Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #62: Ronnie Harmon

Ronnie Harmon

Teams

Buffalo Bills (1986-1989)

San Diego Chargers (1990-1995)

Houston/Tennessee Oilers (1996-1997)

Chicago Bears (1997)

Playoffs

Appearances - 5 (1988,1989,1992,1994,1995)

Conf Champ Games - 2 (1988,1994)

Super Bowls - 1 (1994)

Championships - 0

Awards and Honors

Pro Bowl - 1 (1992)

All-Time Ranks

Yards per Touch - #57

League Leads

Receptions (#6-1992, #9-1987)

Receiving Yards (#10-1992)

Yards per Touch (#2-1991,1992, #3-1993, #4-1990, #9-1987, #10-1995)

As a senior at Iowa, Ronnie Harmon gained 1111 yards on the ground and another 597 through the air, with 10 total touchdowns, which got the Buffalo Bills to select him with the 16th overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft.

He only touched the ball 76 times as a rookie, then was promoted to starting running back in 1987. He gained only 485 rushing yards, but he gained 477 yards through the air, setting the stage for the rest of his career, where he was much more known for catching passes out of the backfield than running the ball.

 With the addition of Thurman Thomas to the team in 1988, Harmon's opportunities started to dry up. He signed with the San Diego Chargers in 1990, which is where he finally got a chance to showcase his skills. He didn't get a ton of carries with the Chargers, but regularly gained a lot of yards on receptions.

After averaging 5.5 yards per carry in his first season with the Chargers, he raised that to 6.1 in 1991, which was the best of his career, while also gaining 544 yards on the ground, the most rushing yards in a season in his career. He also gained 555 yards receiving, putting him over 1000 yards for the first time in his career.

In 1992, he was named to the Pro Bowl for the first and only time in his career, mainly due to his 79 receptions for 914 yards, both of which were among the top 10 in the league, impressive for a running back. 

He remained with the Chargers for 3 more seasons in pretty much the same role, and appeared in Super Bowl XXIX against the 49ers, where he caught 8 passes for 68 yards, both tops on the team as they fell to San Francisco 49-26.

He moved on to the Houston Oilers, staying with them when they moved to Tennessee, then finished out his career with one final game as a Chicago Bear. His career spanned 12 seasons, and he only missed 11 total games.

Harmon was never a big star, and he ended his career with less than 3000 rushing yards, but he is the only player in history to average at least 4.5 yards per carry and 10 yards per reception in his career. He gained over 6000 yards through the air in his career, a great total for a back, and he obviously knew his role and did it well, which is why he makes this list of the best running backs of all time.

Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #69: Earl Campbell

Earl Campbell

Teams

Houston Oilers (1978-1984)

New Orleans Saints (1984-1985)

Playoffs

Appearances - 3 (1978,1979,1980)

Conf Champ Games - 2 (1978,1979)

Super Bowls - 0

Championships - 0

Awards and Honors

Offensive Rookie of the Year - 1978

Offensive Player of the Year - 3 (1978,1979,1980)

MVP - 1 (1979)

All-Pro First Team - 3 (1978,1979,1980)

Pro Bowl - 5 (1978,1979,1980,1981,1983)

Hall of Fame - 1991

All-Time Ranks

Rushing Yards per Game - #13

Rushing Touchdowns - #28

Rushing Yards - #38

Yards per Rush - #86

Total Touchdowns - #95

League Leads

Rushing Yards (#1-1978,1979,1980, #5-1981, #7-1983)

Rushing Touchdowns (#1-1979,1980, #2-1978, #5-1983, #7-1981)

Yards per Rush (#1-1980, #6-1978)

Rushing Yards per Game (#1-1978,1979,1980, #3-1983, #5-1981)

Total Touchdowns (#1-1979, #2-1978,1980, #8-1983)

Scrimmage Yards (#1-1980, #4-1978,1979, #10-1983)

 

After piling up 1744 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior at Texas, and walking away with the Heisman Trophy, Earl Campbell was selected #1 overall in the 1978 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers.

Campbell was immediately great in the NFL, leading the league with 1450 rushing yards as a rookie, which earned him the Offensive Rookie of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year awards. Houston made the playoffs as a wild card and made it to the AFC title game before being blasted by Pittsburgh 34-5.

The next year, Campbell was just as good, leading the league again with 1697 rushing yards, and also scoring 19 touchdowns, which was also best in the league. He was named both Offensive Player of the Year and MVP while leading the Oilers to an 11-5 record, but their season ended in the AFC title game for the second straight year, though it was closer this time.

1980 was his best overall season. He led the league in rushing yards for a third straight year, finished with 1934, currently the 9th-highest total in history, and also led the league in rushing touchdowns (13) and yards per carry (5.2). He won his 3rd straight Offensive Player of the Year award, but he would never again play at that level, and he would never again see the playoffs after losing in the Wild Card round that year.

He was named to the Pro Bowl 2 more times, in 1981 and 1983, each time with over 1300 rushing yards, but he was far less efficient, gaining those totals on the same number of carries that had won him rushing titles in the past. 

Campbell was traded to the New Orleans Saints midway through the 1984 season, but the Saints already had a star running back, and Campbell languished for a year and a half with the Saints before retiring at age 30.

There is no doubt that Earl Campbell was the best running back in the league early on in his career, but aside from his first 3 seasons, he was below average when carrying the ball. He averaged only 3.8 yards per carry over his final 5 seasons, after averaging 4.9 in his first 3 years. Even though he only had the 3 great seasons, he is still undoubtedly one of the best to ever play the game.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #19 - Steve McNair

Steve McNair

Steve McNair was a starting quarterback in the NFL for a full decade, and was one of the better ones in the league for a good chunk of that time, and literally came within inches of being a Super Bowl champ.

McNair was drafted by the Houston Oilers with the 3rd overall pick in the 1995 Draft out of tiny Alcorn State to be their quarterback of the future, and he spent his first 2 seasons backing up Chris Chandler. He did not play much, but when he did, he showed signs of how good he was going to be.

When the team moved to Tennessee before the 1997, McNair was named the starter and started every game the Tennessee Oilers ever played, and they won exactly half of those games. He was getting better and better, and even led the team and all quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns in 1997, when he reached the end zone 8 times in the season.

In 1999 the team officially changed their name to the Titans, and McNair had his best season up to that date, even though he missed 5 games early in the season. He again finished with 8 rushing touchdowns, matching his career high, and threw another 12 to go with only 8 picks, and Tennessee finished with a record of 13-3.

That season's playoffs were very memorable. First came the wild card game against Buffalo, which ended with the Music City Miracle, one of the most unforgettable endings to a playoff game in history. McNair scored his team's only offensive touchdown of the game. They eventually reached the Super Bowl, where they held the Greatest Show on Turf Rams team to only 23 points, and McNair's pass to Kevin Dyson came up just short of the goal line as time expired.

He continued to play well through the next 3 seasons, even getting the Titans back to the AFC title game again in 2002, but they failed to reach the Super Bowl again. He had his best season in 2003, when he won the MVP after throwing 24 touchdowns with only 7 picks, but they were bounced by the Patriots in the playoffs.

His seasons ended early due to injury in 2004 and 2005, which prompted the Titans to move on, trading him to Baltimore for a draft pick. He was healthy in his first season for the Ravens, and started every game as the team went 13-3, but they lost 15-6 to the Colts in their first playoff game. Following another injury-plagued season, he announced his retirement once the 2007 season ended.

McNair never won a championship during his career, but he is one of the best to have fallen short of that honor, and he was probably the closest of anyone to fall short. He was one of the best running quarterbacks of his time, and didn't make many mistakes passing the ball, and consistently led his team to the playoffs. He may not be in the Hall of Fame yet, but he should be, and I believe that he deserves to be ranked this high among the greatest QBs of all time.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #31 - Warren Moon

Warren Moon

Warren Moon is quite possibly the one quarterback on this list who overcame the most on his way to greatness. He was not recruited by any major college to play quarterback, so he went the junior college route, where he impressed enough to get an offer from Washington. Despite a strong senior year, he went undrafted in 1978, so he ended up going to play in the CFL.

During his first 5 seasons in Canada, Moon and the Edmonton Eskimos won 5 consecutive championships, a feat that is still unmatched, and he set league records in passing yardage in both 1982 and 1983. After setting numerous records in Canada, he finally received a lot of interest from the NFL, and he finally signed on with the Houston Oilers.

His first 3 years in the NFL did not go quite as planned. He was starting every game for Houston, but he threw more picks than touchdowns in each of those seasons. He finally pulled it together in 1987, when he led Houston to their first playoff berth since 1980 and even won a playoff game, something he did not do much over the rest of his career.

He continued to improve steadily over the next few years, peaking in 1990, when he led the league with 4689 yards and 33 touchdowns, while throwing only 13 interceptions. He wasn't able to win in the playoffs, but he came back strong again in 1991, again topping the league in passing yards. That season he won a playoff game for the third and last time in his career, meaning that he never even saw a conference championship game.

He remained a starter in the league for another 7 years, but could never translate the regular season success to the playoffs. He had an incredibly long career, playing 17 seasons in the NFL after 6 seasons in Canada, and he started the majority of his team's games in each of his first 15 seasons. 

When he retired, he was in the top 5 all-time in completions, attempts, yardage, and touchdowns. He was also the first black quarterback elected to the Hall of Fame, and at the same time became the first undrafted quarterback to be enshrined. He may not have the playoff success of many of the QB's on this list, but very few can match the sheer volume he put up over the course of his career, which is why he is in this spot.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #23 - Warren Moon

Warren Moon

Warren Moon is quite possibly the one quarterback on this list who overcame the most on his way to greatness. He was not recruited by any major college to play quarterback, so he went the junior college route, where he impressed enough to get an offer from Washington. Despite a strong senior year, he went undrafted in 1978, so he ended up going to play in the CFL.

During his first 5 seasons in Canada, Moon and the Edmonton Eskimos won 5 consecutive championships, a feat that is still unmatched, and he set league records in passing yardage in both 1982 and 1983. After setting numerous records in Canada, he finally received a lot of interest from the NFL, and he finally signed on with the Houston Oilers.

His first 3 years in the NFL did not go quite as planned. He was starting every game for Houston, but he threw more picks than touchdowns in each of those seasons. He finally pulled it together in 1987, when he led Houston to their first playoff berth since 1980 and even won a playoff game, something he did not do much over the rest of his career.

He continued to improve steadily over the next few years, peaking in 1990, when he led the league with 4689 yards and 33 touchdowns, while throwing only 13 interceptions. He wasn't able to win in the playoffs, but he came back strong again in 1991, again topping the league in passing yards. That season he won a playoff game for the third and last time in his career, meaning that he never even saw a conference championship game.

He remained a starter in the league for another 7 years, but could never translate the regular season success to the playoffs. He had an incredibly long career, playing 17 seasons in the NFL after 6 seasons in Canada, and he started the majority of his team's games in each of his first 15 seasons. When he retired, he was in the top 5 all-time in completions, attempts, yardage, and touchdowns. He was also the first black quarterback elected to the Hall of Fame, and at the same time became the first undrafted quarterback to be enshrined. He may not have the playoff success of many of the QB's on this list, but very few can match the sheer volume he put up over the course of his career, which is why he is in this spot.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #45

George Blanda

George Blanda is one of the most famous names of the early NFL, but the majority of his notoriety comes from what he did as a placekicker, not at the quarterback position, although he was pretty good there as well.

Blanda began his career with the Chicago Bears in 1949, finally earning the starting quarterback job in his fifth season, but it only lasted two years, when an injury ended his season early and caused the Bears to look elsewhere for a QB. He spent the next 4 years as a kicker only, and he became so fed up with Coach Halas' insistence that he would not put him back at quarterback that he retired in 1958.

After one year out of football, the 33-year-old Blanda had the stroke of luck he wanted when the AFL was formed and teams started gobbling up castoff players. He landed with the Houston Oilers, which he led to a 10-4 record and a berth in the first AFL championship game, which they won behind a great game from Blanda, who went 16 for 31, racked up 301 yards, and threw 3 touchdowns without a pick.

The following season he took them back the the championship game, which they again won despite a mediocre game from Blanda, who was only 18 for 40 for 160 yards and the game's only touchdown. The team was able to overcome his 5 interceptions, partly due to the opposing quarterback throwing 4 of his own. He took them to one more title game in 1962, but they failed to threepeat, going down to the Dallas Texans 20-17.

Blanda played 7 seasons with the Oilers, who finally decided that the 39-year-old QB was washed up, but rather than retire, he signed on with the Oakland Raiders to play kicker and backup quarterback, which he did for another 9 years, finally retiring at age 48 as the league's all-time leading scorer.

Among the many record he still holds are oldest player to participate in a game (age 48), most interceptions in a season (42), most extra points made (943 out of 959), and most touchdown passes in a game (7). Despite playing for 26 seasons, he was only a starting quarterback for 9 and only a good one for 3, but his play in the first AFL title game was the reason the Oilers won, and he was good enough in the next two years guiding them to more title games that he qualifies as one of the all-time greatest QB's.