All 32 NFL Franchises Statistically Ranked By All-Time Greatness At The Running Back Position

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24. New York Titans/Jets: 37 Points

Top Three RBs: Curtis Martin, Freeman McNeil, Thomas Jones

All three of the Jets’ running backs were named to at least one Pro Bowl, but only Curtis Martin has surpassed the 10 touchdown mark (doing so three times). He is one of the greatest running backs to ever play in the NFL and showed amazing consistency throughout his career. Twice he broke the 1,500 yard mark, while Freeman McNeil and Thomas Jones combined for five 1,000 yard seasons. Overall Martin really is the Jets’ entire history at running back. Currently they’re hoping that ex-Titans running back Chris Johnson has a few more quality years left in the tank; I’m thinking he does.

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23. Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals: 38 Points

Top Three RBs: Ollie Matson, Ottis Andersen, John David Crow

The Cardinals are definitely not a team that most NFL fans would associate with great running back play, but they have had some over the years. Namely Ollie Matson, who was named First-Team All-Pro five times in his career with the Cardinals. But it is Ottis Andersen that leads this group with five separate seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards. Although, John David Crow is the only one of the bunch to score at least 15 touchdowns in a season. As you can tell the wealth of relative success has been shared by the Cardinals’ top running backs. Moving forward they’ve put their hope at the position in Andre Ellington.

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22. New Orleans Saints: 39 Points

Top Three RBs: Deuce McAllister, George Rodgers, Dalton Hilliard

New Orleans has found some success at the running back position, but certainly not as much as it would have hoped for. Yet all three of these running backs did hit the 15 touchdown mark in New Orleans and all but Hilliard ran for 1,500 yards while a Saint. Deuce McAllister was the best of the group, putting together back-to-back great seasons in 2002-03 (invited to the Pro Bowl both years). George Rodgers is the only one of the three to be appointed First-Team All-Pro. In 2014 they’re counting on a combination of Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas to carry the loud at running back. Thomas has a chance to crack the Saints’ top three running backs at some point in his career.

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21. Washington “Redskins”: 40 Points

Top Three RBs: John Riggins, Larry Brown, Clinton Portis

For a franchise as storied as Washington, they haven’t featured as many dominant running backs as one would think. Although, Riggins truly was an all-time great. Four times he ran for a 1,000 yards and once scored double-digit touchdowns in a season. He’s one of the all-time great power backs in NFL history. But Larry Brown was invited to more Pro Bowls and was a two time First-Team All-Pro. Clinton Portis is the only one of the bunch to run for 1,500 yards. Watch for Alfred Morris to knock Portis from this list within the next few years; he’s the real deal at running back. Washington is in good hands at the position for the foreseeable future. I suspect they’ll steadily climb this list over the next decade.

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20. Atlanta Falcons: 42 Points

Top Three RBs: William Andrews, Jamal Anderson, Michael Turner

The Falcons have had a decent history at the running back position. Their top three running backs have combined for seven Pro Bowl appearances and 11 separate 1,000 yard seasons. The best of the bunch is William Andrews who was not just a threat running the ball, but catching it too. But the most famous back may be Jamal Anderson. Who could ever forget him doing the “Dirty Bird” on their run to the Super Bowl during the 1998 season? Yet Michael Turner was the most consistent of them all. He had five 10-touchdown seasons in Atlanta. They currently have an aging Steven Jackson at the position — does he have anything left in the tank? We’re about to find out.

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19. Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders: 43 Points

Top Three RBs: Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Clem Daniels

Many would have expected the Raiders to be higher on this list with iconic names like Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson at the position. But most of Allen’s success was in just his first six seasons and Jackson’s career was infamously cut short by a hip injury. Even so, the Raiders can still be proud of their position. Allen made it to five Pro Bowls and hit the 10-touchdown mark five times — more than any other runner in Raiders history. Clem Daniels is an incredibly underrated running back that was impressively named First-Team All-Pro twice in his career. Currently the Raiders have Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden splitting the load. Whether this year be a bounce back year for Jones-Drew remains to be seen.

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18. Philadelphia Eagles: 46 Points

Top Three RBs: Brian Westbrook, Wilbert Montgomery, LeSean McCoy

One fascinating trend within Philadelphia’s running back history is that Eagles running backs are expected to catch the ball and continually make plays in the passing game. This is evident by the fact that all three of these plays have hit the 500 yard receiving mark at least two times. Brian Westbrook was one of the greatest pass catching running backs of all-time and LeSean “Shady” McCoy is one of the top running backs in the entire NFL right now. McCoy and Montgomery both ran for 1,500 yards for Philly, too. Maybe they’re not the greatest running back franchise, but the Eagles definitely have one of the most unique histories at the running back position, that’s for sure. Look for McCoy to continue to put together impressive seasons, pushing the Eagles further up this list for years to come.

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17. San Francisco 49ers: 50 Points

Top Three RBs: Frank Gore, Roger Craig, Joe Perry

The 49ers’ trio of tailbacks has put together an impressive 12 total Pro Bowl invitations and 12 seasons of rushing for at least 1,000 yards. The most consistent of the group is the one that’s still playing — Frank Gore. He’s already amassed seven 1,000 yard seasons and been to the most Pro Bowls of any of the three. Roger Craig put together the most 10 touchdowns seasons (4) and Joe Perry has been named First-Team All-Pro the most times. The history at the running back position in San Francisco is varied and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Gore is expected to have another quality season despite his age, but you can believe that the Niners will continue to run the ball well long after he’s gone, too.