- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1972–1984
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 94.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
GOAT Rank · 29
Greatest American Football Running back of all time
This ranking uses verified career records and GOAT Rank's published model. Every listed athlete clears the data eligibility threshold.
#AthleteGOAT Score
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1977–1988
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1982–1997
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1983–1993
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 96.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 2016–active
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1957–1965
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 95.0
- Dominance
- 93.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1956–1967
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1969–1979
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 98.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1975–1987
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 87.0
- Statistics
- 91.0
- Honours
- 85.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1995–2005
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1971–1985
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1993–2005
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1990–2004
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 2005–2020
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 96.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1989–1998
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 94.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1978–1985
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 96.0
- Dominance
- 90.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 66.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1995–2001
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 98.0
- Dominance
- 90.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 60.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1964–1973
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 2007–2021
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1994–2005
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 2001–2011
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1983–1993
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1952–1964
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1999–2009
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1965–1971
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 98.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 62.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1944–1951
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 66.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1967–1975
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 2013–2021
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- American Football
- Career
- 1988–2000
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Franco Harris | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1972–1984 | 90 |
| 52 | Tony Dorsett | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1977–1988 | 88.8 |
| 78 | Marcus Allen | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1982–1997 | 88.1 |
| 81 | Eric Dickerson | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1983–1993 | 88.1 |
| 87 | Derrick Henry | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 2016–— | 88 |
| 90 | Jim Brown | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1957–1965 | 87.9 |
| 100 | Lenny Moore | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1956–1967 | 87.8 |
| 107 | O.J. Simpson | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1969–1979 | 87.7 |
| 109 | Walter Payton | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1975–1987 | 87.6 |
| 121 | Curtis Martin | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1995–2005 | 87.5 |
| 135 | John Riggins | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1971–1985 | 87.1 |
| 138 | Jerome Bettis | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1993–2005 | 87 |
| 142 | Emmitt Smith | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1990–2004 | 86.9 |
| 143 | Frank Gore | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 2005–2020 | 86.9 |
| 162 | Barry Sanders | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1989–1998 | 86.5 |
| 178 | Earl Campbell | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1978–1985 | 86.3 |
| 216 | Terrell Davis | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1995–2001 | 85.6 |
| 217 | Leroy Kelly | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1964–1973 | 85.6 |
| 221 | Adrian Peterson | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 2007–2021 | 85.5 |
| 249 | Marshall Faulk | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1994–2005 | 84.8 |
| 254 | LaDainian Tomlinson | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 2001–2011 | 84.7 |
| 255 | Roger Craig | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1983–1993 | 84.7 |
| 261 | Hugh McElhenny | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1952–1964 | 84.4 |
| 264 | Edgerrin James | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1999–2009 | 84.3 |
| 267 | Gale Sayers | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1965–1971 | 84.3 |
| 292 | Steve Van Buren | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1944–1951 | 83.5 |
| 309 | Floyd Little | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1967–1975 | 82.7 |
| 322 | Le'Veon Bell | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 2013–2021 | 81.9 |
| 323 | Thurman Thomas | American Football | 🇺🇸 United States | 1988–2000 | 81.8 |
Compare the leaders
Franco Harris vs Tony DorsettRead the full methodology
Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.
Read the full methodologyFrequently asked questions
How is this ranking calculated?
Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Who is included?
Only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible.
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