanford to OK state

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rob f

July 3rd, 2016 at 4:46 PM ^

My opinion (full disclosure: coming from someone who hates the Bears above all other NFL teams) and I'm sticking to it. The only negatives Gale Sayers had are ones he couldn't control ---devastating knee injuries and playing on an otherwise anemic offense. Sayers averaged 5.2 yd/carry over his first 3 seasons, then was at 6.2 yds/carry thru 9 games in his 4th season when he suffered torn knee ligaments. And this was for a Bears team that had no offense other than him in the late 60s. Payton, OTOH, played on generally good-to-very good Bears teams and had a relatively healthy career during which he put up great numbers over a much longer time.

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Brown Bear

July 3rd, 2016 at 5:54 PM ^

Payton played on some TERRIBLE Bears teams for most of his career and rarely had a competent offense or line for the majority of his career. Only his final 4 seasons were they ever really a good/great team and that was still with a mostly average offense besides him.



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Blue Kool Aid

July 3rd, 2016 at 5:04 PM ^

when the Browns OWNED football, they stomped other teams on the ground.   Marion Motley changed the prototype from shifty, swivel hipped halfback to smashmouth running back.

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sammylittle

July 3rd, 2016 at 5:07 PM ^

1. Walter Payton

2. Barry Sanders

3. Jim Brown

4. Adrian Peterson

5. Marshall Faulk

Note: Bo Jackson might have reached #1 if was not injured. His combination of speed and power are unmatched!

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CoverZero

July 3rd, 2016 at 5:36 PM ^

About 6 years ago I was at a training event in Chicago for a job, and met this guy from Buffalo.  He said that Thurman Thomas was the Best Running Back in NFL history.  I countered with Barry and he got pissed and very angry.  The guy was a psycho and wanted to fight over it, so I dropped it and moved on.  But I still had to sit next to him for the next 3 days.

Barry Sanders

Jim Brown

Walter Peyton

La Dainian Tomlinson

Marshall Faulk

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WNY in Savannah

July 3rd, 2016 at 5:30 PM ^

Are we talking peak value or career value?  That makes a huge difference when choosing between Sayers and Payton, for instance.  It's also virtually impossible to compare across eras, as stated above.  But...I'll go with Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, Earl Campbell, and Walter Payton.  Throw in Marshall Faulk for an "all purpose" back.  Maybe a guy like Motley should be here.

In my opinion, the most "amazing" and "most fun to watch" RB's were Barry Sanders and Gale Sayers.

One other thing: the amazing thing about Babe Ruth's 1927 season is that it wasn't even his best.  He was better in 1921 when he hit 59 HR's but was better in just about everything else.

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Lie-Cheat-Steal

July 3rd, 2016 at 6:00 PM ^

Shows how Payton and Smith were work horses and some of the other greats mentioned were more explosive but not reaching the total overall output.

To me it would seem the outer band or frontier approaching the top right of the grid of Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and Emmit Smith should be considered the top 4.  

Jamal Charles had amazing ypc but hard to put him up there with so few carries.

http://www.footballperspective.com/career-leaders-in-yards-per-carry-er…

 

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