More than anything else, what limited OJ's catches were his own hands of stone. Rauch, Bills HC in OJ's rookie year, actually wanted to make him a WR. OJ's hands sucked and the crazy experiment that Rauch wished to implement went straight to the crapper. That was a good thing, or we might have missed out on some exciting years of OJ running the ball.
Running was OJ's game, and that's it folks. No blocking, and pass catching - barely adequate at best, and in reality, sub-par. Nice of you to pick out his absolute best as receiver though. OJ never caught more than 30 passes (which was his rookie year when Rauch, HC, often had him split out as a WR.), Yet you fail to mention Thomas' contributions after his 60 catch season, which were 49. 62, 58, 48, and 50 immediately following. Fact is, as a pure runner, OJ had the edge, but Thomas buried him in in blocking and receiving, and Thomas was still a great runner in his own right.
Did you actually watch both of these RB's careers, or is this simply another voice of opinion without knowledge of the actual facts at hand?
Pure runner, OJ for 5 years. Complete back and overall best - TT.