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My take. (as of right now)

1.Barry Sanders
2. Jim Brown
3. Walter Payton
4. Adrian Peterson
5. Emmit Smith

Wacha think?

I think, if you talking eye test, the things he does, yes, but you are missing a couple special backs. Pure running ability, Eric Dickerson, and OJ Simpson, maybe Gale Sayers belong there. Emmitt belongs in overall stats, obviously, but not in the running style group.

If you are talking place in overall history, Adrian hasnt even passed Terry Allen in the overall rushing list. He is rising though, and will be there in time. He's too committed not to. He's very special, still not a year removed, from a horrid injury, and he's back to being the best, never missed a beat. Dare we say, better than ever? I have wondered, if that knee, was half shredded before that Washingtin game, and this all made him new again.

If he can play at least ten years he will be top five. What he can do after year ten will determine how high up the list he goes. With his running style his body is going to take more of a beating than Barry or Emmitt(btw Emmitt is not in my top 5). He is the best back to come in the league since Payton.

My top five:
1. Sanders - My favorite but probably not the best
2. Brown - Too many people say he was the best to put him any lower
3. Payton - Best overall football player
4. AD - Will move up to number one or two if he can stay healthy
5. Sayers - Made the HOF while playing in only 69 games

Purple Jesus wrote:Something I found interesting last night, was Barry didn't even get his 2K season until I think it was season 9 in his career. and now it appears AD is on a whole nother level after his surgery. All we gotta hope is that he can stay healthy (and a Viking)!

Just remember that Barry played for the lions, who had a #### o-line, and just a terrible team for that matter at least AP has an OK team and decent run blocking

AD is the best Ive ever seen and it looks like he is just getting started. And he faces 200 guys in the box every time he touches the ball.

1. Jim Brown
2. Barry Sanders
3. Walter Payton
4. Eric Dickerson
5. O.J. Simpson
6. Emmitt Smith
7. Adrian Peterson
8. Marcus Allen
9. Thurman Thomas
10. John Riggins

1. Barry Sanders
2. Jim Brown
3. Walter Payton
4. Adrian Peterson <<< still climbing
5. Eric Dickerson
6. Earl Campbell <<< the only guy I've ever seen who ran as mean as Peterson.
7. Gale Sayers
8. Emmit Smith
9. Marshall Faulk
10. Bo Jackson

@RLiuNFL: . @VikingsFootball Peterson joins Jim Brown & OJ as only 3 to rush for 1600+ yds, 6.0+ avg & 10+ TDs in team’s 1st 13 gms

Elite does not quite do it.

Ok I'll take a stab at this.

1. Payton - if it weren't for the strike season of '82 he would have had 11 straight 1200 yard seasons
2. AP - since he solved his fumbling issues he's probably the most dangerous RB to ever play
3. Campbell - like soflavike eluded to, he was simply a beast, if it weren't for injuries
4. Emmitt Smith - 11 straight 1000 yard seasons
5. Sanders - my knock on him is all the negative plays, but he still averaged 5.0 for his career
6. Dickerson - his career died in Indianapolis
7. OJ - 2000 yards in a 14 game schedule with Buffalo, nuff said
8. Faulk - he could do it all, run, block, catch
9. John Riggins - come on, he was the Diseal
10. Christian Okoye - no RB list is complete without the Nigerian Nightmare xD

I left Jim Brown off the list, not because I think he was overrated, (over hyped maybe), but because defenses were composed of big fat slow guys in his day. Clearly the best in his era, but I think he'd be average at best against today's defenses.

I thought Bo Jackson was overrated. He had that 1 unbelievable game in Seattle, but that was about it for his career. A physical specimen no doubt, but his statistics aren't all that impressive for a guy who only played part time and was hyped as much as he was.

1. Jim Brown. Every defense was stacked up to stop him. They couldn't.
2. Walter Payton. Did everything well for a long, long time. Like Brown and AD, he never "died easy."
3. Adrian Peterson. The entire story hasn't been written.
4. Barry Sanders. A great player on a bad team.
5. Earl Campbell. His style shortened his career. Would you take anyone over him on a fourth-and-1?

Bo Jackson's career was too short to lift him into the Top 5. Same for Gale Sayers.

VikeMike wrote:1. Jim Brown. Every defense was stacked up to stop him. They couldn't.
2. Walter Payton. Did everything well for a long, long time. Like Brown and AD, he never "died easy."
3. Adrian Peterson. The entire story hasn't been written.
4. Barry Sanders. A great player on a bad team.
5. Earl Campbell. His style shortened his career. Would you take anyone over him on a fourth-and-1?

No, not even Peterson.

Good list! I'd probably pick the same 5 players. It's tough because no matter who you pick, you end up leaving some great backs off the list.

It gets tricky comparing players from different eras so it's best to just base any rankings on how they played against the competition they faced.

How many of these other RB faced 8-10 in the box on just about every play?
How many tore their mcl and acl, had surgery, and came back the next season and put up these numbers?
And how many had poor QBs just about every year they played?

PurpleKoolaid wrote:How many of these other RB faced 8-10 in the box on just about every play?
How many tore their mcl and acl, had surgery, and came back the next season and put up these numbers?
And how many had poor QBs just about every year they played?

Payton played in the backfield with poor QBs for most of his career and believe me, defenses were stacking the box to stop most of those guys. Players like Brown, Payton, Sanders and Campbell were the biggest threats on their teams, year after year.

PurpleKoolaid wrote:How many of these other RB faced 8-10 in the box on just about every play?
How many tore their mcl and acl, had surgery, and came back the next season and put up these numbers?
And how many had poor QBs just about every year they played?

That's exactly why AD is on my list. Maybe he moves up, maybe he doesn't. It's just my opinion, nothing more.

Brown certainly faced defenses crowding the box. Same with Payton and Campbell. I think it's just amazing that Peterson should be in the conversation ... He's an incredible runner and I'm damn glad the Vikings scooped him up in the draft. Can you imagine him as a Brown? Ugh.

You're right, Moth, it's hard to compare players of different eras. If Brown didn't retire when he still had plenty of gas in the tank, the distance between the rest might be greater. And, obviously, some great backs are not mentioned when you whittle down to a top five. Simpson (although his legacy is so different now), Faulk, Sayers, Jackson, Allen, Smith. That's some great company!

Mothman wrote:
Payton played in the backfield with poor QBs for most of his career and believe me, defenses were stacking the box to stop most of those guys. Players like Brown, Payton, Sanders and Campbell were the biggest threats on their teams, year after year.

Biggest threats? Maybe. But they all had much better QBs at different times then AD has. And not one of them recovered from the injuries AD has had. And he isnt over, hes just getting started. When the Vikings staff finally relaizes a QB is a very important piece of a team, and just because ones drafted (or a personal friend of the HC), and they pay the big bucks/picks for one, AD will start having 2k seasons.