The NFL Running Backs Mount Rushmore of the Super Bowl Era
By Erik Lambert
Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions)
He wasn’t a blocker and never had the best hands for catching passes either. So why did Barry Sanders become such an obvious lock for this? Simple. There was nobody like him before he arrived in the NFL and there’s been nobody like him since. Sanders was a one-of-a-kind attraction that redefined what running backs in football were supposed to be.
Before it was about size, strength, and speed. With Sanders, it was speed, quickness, agility, and vision. His ability to turn what should’ve been losses for five or six yards into 80-yard touchdowns was a masterwork that baffled fans and opponents alike for over a decade. If a defense gave him any room to operate at all beyond the line of scrimmage? Forget it. It’s over.
Sanders never had less than 1,115 yards rushing in his career. He also made the Pro Bowl every season he was in the NFL and finished with 15,269 yards rushing. Considering how average the Detroit Lions were for most of that span, it only shines brighter on what he did. League MVP. A 2,000-yard rusher and Hall of Famer. He was greatness personified.