All-time RBs in today's NFL

[hondo in seattle]

Let me preface what follows with this caveat: I don't think there's a fair way to rank RBs of the same era, let alone RBs of different eras.

 

I will argue, though, that I think it was harder to pick up yards on the ground back in the old days. The RB was the heart of the offense, and defenses lined up 11 guys with one unified priority: stop the RB. Today's defensive schemes are designed more to stop the passing game. And now defensive linemen are chosen for their pass rushing skills. LBs are chosen for their coverage skills. And so on.

 

Anywho, let me introduce something I call the RB Dominance Quotient which looks at how productive a RB was compared to the #2 guy. For example, if the NFL rushing leader racked up 1,100 yards while the #2 back ran for 1,000 yards, the leading back gets a score of 1.1. If the rushing leader rushed for 2,000 yards while the #2 rusher got 1,000 yards, the leader earns a score of 2.0. The idea of the RB Dominance Quotient is to measure how impressive a back's yardage total was for that given year.

 

Here are the top four seasons since 1960.

 

OJ (1973) 1.75

J. Brown (1963) 1.70

OJ (1976) 1.46

W. Payton (1977) 1.45

 

In a day and age when DCs were focused on stopping the run, they couldn't figure out a scheme to slow OJ down. He was in class of his own when RBs were big deals and attracted the best athletes and the most defensive attention.

 

And OJ's measurables would translate well to today's game.

 

When talking about the greatest RB of all time, I really think it's a two-name conversation: OJ and Jim Brown. And I think both would tear it up if they played today.

Edited July 15, 2017 by hondo in seattle

[Gunsgoodtime]

Barry Sanders = Best pure RB ever. None has ever, or will ever, move like him.

Best I have ever witnessed play, no doubt. The guy was magical. I like the people talking about Bo jackson as well, if it won't for injuries guy would have broke all kinds of records probably. Thurman, Emmitt, Faulk would all be fine

[vincec]

....guess the strength of the OSU running game is clearly defined...Barry as Thurmal's BACKUP......Thurmal goes in the 2nd due to suspect knee injury (STILL remembering Thomas in 1988 draft waiting and hoping until the 2nd)...BOTH HOF'ers epitomized their position IMO.....

Can you imagine Barry Sanders not being your starting RB? Damn.

[boyst]

thurman thomas doesn't get that much respect. and overall peopel tend to forget barry sanders too quickly.

 

terrel davis was somethign special, too.

 

 

i'm thinking of some of the upright running backs, too. those were always fun to watch. i always enjoyed antowain smith.

[K-9]

Virtually ANY of the great backs in history, especially from the 60s on, would be just as good in today's league. Some, given the advent of more one back schemes, may have been even better.

[Chicken Boo]

People are now noticing how patient Leveon Bell is, but Priest Holmes was the original "patient" back.

 

He's another forgotten guy along with Ricky Watters, that had HOF level talent. Watters has a HOF resume but politics will keep him out for a long time.

Edited July 16, 2017 by Chicken Boo

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

Eric Dickerson, Priest Holmes, Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Emmit Smith, OJ Simpson, Marshall Faulk, Terrell Davis, Thurman Thomas, Tony Dorsett, Earl Campbell, Walter Payton, LaDanian Tomlison and Jerome Bettis would ALL thrive in this era or any era of NFL Football.

[Captain Murica]

People are now noticing how patient Leveon Bell is, but Priest Holmes was the original "patient" back.

 

He's another forgotten guy along with Ricky Watters, that had HOF level talent. Watters has a HOF resume but politics will keep him out for a long time.

Yup, it's a shame. He had 6 straight seasons of 1,000 rushing yards and 10.6k for his career. Yet, Terrell Davis only played 6 seasons but made it in. I understand TD was the main reason elway got his two rings but still Watters has a ring as well.

[Agent 91]

Everyone would have some trouble because defenders are so much bigger and stronger than they were in previous eras. This is especially true for the bigger backs. Jim Brown was bigger than half the defensive ends he played against. He might have a little more trouble breaking the DEs tackle as he goes around the line and running over the LB these days.

 

The guys that relied primarily on quickness and vision would probably do the best. Being a good receiver would also be a big plus in today's game. I like Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, Gale Sayers, Marshall Faulk or Thurman Thomas.

What about Payton?

[Greybeard]

Remember OJ's first couple of years when it took max effort just to get back to the line. Well, Saban fixed that. Unfortunately for Berry Sander, the Lions never really did. I'd still vote Sanders as the most elusive RB ever.

 

To all those that made comments about RB's having to catch the ball in today's NFL, that was Rauch's plan with OJ. Can't say I liked Rauch very much. Also, I am not saying it

was OJ's fault that plan never worked out. The early OJ teams may have been the worse ever. Excuse me, the teams just before OJ get that honor.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

Remember OJ's first couple of years when it took max effort just to get back to the line. Well, Saban fixed that. Unfortunately for Berry Sander, the Lions never really did. I'd still vote Sanders as the most elusive RB ever.

 

To all those that made comments about RB's having to catch the ball in today's NFL, that was Rauch's plan with OJ. Can't say I liked Rauch very much. Also, I am not saying it

was OJ's fault that plan never worked out. The early OJ teams may have been the worse ever. Excuse me, the teams just before OJ get that honor.

....the guy just had incredible cutback ability......always seemed like he could pivot on a dime......scores a TD and politely hands ball to referee.....class..................

[Saxum]

Barry Sanders was the most elusive RB I've ever seen. Look what he did while being on terrible teams with no QB. He might be the best ever but we will never know because they didn't have free agency back then and he was stuck in Detroit so he decided to retire in his prime rather than continue playing for a bad team

 

There were issues with Barry Sanders in that attempting to get yards when few were available he would lose yards behind line of scrimmage. Yes the plays he broke off for big ones were good but the negative plays really hurt the team.

[The Frankish Reich]

I agree with most all of the posters here - the vast majority of the great running backs of previous eras would likely be great today too. So which ones wouldn't be? Which great running backs had skills that might not translate/be sustainable in the modern game? My guesses:

 

- big fullback sized running backs without much elusiveness: Larry Csonka, John Riggins, maybe Jim Taylor (before my time). And no this isn't meant to be a list of big white running backs, but those are the guys who come to mind right now. OK, not HOF players, but maybe guys like Christian Okoye and Marion Butts, who started great but got beaten up quick are examples of how it doesn't translate? Bettis may be the great exception. For the most part, I don't know that anyone can take that kind of beating game after game over a 10 year career now. These guys looked for contact, running over people instead of running around them.

 

- smaller backs who made a career by running between the tackles, and made the HOF by doing it for a long, long time: Floyd Little? Leroy Kelly? And maybe Emmitt Smith. I know it wasn't so long ago, but it was 20 years ago. He'd still be very good today, but maybe not HOF good.

[Chandler#81]

I agree with most all of the posters here - the vast majority of the great running backs of previous eras would likely be great today too. So which ones wouldn't be? Which great running backs had skills that might not translate/be sustainable in the modern game? My guesses:

 

- big fullback sized running backs without much elusiveness: Larry Csonka, John Riggins, maybe Jim Taylor (before my time). And no this isn't meant to be a list of big white running backs, but those are the guys who come to mind right now. OK, not HOF players, but maybe guys like Christian Okoye and Marion Butts, who started great but got beaten up quick are examples of how it doesn't translate? Bettis may be the great exception. For the most part, I don't know that anyone can take that kind of beating game after game over a 10 year career now. These guys looked for contact, running over people instead of running around them.

 

- smaller backs who made a career by running between the tackles, and made the HOF by doing it for a long, long time: Floyd Little? Leroy Kelly? And maybe Emmitt Smith. I know it wasn't so long ago, but it was 20 years ago. He'd still be very good today, but maybe not HOF good.

Good post.

 

Marion Motley would be a big bruising back that may not equate to today's game. Like Jim Brown, he was bigger than most defensive players at the time and just ran over them.

[ROONDOGG55]

Its slow NFL season and I was bored. I was watching some highlights of alltime great RBs and it got me thinking..

 

Which RB from history could in their prime be good in todays NFL. Considering their size, speed etc. Knowing some stats might be hard because many predate them.

 

Just curious what your guys thoughts were? How far do we need to go back for the NFL to be different enough to matter?

 

I'll chime in more when I see some responses and think about it.

 

Look forward to hearing what you guys think.

1. Jim Brown for sure
2. Earl Campbell would have had the same amount of success
3. Thurman Thomas with his double threat capabilities

[Thrivefourfive]

Size hasn't really changed over the past two or so decades. Barry and Emmit Smith are a little shorter, but weigh the same, and have tremendously solid body types. Thermal, at 210 lbs would be the floor for a carry/touch machine. Going back further, OJ, Jim Brown, Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson have elite size for today's game. Maybe there are more 6' 230 lbs guys in today's game, but they can become useless very quickly. If anything, they might be, on average, an inch or three taller than yesteryear.

 

BUT, skill has evolved a lot. Today, they are faster, more agile, and have considerably better hands and pass protection skills. They train year around, and need to compete against way better players on the other side of the ball. So throwing the all time greats in their primes like Simpson, Brown, and Dickerson on the field would be a tough one. Perhaps they would wear down quickly during today's fast paced, size and speed game.

[26CornerBlitz]

Size hasn't really changed over the past two or so decades. Barry and Emmit Smith are a little shorter, but weigh the same, and have tremendously solid body types. Thermal, at 210 lbs would be the floor for a carry/touch machine. Going back further, OJ, Jim Brown, Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson have elite size for today's game. Maybe there are more 6' 230 lbs guys in today's game, but they can become useless very quickly. If anything, they might be, on average, an inch or three taller than yesteryear.

 

BUT, skill has evolved a lot. Today, they are faster, more agile, and have considerably better hands and pass protection skills. They train year around, and need to compete against way better players on the other side of the ball. So throwing the all time greats in their primes like Simpson, Brown, and Dickerson on the field would be a tough one. Perhaps they would wear down quickly during today's fast paced, size and speed game.

 

Totally disagree here. All three had size/speed combinations that would allow them to thrive in today's NFL.