Smith vs Payton
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Payton wins: Dominance, Peak, Statistics
Smith wins: Longevity, Honours
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Payton leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories. Sweetness: 16,726 rushing yards and a 275-yard afternoon in 1977.
Category breakdown
Season form · Touchdowns per season
Career timeline · Touchdowns per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Touchdowns per season| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Smith | 0 | 0 | 937 | 2,500 | 7,183 | 12,566 |
| 🇺🇸 Payton | 0 | 0 | 679 | 2,069 | 6,926 | 11,625 |
Careers are aligned at debut, so a rookie's first 5 seasons are measured against the same window in a legend's career — Yamal against Messi at the same age-stage, a tour rookie against Tiger Woods in 1996.
Fan vote — data vs the people
What do you think?
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