The 25 Most Successful NFL Running Backs

You may have seen my article from last month about the 25 Most Successful NFL Quarterbacks. Here is my list of the top 25 running backs with a similar grading system and a few more surprises.

The following grading standard was applied for each running back:

• 5 points for every Super Bowl Ring or NFL/AFL championship
• 1 point for every 500 yards rushing
• 1 point for every 5 rushing touchdowns
• 2 points for every Pro Bowl Selection

Current players are listed in all caps.

25. Priest Holmes — 44 points

1 Super Bowl Ring; 8,172 rushing yards; 86 TD runs; 3 Pro Bowl Selections

Holmes was an amazingly hard runner whose career was shortened by a devastating injury. Without that injury, he'd move up quickly on this list.

24. SHAUN ALEXANDER — 44 points

0 Super Bowl Rings; 9,429 rushing yards; 100 TD runs; 3 Pro Bowl Selections

Alexander is an enigma to me. He was quite good for a few years, but now it seems the Seahawks are better off with him on the bench. I doubt he'll be on the list for long.

23. Leroy Kelly — 45 points

1 Super Bowl Ring; 7,274 rushing yards; 74 TD runs; 6 Pro Bowl Selections

Kelly played for the Browns of the '60s and had a slightly shortened career of 10 years. Retiring at age 31, one wonders if he could have been even greater in today's world of sports medicine.

22. EDGERRIN JAMES — 46 points

0 Super Bowl Rings; 11,607 rushing yards; 77 TD runs; 4 Pro Bowl Selections

James getting dealt to the Cardinals was his death sentence on moving up too high on the list. At least in Indianapolis he'd have a chance for some rings, now he's stuck in a desert, on many levels.

21. Lenny Moore — 46 points

2 Super Bowl Rings; 5,174 rushing yards; 63 TD runs; 7 Pro Bowl Selections

Moore is the biggest enigma of this list. His best year was his rookie year with 649 yards rushing. But spanning this over a great career and a lot of Pro Bowl selections, he comes in at number 21.

20. Thurman Thomas — 47 points

0 Super Bowl Rings; 12,074 rushing yards; 65 TD runs; 5 Pro Bowl Selections

Sadness indeed with this back, riding the coattails of the wrong quarterback. Think of it this way. With four Super Bowl wins instead of four Super Bowl losses, Thomas would be No. 5, right after his former fellow Oklahoma State Cowboy, Barry Sanders.

19. Larry Csonka — 48 points

2 Super Bowl Rings; 8,081 rushing yards; 64 TD runs; 5 Pro Bowl Selections

I'm going to go ahead and say Csonka is the hardest runner on this list. He's the definition of a man.

18. O.J. Simpson — 49 points

0 Super Bowl Rings; 11,236 rushing yards; 61 TD runs; 6 Pro Bowl Selections

No comment.

17. John Riggins — 49 points

1 Super Bowl Ring; 11,352 rushing yards; 104 TD runs; 1 Pro Bowl Selections

Riggings was the Fred Taylor of his generation. Really? One Pro Bowl selection in all those fantastic years, he deserved more.

16. Roger Craig — 50 points

3 Super Bowl Rings; 8,189 rushing yards; 56 TD runs; 4 Pro Bowl Selections

As you'll see in my notes later, Craig is one of the backs that would benefit greatly from adding receiving statistics to the package of running backs. What other running back could lead the league in receptions, especially with Jerry Rice on his team at the time?

15. Ottis Anderson — 50 points

2 Super Bowl Rings; 10,273 rushing yards; 81 TD runs; 2 Pro Bowl Selections

Never the overpowering back, but Ottis drummed out a steady career and was rewarded with a Super Bowl championship and MVP trophy at the end.

14. Corey Dillon — 51 points

1 Super Bowl Ring; 11,241 rushing yards; 82 TD runs; 4 Pro Bowl Selections

Dillon truly paid his dues in Cincinnati. Nobody is more deserving of their Super Bowl ring than Corey Dillon.

13. Ricky Watters — 51 points

1 Super Bowl Ring; 10,632 rushing yards; 78 TD runs; 5 Pro Bowl Selections

I was actually quite surprised to see Watters on the list at all, much less at number 13, but here he sits with pretty impressive statistics apparently.

12. LADAINIAN TOMLINSON — 52 points

0 Super Bowl Rings; 10,650 rushing yards; 115 TD runs; 5 Pro Bowl Selections

Health will help L.T. move up the list, at least to number nine. A Lombardi Trophy wouldn't hurt, either.

11. Tony Dorsett — 53 points

1 Super Bowl Ring; 12,739 rushing yards; 77 TD runs; 4 Pro Bowl Selections

Well, I suppose the owner of the most well-known and longest run in the NFL should be on the list.

10. Curtis Martin — 56 points

0 Super Bowl Rings; 14,101 rushing yards; 90 TD runs; 5 Pro Bowl Selections

Martin is an example of another very steady and very good career. He's in the same boat as Drew Bledsoe, leaving the Patriots at the wrong time. Three rings would have sat him pretty at No. 4.

9. Eric Dickerson — 56 points

0 Super Bowl Rings; 13,259 rushing yards; 90 TD runs; 6 Pro Bowl Selections

For as few seasons as Dickerson played, being at number nine is astounding. What an amazing back when he was in his prime.

8. Jerome Bettis — 62 points

1 Super Bowl Ring; 13,662 rushing yards; 91 TD runs; 6 Pro Bowl Selections

Bettis padded some of those touchdown stats near the end of his career I suppose, but it's surprising he doesn't have more, to be quite honest.

7. Marshall Faulk — 63 points

1 Super Bowl Ring; 12,279 rushing yards; 100 TD runs; 7 Pro Bowl Selections

Marshall Faulk is another back who would have greatly benefited from the receiving statistics. Even without them, his numbers look pretty marvelous.

6. Jim Brown — 63 points

0 Super Bowl Rings; 12,312 rushing yards; 106 TD runs; 9 Pro Bowl Selections

If you broke down points per season played, Jim Brown would be number one, and Sanders number two. Brown's decision to call it quits earlier than many expected keeps him a bit lower on this list than one might think, but nobody questions that Jim Brown was fantastic.

5. Marcus Allen — 65 points

1 Super Bowl Ring; 12,243 rushing yards; 123 TD runs; 6 Pro Bowl Selections

Allen is the third back who would have benefited from the receiving statistics. Oh what I would have given to be part of the Raiders when Allen and Bo Jackson were there lighting up defenses all over the AFC.

4. Barry Sanders — 69 points

0 Super Bowl Rings; 15,269 rushing yards; 99 TD runs; 10 Pro Bowl Selections

I will say that Sanders was by far the most exciting player on this list to watch. Granted, I'm too young to have seen a few on the list, but Sanders on Thanksgiving Day was always a treat. Another career ended early that sorely disappointed me. About the only thing sadder than Sanders' retirement for me in high school was Chris Farley's tragic death.

3. Walter Payton — 78 points

1 Super Bowl Ring; 16,726 rushing yards; 110 TD runs; 9 Pro Bowl Selections

The only thing good about the Bears not winning any other Super Bowls in Ditka's era was the fact that no more of those stupid dance/music videos came out. Payton was a master of the game, a true Chicago smash mouth player.

2. Franco Harris — 80 points

4 Super Bowl Rings; 12,120 rushing yards; 91 TD runs; 9 Pro Bowl Selections

I would have never pegged Harris to be number two either, probably not even in the top 10, but those four rings and nine Pro Bowls are hard to argue with.

1. Emmitt Smith — 99 points

3 Super Bowl Rings; 18,355 rushing yards; 164 TD runs; 8 Pro Bowl Selections

Often considered to be a touch overrated, Smith shows that success is not determined by you alone, your teammates have to help you. Smith runs away from the rest of the backs on this list, but I like to ask the question, what would have happened if Barry Sanders was in Dallas and Emmitt Smith was at Detroit through the entirety of the 1990s? Or you could add Thurman Thomas, Corey Dillon, or Rickey Watters into that mix. I'm not sure Smith would have survived without the Cowboys' amazing offensive line. He wasn't much for creating his own yards like Sanders and Thomas were.

Let me make a few explanations. As I've mentioned, I chose to leave out the receiving statistics for running backs in this process. I may create another list including that data, but I haven't decided how to weigh each category. It's difficult to include a thing like receptions for a back, since most of their receptions are pretty much cake so long as they don't start running downfield without the ball. It was also difficult to include that statistic because it depends solely on a team's style as to whether or not a back gets receptions, and it is not Walter Payton's fault that he played for the Bears instead of for the 49ers.

Also, Super Bowl rings for running backs are worth less than they were for quarterbacks (5 instead of 10). The reason for this is two-fold. One, I simply awarded less points to the running backs. For example, Brett Favre had the most points for passing yards with 61 (1 point for every 1,000 yards). Emmitt Smith had the most points for rushing yards with 36 (1 point for every 500 yards). Things would have been a bit skewed if I awarded 10 points for a ring. Also, the quarterback is the general of the team. They are the leaders. They need to make the decisions with the ball. They are ultimately more responsible for victory than a running back.

I also awarded two points (instead of three) for a Pro Bowl Selection. This was also due to the discrepancy of points. It just seemed to even things out better. The only person that switch really helped was John Riggins.

Smith is the obvious number one as far as success goes. He has the records, rings, and everything else needed to be considered number one.