Best NFL Running backs of all-time

Here's my list of the Top 10 running backs in NFL history (in my most humble and contrite opinion):

10. Curtis Martin- Martin was one of the most consistent backs in NFL history. The University of Pittsburgh alum ranks fourth on the all-time rushing yards list and was only the second player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in his first 10 seasons. He only rushed for 735 in his final active season before retiring because of nagging injuries. Martin played for 11 seasons- two with the New England Patriots and nine with the New York Jets. In that time Martin amassed 14,101 yards on the ground and scored 90 career touchdowns. He averaged 4.0 yards per carry on 3,518 career attempts. Martin was unable to get a Super Bowl ring, however, as the Patriots fell in Super Bowl XXXI to the Green Bay Packers.

9. Tony Dorsett- Sticking with another University of Pittsburgh alum, Tony Dorsett is perhaps best known for going the distance against the Minnesota Vikings. Dorsett's 99 yard touchdown run on January 3rd, 1983 is an NFL record that can only be tied, never broken. Dorsett sits at 7th on the all-time rushing list with 12,739 yards rushing and 92 career touchdowns. Dorsett spent 10 of his 11 seasons played with the Dallas Cowboys from 1977 to 1987. In that time Dorsett was a 5-time All-Pro selection and helped Dallas to a victory in Super Bowl XII. Dorsett played for one season in 1988 with the Denver Broncos before calling it quits. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

8. Eric Dickerson- Eric Dickerson was the workhorse of the NFL. Straight from Southern Methodist University's famed "Pony Express", Dickerson was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1983. That season he rushed for 1,808 yards and 18 touchdowns. He followed that with an NFL single season record 2,105 rushing yards. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry and scored 14 touchdowns that year. Dickerson also became the fastest player to reach 10,000 career rushing yards doing it in 91 games. He was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 1987 and then spent the 1992 season with the Los Angeles Raiders and the year after with the Atlanta Falcons before calling it quits. Dickerson finished with 13,259 rushing yards, which is 6th best all-time. He also scored 90 career touchdowns. Dickerson retired in 2nd on the all-time rushing charts and was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1999.

7. LaDainian Tomlinson- He is the only active player on this list, but is every bit deserving. LaDainian Tomlinson has the best chance of any active NFL running back to make a push for Emmitt Smith's all-time rushing record. Tomlinson currently sits in 15th on the all-time list with 11,279 yards, but he has also only played eight seasons in the NFL. He's also averaging 4.5 yards per carry career-wise. Then there's the guady number of NFL records he has already set.
Tomlinson, a Texas Christian University alum, holds NFL records for:
-most points scored by a player in a single season (186)
-most consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (18)
-most single season touchdowns (31)
-most single season rushing touchdowns (28)
-most consecutive multi-touchdown games (8)
-fewest games to reach 100 touchdowns

The list goes on. Tomlinson is also one of the most versatile backs in NFL history as he already has 3,629 receiving yards as well and is only the seventh player in NFL history to run, catch, and throw for a touchdown.

6. Gael Sayers- He was a man ahead of his time and he only spent six years in the NFL. Gale Sayers, the Kansas Comet, came to the Chicago Bears in 1965 as one of the most elusive running backs in college football history. He would leave the NFL as one of the most elusive running backs in the National Football League's history. Sayers only rushed for 4,956 yards, but averaged 5 yards a carry and scored 48 touchdowns. Sayers was also the original Devon Hester. He has six kick return touchdowns and holds the NFL record for return average at 30.56 yards. Sayers also has the rookie season rushing touchdown record with 22 and is tied for the most rushing touchdowns scored in a single game with 6. Sayers was a 5-time All-Pro selection and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977 as the youngest player ever to be voted in.

5. Marshall Faulk- The all-around running back. Marshall Faulk was the definition of the dual threat back. The San Diego State University alum stands at ninth on the all-time rushing list with 12,279 yards and 100 career touchdowns, but also amassed 6,875 receiving yards and 36 touchdowns. Faulk started out with the Indianapolis Colts, where he would play for five seasons, before being traded to the St. Louis Rams in 1999. That year Kurt Warner bursted onto the scene and he, Faulk, and the "Greatest Show on Turf" became instant icons when they captured a victory for the ages in Super Bowl XXXIV. Faulk was a three time Offensive Player of the Year, the 2000 NFL MVP, and the 1994 NFL Rookie of the Year. He was also a 6-time All-Pro selection. Faulk retired after the 2005 season.

4. Emmitt Smith- This is a hard call to make. Emmitt Smith always gets a bad rap and it's usually never explained why. My thoughts were that Smith stuck around a little too long past his prime. He inflated his rushing numbers with the Arizona Cardinals during the end of his career, but was not the same running back throughout the final several years of his career. Smith entered with a boom, though, as he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1990 taking NFL Rookie of the Year honors later that same season. He became the first player to rush for over 1,400 yards in his first five seasons. Smith was also a main cog in the Cowboys run of three Super Bowls in four years ('92, '93, and '95) that reinvented the "America's Team" image and made the early '90s Cowboys dynasty one of the NFL's greatest of all time. Smith is the All-Time leading rusher in NFL history with 18,355 yards and is first all-time in rushing touchdowns with 164. His 175 total touchdowns is second only to Jerry Rice. Smith was the 1993 NFL MVP and was an 8-time Pro Bowl selection. Smith spent his final two years (2003-2004) with the Arizona Cardinals.

3. Jim Brown- Brown is the original iron man running back. Brown redefined the game with his bruising style and ability to break tackles and make people miss. He is one of the most iconic figures in the game of football. Brown spent nine years with the Cleveland Browns (1957-1965) after an outstanding career at Syracuse. In those nine seasons he managed to rush for 12,312 yards (8th best all-time and 124 touchdowns. When Brown was finished, he held the record for single season (1,863) rushing yards and career rushing yards. He also averaged an unbelievable 5.2 yards per carry Both records have since been eclipsed, but what Brown did was at least two decades ahead of his time. He was a 9-time All-Pro selection, a three-time NFL MVP and was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1971. Oddly enough, Brown was also inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

2. Walter Payton- 16,726. It was a number that many felt was unbreakable. Even more were asking, "who?" Who would be the one to break Walter Payton's career rushing record? It became the most recognizable record in the NFL, comparable to baseball's home run record, or the NBA's points record. Such a deal was made of it when Walter Payton broke Jim Brown's career rushing record. "Sweetness" became immortalized. Emmitt Smith would end the debate in 2002, but many still believe that Walter Payton is the greatest running back in NFL history. Drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1975 out of Jackson State, Payton brought an elusiveness and determination in his running style few had seen before. He was also credited for reviving the use of the stiff arm. Payton garnered NFL MVP honors in 1977 and was NFC Player of the Year in 1977 and in 1985, when the Bears won Super Bowl XX over the New England Patriots. Unfortunately, the thing that is remembered the most about that game was that Payton never scored a touchdown as that would be the only time the Bears would reach the Super Bowl in his career. Payton would hang up his cleats in 1987. He finished with 110 touchdowns and was a 9-time All-Pro selection. Walter Payton tragically passed away in 1999 due to illness. He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1993.

1. Barry Sanders- He only played for 10 seasons. Those 10 seasons came and went so fast and just like that, he was gone. One of the greatest athletes in sports history decided to end his career in his prime. Barry Sanders, the record-breaking running back from Oklahoma State, hit the NFL like a hurricane. His running style was idolized. His presence demanded respect from opposing defenses. And his time spent in the NFL could best be described as: record-setting. Sanders was selected All-Pro all 10 years of his career. He was the 1989 Rookie of the Year, a 2-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and the 1997 NFL MVP. Sanders's greatest season was also his last. He rushed for 2,053 yards and averaged 6.1 yards per carry. Sanders finished with 15,269 rushing yards, which was 2nd best at the time and only 1,457 away from Walter Payton's record. Sanders finished with 109 touchdowns (99 rushing) and won 4 NFL season rushing titles. He was the first back to rush for 1,000 yards in 10 seasons and set a record with 25 games where he rushed for 150 yards or more. He also set a record by rushing for 14 straight 100-yard games. Sanders also provided us with dozens of highlight reel runs giving many athletes of the future examples to learn from. Barry Sanders was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.