Top 25 NFL running backs whose careers were derailed too early

Arguably the greatest running back in NFL history, Barry Sanders also has a strong case for the greatest “what if” story the league has ever seen.

Sanders wasn’t just one of the most dynamic and electrifying running backs to play the game, and an inspiration for generations of future running backs, he was one of the most productive players in the history of the sport.

The Heisman Trophy winner, out of Oklahoma State University, Sanders was chosen No. 3 overall by the Detroit Lions in 1989 and hit the ground running. As a rookie, Sanders burst onto the scene with 1,470 yards and 14 touchdowns, with the type of season that would be the high-water mark for most players.

Not for Sanders.

Sanders never rushed for fewer than 1,100 yards in a season and his rookie campaign was his seventh-most productive year.

In 1997, his ninth NFL season, Sanders produced a career-high 2,03 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging a career-high 6.1 yards per carry. One year later, he retired.

On July 27, 1999, at the age of 30, Sanders penned a letter announcing his retirement.

Poof, just like that, one of the NFL’s premier running backs in the middle of his prime, simply walked away from the sport.

The fourth-leading rusher in NFL history, imagine if Sanders had played for three more seasons. After averaging 1,526 rushing yards per season, if he hadn’t walked away in his prime, and kept up that pace for three more years, Sanders had a chance at producing 19,849 yards … 1,494 more than Emmit Smith’s league record.

Oh, what might have been.

• Career stats: 3,062 carries for 15,269 yards and 99 touchdowns, 352 receptions for 2,921 yards and 10 touchdowns
• Pro Football Hall of Famer
• Two-time NFL MVP
• 1989 NFL Offensive Rookie of The Year
• Six-time First-Team All-Pro
• Four-time Second-team All-Pro
• 10-time Pro Bowler
• Four-time NFL rushing champion
• NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
• NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team