Top 10 Running Backs

[es4m11]

Zeke Elliott has been opening a lot of eyes around the league with his excellent, even dominant play right out of the box as a rookie. I started to think where would he fall in today's top 10 NFL of NFL RBs, was also curious to see what the general consensus was.

My list...

Tier 1 - Bell cow 3 down backs, run/catch/block these guys do it all at a high level. You could make a case for either of these as the best.
1. David Johnson
2. Leveon Bell
3. Zeke Elliott - Early, I know, but his talent is undeniable

Tier 2 - Pro-Bowl level talent, this group does most things very well.
4. Todd Gurley - has zero help on offense
5. Lesean McCoy
6. Demarco Murray
7. Adrian Peterson* - Starting to look old, injured . Put him here strictly out of respect of accomplishments
8. Devonta Freeman
9. Lamar Miller
10. Jamal Charles - Injuries mounting, but still a great player

HM: LaGarette Blount, Matt Forte, Mark Ingram, Gio Bernard, Eddie Lacy

And just for fun, here is my all time top 10 of RBs I have watched play (1990-present)

1. Barry Sanders
2. Emmitt Smith
3. Marshall Faulk
4. Ladanian Tomlinson
5. Edgerrin James
6. Thurman Thomas
7. Adrian Peterson
8. Curtis Martin
9. Tiki Barber
10. Eddie George

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

Good list since 1990. I might have Ricky Waters or Bus in there

 

[reptec101]

Well gosh, here's a surprise. A Cowboy fan not including a Redskin. Feels like I'm re-living the presidential debate all over again. Nobody can be honest with themselves. 1st off not to include Jones in your tier 2 group is a disservice to your football knowledge. Since every team doesn't run the ball as frequent as others one must go on average per attempt. Yards are not a valid indicator because each RB can get good chunks on one single play. Yes that boost the average but unless you're watching each running play of each back in each game an only fair assessment is based on the RB's average. TD's are not good indicators of a players value because they can be piled up during a contest against a team with a weak run defense.

So going on average alone Matt Jones is 2 yards higher on average than 6 of these players mentioned, and if you're gonna include TD's he has more than half of em. I'm not slighting Elliot by any stretch, he's a great back, but he does benefit running behind the best line in all of football, as is per this year. Though I agree he is and will be a top tier RB for quite awhile.

Listen, Your board your rules your way, but if you wanna be taking serious is this business young man you need to keep your biased opinions up on the shelf and not out on the board where you can be dismantled.

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

I honestly thought of Portis as soon as I hit post. Damn good back as well as Westbrook from Iggs

 

[ArlingtonCowboys100]

Zeke Elliott has been opening a lot of eyes around the league with his excellent, even dominant play right out of the box as a rookie. I started to think where would he fall in today's top 10 NFL of NFL RBs, was also curious to see what the general consensus was.

My list...

Tier 1 - Bell cow 3 down backs, run/catch/block these guys do it all at a high level. You could make a case for either of these as the best.
1. David Johnson
2. Leveon Bell
3. Zeke Elliott - Early, I know, but his talent is undeniable

Tier 2 - Pro-Bowl level talent, this group does most things very well.
4. Todd Gurley - has zero help on offense
5. Lesean McCoy
6. Demarco Murray
7. Adrian Peterson* - Starting to look old, injured . Put him here strictly out of respect of accomplishments
8. Devonta Freeman
9. Lamar Miller
10. Jamal Charles - Injuries mounting, but still a great player

HM: LaGarette Blount, Matt Forte, Mark Ingram, Gio Bernard, Eddie Lacy

And just for fun, here is my all time top 10 of RBs I have watched play (1990-present)

1. Barry Sanders
2. Emmitt Smith
3. Marshall Faulk
4. Ladanian Tomlinson
5. Edgerrin James
6. Thurman Thomas
7. Adrian Peterson
8. Curtis Martin
9. Tiki Barber
10. Eddie George

I rank sanders behind peterson,smith,tomlinson,faulk. Sanders was a scatback. Yes he had a lot of long runs,but he also killed lots of drives and he was a horrible blocker. One of the most overated players of all time and a quitter to boot. Yards per carry don't matter if the running back can't help protect the qb on passing downs

 

[ArlingtonCowboys100]

Well gosh, here's a surprise. A Cowboy fan not including a Redskin. Feels like I'm re-living the presidential debate all over again. Nobody can be honest with themselves. 1st off not to include Jones in your tier 2 group is a disservice to your football knowledge. Since every team doesn't run the ball as frequent as others one must go on average per attempt. Yards are not a valid indicator because each RB can get good chunks on one single play. Yes that boost the average but unless you're watching each running play of each back in each game an only fair assessment is based on the RB's average. TD's are not good indicators of a players value because they can be piled up during a contest against a team with a weak run defense.

So going on average alone Matt Jones is 2 yards higher on average than 6 of these players mentioned, and if you're gonna include TD's he has more than half of em. I'm not slighting Elliot by any stretch, he's a great back, but he does benefit running behind the best line in all of football, as is per this year. Though I agree he is and will be a top tier RB for quite awhile.

Listen, Your board your rules your way, but if you wanna be taking serious is this business young man you need to keep your biased opinions up on the shelf and not out on the board where you can be dismantled.

What thought went through your mind when theismann took that hit from LT?

 

[Ojb81]

I rank sanders behind peterson,smith,tomlinson,faulk. Sanders was a scatback. Yes he had a lot of long runs,but he also killed lots of drives and he was a horrible blocker. One of the most overated players of all time and a quitter to boot. Yards per carry don't matter if the running back can't help protect the qb on passing downs

Foe the record, I always thought Emmitt Smith was the best back of the 1990's, but to put faulk in front of barry sanders?? Get the fuck out of here, thats absurd

 

[reptec101]

What thought went through your mind when theismann took that hit from LT?

WTF? I'll answer anyway. I thought oh hell that was some nasty shit... and when I saw the replay I thought the same thing. Turns out it was a blessing for this team because Joey T had done lost a step... walk in Mark Rypien and Doug Williams. All turned out well.

 

[es4m11]

Well gosh, here's a surprise. A Cowboy fan not including a Redskin. Feels like I'm re-living the presidential debate all over again. Nobody can be honest with themselves. 1st off not to include Jones in your tier 2 group is a disservice to your football knowledge. Since every team doesn't run the ball as frequent as others one must go on average per attempt. Yards are not a valid indicator because each RB can get good chunks on one single play. Yes that boost the average but unless you're watching each running play of each back in each game an only faiment is based on the RB's average. TD's are not good indicators of a players value because they can be piled up during a contest against a team with a weak run defense.

So going on average alone Matt Jones is 2 yards higher on average than 6 of these players mentioned, and if you're gonna include TD's he has more than half of em. I'm not slighting Elliot by any stretch, he's a great back, but he does benefit running behind the best line in all of football, as is per this year. Though I agree he is and will be a top tier RB for quite awhile.

Listen, Your board your rules your way, but if you wanna be taking serious is this business young man you need to keep your biased opinions up on the shelf and not out on the board where you can be dismantled.

You can't be serious. LOLOLOL!! Matt Jones? The guy has 2 good games over a 3 week period and all of a sudden he is among the 10-15 best at RB in the NFL? What has he accomplished? Talk about biased opinions. Get a clue.

Matt Jones in 19 career games has 923 yards with a 4.0 ypc, good for about 49 yards per game. He has three 100 yard games in those 19 career games. Of those 19 games, only 6 times did he have an average ypc over 4.0.

Wait, wait, I see what you did, you were just trying to be funny, right? If it makes you feel any better, Matt Forte could be bumped from the HM list and Matt Jones could slide in there.

 

[reptec101]

You can't be serious. LOLOLOL!! Matt Jones? The guy has 2 good games over a 3 week period and all of a sudden he is among the 10-15 best at RB in the NFL? What has he accomplished? Talk about biased opinions. Get a clue.

Matt Jones in 19 career games has 923 yards with a 4.0 ypc, good for about 49 yards per game. He has three 100 yard games in those 19 career games. Of those 19 games, only 6 times did he have an average ypc over 4.0.

Wait, wait, I see what you did, you were just trying to be funny, right? If it makes you feel any better, Matt Forte could be bumped from the HM list and Matt Jones could slide in there.

I don't know why I even try.

So let's get real... So when the NFL stats dept or whoever keeps track of this shit of the top RB's in the 2016 season they go back to last years stats and even maybe from a few years back and then add all that shit up to determine their worth right here in the here in now.... OK,, just wanted to make sure,,, I didn't know. You're smarter than me... but lets stay in the year 2016 when determining a RBs worth to their team this year. Now don't get me wrong... Im not saying Matt Jones is the RB that Seke is,,, quite frankly he doesn't have the line that your boy has to run though... that tidbit of knowledge will come in handy for you in a minute or so... Matt this year has rushed 89 times for 433 yards for an average of 4.9 a carry. Not bad.. I'm assuming you would agree.... good,, were making progress. Seke has rushed 137 times for 703 yards for an average of 5.1 a carry... not shabby at all. If we add 48 more carries to Jones (being the difference between the two) and multiply it by 4.9 (being the total number of yards he averages per carry) we have a total of 235 extra yards... now lets do some basic adding to sum it all up... 235 + 433 = 668 total yards. A mere 35 yards behind Elliott who has the advantage of perhaps the best line in the NFL.

You don't want to add Jones to your silly list thats fine,,, don't actually really care,,, just wanted to take the time to break down your errant ways. Spin it how you want... fact is he's 35 yards behind your back with the same amount of carries.... behind a sub par line. That's all. Have a nice night.

 

[jarntt]

Go away

 

[es4m11]

I don't know why I even try.

So let's get real... So when the NFL stats dept or whoever keeps track of this shit of the top RB's in the 2016 season they go back to last years stats and even maybe from a few years back and then add all that shit up to determine their worth right here in the here in now.... OK,, just wanted to make sure,,, I didn't know. You're smarter than me... but lets stay in the year 2016 when determining a RBs worth to their team this year. Now don't get me wrong... Im not saying Matt Jones is the RB that Seke is,,, quite frankly he doesn't have the line that your boy has to run though... that tidbit of knowledge will come in handy for you in a minute or so... Matt this year has rushed 89 times for 433 yards for an average of 4.9 a carry. Not bad.. I'm assuming you would agree.... good,, were making progress. Seke has rushed 137 times for 703 yards for an average of 5.1 a carry... not shabby at all. If we add 48 more carries to Jones (being the difference between the two) and multiply it by 4.9 (being the total number of yards he averages per carry) we have a total of 235 extra yards... now lets do some basic adding to sum it all up... 235 + 433 = 668 total yards. A mere 35 yards behind Elliott who has the advantage of perhaps the best line in the NFL.

You don't want to add Jones to your silly list thats fine,,, don't actually really care,,, just wanted to take the time to break down your errant ways. Spin it how you want... fact is he's 35 yards behind your back with the same amount of carries.... behind a sub par line. That's all. Have a nice night.

Your trolling is Grade A, I must say. This was really good for a laugh.

 

[es4m11]

Good list since 1990. I might have Ricky Waters or Bus in there

Good point on Ricky Waters. I would slide him in front of Tiki Barber and bump Eddie George. Watters not being on the list was an oversight - I knew there was someone I was forgetting.

Bus was not a great player IMO - very good, yes. He has big numbers through longevity alone. Put it like this, I wouldn't take Bus before anyone on this list.

Westbrook had a great peak of his career, but it didn't last long enough. Nice player though.

 

[Ojb81]

Good point on Ricky Waters. I would slide him in front of Tiki Barber and bump Eddie George. Watters not being on the list was an oversight - I knew there was someone I was forgetting.

Bus was not a great player IMO - very good, yes. He has big numbers through longevity alone. Put it like this, I wouldn't take Bus before anyone on this list.

Westbrook had a great peak of his career, but it didn't last long enough. Nice player though.

Wait...what exactly, did Ricky Watters ever do, to deserve such acclaim???

 

[es4m11]

Wait...what exactly, did Ricky Watters ever do, to deserve such acclaim???

Watters was a pretty consistent two way threat over his career with some pretty big rushing and receiving numbers. Who not on that list would you prefer to see?

 

[GNG]

Zeke must enjoy running behind that great Cowboys OL.

 

[Ojb81]

Watters was a pretty consistent two way threat over his career with some pretty big rushing and receiving numbers. Who not on that list would you prefer to see?

Well, i just dont see watters as having impacted his teams like the other guys on this list. I would absolutely put bettis above watters, watters is a top 20 back, not a top 10

 

[es4m11]

Well, i just dont see watters as having impacted his teams like the other guys on this list. I would absolutely put bettis above watters, watters is a top 20 back, not a top 10

Respectfully, I disagree. Bettis was a very good player, he had eight 1000 yard seasons. He was part of a Super Bowl winner - although his role on that team was greatly diminished from his earlier days. His accomplishments beyond that aren't all that impressive - Bettis' best quality was his durability. The only thing Bettis ever led the league in was carries. He was a 1 tool player, who averaged 3.9 ypc for his career - only 4 times in his 13 years did he average more than 4.0 ypc. Jerome had three seasons out of 13 where he had more than 1500 yards from scrimmage. For his career, Bettis had 15,111 yards from scrimmage to go with 94 TDs in 13 seasons. Bettis was a very good player, with 3 excellent seasons. I don't want to seem as though I am disparaging Bettis, but in the context of the discussion he doesn't fit, IMHO.

Watters was a dual threat for practically his entire career. Watters was a key piece on the '94 Super Bowl winning 49ers. Ricky had seven 1000 yard rushing seasons to go along with a 4.1 ypc. Watters had seven seasons with over 1500 yards from scrimmage. For his career, Watters had 14,891 yards from scrimmage to go with 91 TDs in 10 seasons.

Watters was a more productive player, whose prime was better and longer.

 

[Ojb81]

Respectfully, I disagree. Bettis was a very good player, he had eight 1000 yard seasons. He was part of a Super Bowl winner - although his role on that team was greatly diminished from his earlier days. His accomplishments beyond that aren't all that impressive - Bettis' best quality was his durability. The only thing Bettis ever led the league in was carries. He was a 1 tool player, who averaged 3.9 ypc for his career - only 4 times in his 13 years did he average more than 4.0 ypc. Jerome had three seasons out of 13 where he had more than 1500 yards from scrimmage. For his career, Bettis had 15,111 yards from scrimmage to go with 94 TDs in 13 seasons. Bettis was a very good player, with 3 excellent seasons. I don't want to seem as though I am disparaging Bettis, but in the context of the discussion he doesn't fit, IMHO.

Watters was a dual threat for practically his entire career. Watters was a key piece on the '94 Super Bowl winning 49ers. Ricky had seven 1000 yard rushing seasons to go along with a 4.1 ypc. Watters had seven seasons with over 1500 yards from scrimmage. For his career, Watters had 14,891 yards from scrimmage to go with 91 TDs in 10 seasons.

Watters was a more productive player, whose prime was better and longer.

I'm sorry, but on avg, Bettis impacted the games he played in, FAR more than Watters did in his. The Steelers had shit for qb's for the better part of the 1990's, Bettis was their bread and butter for grinding out wins, once they had the lead in a game, and he served that role in a big way, for quite a few years, into the 2000's. In fact, until I read this thread, I'd actually forgotten about Ricky Watters. Sorry, doesnt pass the smell test for me, we'll have to agree to disagree

 

[DALLAScornhusker]

1. Barry Sanders
2. Emmitt Smith
3. Marshall Faulk
4. Ladanian Tomlinson
5. Edgerrin James
6. Thurman Thomas
7. Adrian Peterson
8. Curtis Martin
9. Tiki Barber
10. Eddie George

The f*ck is Eddie George doing in a top ten NFL list?