{"id":122,"date":"2018-07-26T02:03:12","date_gmt":"2018-07-26T02:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bellyupsports.com\/?p=122"},"modified":"2019-06-05T09:51:13","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T13:51:13","slug":"modern-day-rb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bellyupsports.com\/2018\/07\/modern-day-rb\/","title":{"rendered":"The Modern Day RB – A Shell of it’s Former Self"},"content":{"rendered":"

3,062 carries, 15,269 yards, 5.0 yards per carry and 99TDs. This is what Barry Sanders did in his 10 year career with the Detroit Lions. Not to mention he left the game in his prime and is still the 3rd all-time leading rusher in the NFL. I use Barry as my example of the modern day RB because if you know me, you know I am a Lions faithful.<\/p>\n

\"the-modern-day-rb\"
(Barry Sanders Career Stats per NFL.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Barry Sanders<\/h2>\n

The leading rusher of course is Emmitt Smith with 18,355 yards in 15 seasons and 2nd is Walter Payton with 16,726 yards in 13 seasons, which I might add, that Barry would have killed both records if he played 5 more season like Emmitt – but that\u2019s neither here nor there.<\/p>\n

Today and going forward, we may never ever see anything like that again. The game has changed. The majority of offenses are based around heavy passing systems. Defensive linemen look like Line Backers and Line Backers now look like Safeties and Corners. Most teams run a RB by committee, and have a 3rd down specialist for long yardage situations. Not to mention, many RB\u2019s can\u2019t even stay healthy for a full 16 game season.<\/p>\n

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(All Time Leading Rusher in the NFL per ESPN.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other Great Modern Day RB<\/h2>\n

Now don\u2019t get me wrong, there are a hand full of backs that are bell cows still today – Zeke, Gurley and Bell just to name a few. However, there hasn\u2019t even been a 2,000 yard rusher since 2012 when Adrian Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards. Demarco Murray was close in 2014 with 1,845. This kind of productivity has fallen off greatly at the RB position, and now teams place higher draft pick grades on the WR and TE positions to stretch the field in hopes that the running game will open up.<\/p>\n

While I point out the above active \u201cyoung\u201d RBs, there are only two still playing that have a solid shot of breaking into the top 10 for rushing yards all time within the next few years: Adrian Peterson (12th All-Time) and LeSean McCoy (29th All-Time). Of course this doesn\u2019t mean someone like LeVeon Bell couldn\u2019t make it happen, but to put it in perspective, he is sitting tied for 117th with 5,336 yards and multiple injury riddled season.<\/p>\n

\"the-modern-day-rb\"<\/p>\n

Just to break it down for you, here are the top rushers<\/a> for the past 3 season:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n