In Pittsburgh, he was everything but. Who Is The Best Wide Receiver In The NFL Right Now? All Rights Reserved. Hoak's record as the team's running backs coach was 149-90-1, making him the third-most successful running backs coach in Pittsburgh Steelers history. After five seasons of never finishing higher than RB34, Williams had a career year in 2022, finishing as the overall RB18. TEAM SEASON GP REC W% W L T TD PTS PPG OPP PTS OPP PPG 1DWN 3DWN% 4DWN% Pittsburgh Steelers: 2013: 16: 8-8.500: 8: 8: 0: 41: 379 . He holds the team record for most rushing yards in a career (11,950) as well as most rushing touchdowns (91) and total touchdowns (100). The move closes the latest chapter of Wentz's career after just one season in Washington. More like he will get exposed yet again as being the most overrated running back in the league . Gordon averaged a career-best 5.1 yards per carry in 2018. steelers running backs last 10 years The running back fell just short of 1,000 yards from scrimmage last season after finishing with 1,414 yards in his rookie campaign. John Fuqua: How could any Steelers fan in the Nation of Black and Gold not smile when speaking of John Frenchy Fuqua. Still, Bleier became a starter in the backfield with Harris and shined. All-time Receiving Leader: Hines Ward 1,000 rec, 12,083 yds, 85 TD . 8. Last edited on 19 February 2023, at 18:43, Boston Braves / Boston Redskins / Washington Redskins, List of National Football League records (individual), List of National Football League rushing champions, List of National Football League career rushing touchdowns leaders, List of National Football League annual rushing touchdowns leaders, "NFL Rushing Yards Career Playoffs Leaders", "History of the Career Rushing Yards Record", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_National_Football_League_career_rushing_yards_leaders&oldid=1140354500, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 18:43. But Stewart posted 5,366 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns in the decade. Bleier was injured during his tour of duty and told he would never play football again, but he returned to the Steelers and fought his way back into football shape, eventually playing 10 more seasons in the NFL. Postseason. Despite the occurrences of injury, Hoge ran for 3,115 yards as a Steeler and rushed for 21 touchdowns. The days of Jim Brown or John Riggins getting 40 carries a game are gone. Bleier believed the doctors were wrong and reported to Steelers training camp a year after he left the war. The Steelers won a lot of games in the late-90s to mid-2000s by lining up 250-pound running back Jerome Bettis behind 250-pound fullback Dan Kreider and bulldozing any defense that came before them. One of the best free agent signings of the Mike Tomlin era, DeAngelo Williams was never thought to be more than a top backup running back. In 2005, speedy Willie Parker took advantage of paths cleared by Kreider, and the Steelers won the Super Bowl. He was an example of how great players can not only break the rules and succeed, but sometimes even make up their own rules. Twenty-three slots went by before the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Najee Harris in 2021. Myles Jack 61 Minkah Fitzpatrick . As a rookie, on a terrible offense, he finished as a top 24 running back in 93% of his games last year. If Lions general manager Brad Holmes follows that plan exactly, Minnesota Golden Gophers' Mohamed Ibrahim would be a great late-round running back prospect for Detroit to target. His best season came in 2015, which was the year after Williams departed, when he rushed for 989 yards and six touchdowns for the 15-1 Panthers. Charles may have to wait awhile to get into the Hall of Fame because despite an 11-year career, his prime was rather short. He also posted many of his best seasons in the previous decade, which robbed him of a chance at the top 10 on this list. All rights reserved. Still, Johnson's All-Pro 2016 season was enough to land him on the list. This is a list of National Football League running backs by total career rushing yards, and includes the 31 running backs who have rushed for at least 10,000 yards, for which sixteen of them have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.. Emmitt Smith leads with 18,365 yards and is also the postseason leader with 1,586. The Steelers went 6-10 in his first season, but along with players like Hines Ward, Jerome Bettis, and Alan Faneca . He finished with 585 yards and scored six touchdowns including a 75-yard run. 5. Johnson was a bruising fullback who spent time in San Francisco and Detroit before coming to Pittsburgh in 1960. Please see our Contributors and Sources page for data source details. The All-Modern Era team is made up of 26 players 11 on offense, 11 on defense, and four specialists. In 2011 Jones-Drew led the league with 1,606 rushing yards and 386 touches. 7. As a Steeler, Bettis crashed his way for 10,571 rushing yards and 78 rushing touchdowns, both second-best in team history. Fuqua led the Steelers in rushing in 1970 and 1971 and totaled 2,942 yards on the ground during his time in Pittsburgh. When running the ball, they often do so out of one-back sets and shotgun and pistol formations. Meanwhile, Myles Jack's cap hit grows significantly from $4.75 million last year to $11.25 million in 2023. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. By Ross Kelly and Tony Adame, updated on October 18, 2022. . His 4.3 yards-per-carry average for his career is second only to John Henry Johnsons 4.4 and ties him with Wille Parker among Pittsburghs top ten rushers in history for yardage. In '94, he ran for 851 yards despite missing five games. With the Bears and Jets, Forte posted 7,629 rushing yards and 11,353 yards from scrimmage from 2010-17. He led the Steelers in rushing in 1965, 1968, and 1969. All of that, plus the fact Bettis averaged over 1,000 yards per season with the Steelers (10,571) and scored 78 touchdowns, puts him on the All-Modern Era team, and his partner in the backfield is Le'Veon Bell. Franco Harris was the man during The Renaissance, and Jerome Bettis was the man in The Modern Era. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. His best season was in 1985 when he rushed for 991 yards. In his rookie season, Morris rushed for 836 yards and a 4.2 yards-per-carry average. Drafted by the Steelers in the first round with the 23rd pick in 2008, Mendenhall replaced Willie Parker and had successive years of 1,000 or more yards rushing in 2009 and 2010 with a high of 1,273 in 10. The controversy arose when the ball deflected off of Tatum or Frenchy. Sep 20, 1992; San Diego, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Barry Foster (29) in action against San Diego Chargers defenders Junior Seau (55) and George Thornton (93) at Jack . Each offense makes its own set of demands on running backs, and every back mentioned in this article needed a specific set of attributes to succeed. Player Team Age Total Value Avg./Year Total Guaranteed Fully Guaranteed Free Agency; Christian McCaffrey: 49ers: 27: $64,063,412: $16,015,853: $36,346,412: $30,062,500 Merril Hoge: Lasting until the 10th round in the 1987 NFL draft, Merril Hoge was a tough as nails runner for the Steelers who suffered a rash of concussion injuries that would cost him his career. The first requirement is an intimidating defense that dominates opponents and makes it tough for them to put points on the board. Players were considered based on having careers with the Steelers from 1992 until the present. But you cant throw just any ball carrier out there and hope to have success; it takes a certain kind of player to fit into a power running offensive scheme. He also was a punt returner, bringing back 20 punts with a 14.0 average per return. PITTSBURGH (AP) Mike Tomlin wasn't ready to go there, with all due respect. But it was his story of injury during the war that gave him notoriety at the start of his career. Included are players that played for the Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) from 1945-2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) from 1940-1942 and the Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) from 1933-1939. Copyright 2023 YB Media, LLC. 3 in NFL history. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. But since then injuries have slowed him, and he's averaging 3.6 yards per attempt. Winning three Super Bowls helps earn you a spot on this list too. Wanting the jersey number 26 which he wore at Notre Dame, Preston Pearson held those digits so Rocky settled for No. The 32-year-old has been a bit of a journeyman, playing for five different teams this decade. In 2016 he had one of the best seasons for a running back in recent memory, accumulating a league-high 2,118 yards from scrimmage, including at least 100 yards in the first 15 games of the year. His rookie contract was voided after his fourth season, after just one in Pittsburgh, and there were opportunities to leave. Charles also ran for 1,509 yards in 2012 and 1,033 yards in 2014. He spent his first year in the NFL with the Giants before coming to the Steelers in 1970. During the 2021 offseason, Pittsburgh declined to re-sign Conner, making him a free agent and creating an opportunity for the Arizona Cardinals to scoop him up. In the second concussion he encountered, it resulted in Hoge having to be resuscitated when he stopped breathing. In 2007, Fuqua created a candy and marketed it as The Immaculate Confection. But aside from that 1972 playoff game with the Oakland Raiders, Fuqua could be seen off the field wearing the flashiest of clothes that included shoes with see-through heals and live fish in them. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. The last Steelers running back taken in the first round before Najee Harris, Mendenhall won a Super Bowl as a rookie despite spending most of the season on injured reserve. Current team members are listed in bold. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Unfortunately for Johnson, his 2,000-yard season came in 2009, so it just missed the cut for counting on this list. Overall, Foster registered 6,270 rushing yards and 8,523 yards from scrimmage playing for the Texans and Dolphins from 2010-16. Hunt only played eight games with the Browns last season after serving an eight-game suspension. During this decade, he earned two Pro Bowl nominations and an All-Pro bid. And that's with missing the 2016 season because of retirement. He led the Steelers in rushing from 1961 to 1964 and made three straight Pro Bowls from 1962 to '64. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, injured during his tour of duty and told he would never play football again. He was intensive care for 48 hours and this forced his retirement. After a slow start (for a seventh overall draft pick from . The phrase is often proclaimed by an announcer after a Steelers running back plows over a few unlucky defenders. But Hoak is probably best remembered for his ever-so-long tenure as the Running Backs coach with Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. Born Byron Morris, drafted in the third round of the 1994 draft, Morris immediately made an impact with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to them from Texas Tech University. It's Le'Veon Bell because there is thought given to picking players who could function as a unit if the position require that. Fuqua would have to be the most colorful player in Steelers history as well as the most controversial. He has held the all-time rushing yards record since 2002 and is the only player with over 17,000 regular season rushing yards. As a punter, he kicked the ball 18 times during his career and averaged 32 yards per punt. Fuqua will be forever remembered by Steelers fans as the intended receiver of Terry Bradshaws Immaculate Reception pass, which ricocheted into the arms of Franco Harris. Time to profile some of the outstanding and popular running backs to suit up for the Steelers. Last year's offensive rookie of the year award winner, Barkley was close to perfect for fantasy owners. He signed as an undrafted free agent who had run a 4.23-second 40 at the Scouting Combine the previous spring. With the 2019 season, there is still time to influence who lands where among a list of the best running backs of the decade. Read on to find out why. With the Redskins, Cowboys and 49ers, Morris has 5,931 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns in the 2010s. BARRY FOSTER set a Steelers single-season record with 1,690 rushing yards in 1992, and he got there with a 4.3 average while scoring 11 of the offense's 28 touchdowns. But he's rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season twice, and he led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016. In 2012, the Steelers found themselves with JONATHAN DWYER as their leading rusher, which is what led to the spending of a second-round pick in the following draft on Le'Veon Bell. Since missing the last five games of 2010, Gore has sat out just two games over the last eight years. Hopefully the Christmas edition of DraftKings top performers and busts finds you warm among family and friends as we unwrap the matchups in daily fantasy football for Week 16.The difficulty and uneasiness of lineup construction is increasing as more and more players we havent heard of become viable DFS starters in 2015s closing act.Use the list below to fill your roster with glad tidings while . NFL Top 10 Best Running Backs of the 2010s - #8 Arian Foster. Morris peaked as a rookie, rushing for 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2012. Advertisement In some form or fashion, the Steelers will need to add quality depth to . It's hard to believe, but the second decade of the 21st century is nearly complete. In 1980, Thornton would average five yards-per-carry while carrying the rock 78 times. Franco Harris was a fullback, as was Merril Hoge and John Henry Johnson. Unfortunately, his tenure with the Steelers came to a dramatic end with a contract dispute in 2018, but during his time with the team, he was one of the greatest. Bill Dudley also played with the Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins after leaving the Steelers, and finished his career with 3,057 yards rushing, 1,383 yards receiving, punted the ball for a total of 7,304 yards, and on defense intercepted 23 passes. Murray is another back who put together three strong seasons during his career and led the league in rushing once. Overall, Charles recorded 8,110 yards from scrimmage during the decade with the Chiefs, Broncos and Jaguars from 2010-18. That's Steelers football. Lynch was an underrated pass-catcher in his prime too. Pittsburgh Steelers Stats: The official source for Pittsburgh Steelers game statistics . The running back said that he was only trying to stimulate conversation about the topic but because of it he lost an endorsement deal with Champion Sports. A bruising Hall of Famer running back, Franco Harris was the perfect embodiment of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense during their championship runs in the 1970s. That one instance came in 1956 when Art Rooney Sr. uncharacteristically was frustrated with a head coach and instructed the then Head Coach Walt Kiesling to negate the opening Rogel rush and throw the ball instead. I predict that sometime in the next decade, an offensive coordinator will go back to power football and line up with a tight end, a fullback, and a tailback in an I-formation for most of the game. Sidney Thornton: Another stout running back for Pittsburgh was the bullish Thornton who weighed in at 230 pounds during his play days in Pittsburgh from 1977 to 1982. Both men had the unfortunate circumstance of being behind other great players on the roster, Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw. But he stayed. Join our linker program. Is the fullback truly gone, banished into the deep recesses of pro football history? He was cut twice but kept up his persistence. Let's take a look back at the rest of the Steelers picks since the 2000 season. [3], List of National Football League career rushing yards leaders, Players with at least 10,000 rushing yards, Players with at least 1,000 postseason rushing yards. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. He ran for over 1,000 yards in his first season and scored 10 rushing touchdowns on his way to winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. By 1995, Foster was out of Pittsburgh and out of the NFL, thus ending his short, dramatic, and bizarre pro football career. In 1992, we found out who the heck that guy was: the man who would run for more yards in one season than any Steelers running back in team history. The 30-year-old has failed to rush for 500 yards in four of his seven seasons in the NFL. The 33rd Team. The top photos of RB Le'Veon Bell throughout 2014 season. [5] Through 2021, eight Steeler first-round picks have gone on to have playing careers deemed worthy of enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Bill Dudley, Len Dawson, Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Rod Woodson, Troy Polamalu, and Alan . Most Steelers fans think of Rocky Bleier as Franco Harris running mate throughout the 70s, and rightly so. Fuqua was not an original Steelers having been drafted by the New York Giants and then traded to Pittsburgh. Bell was a unique back in Steelers history due to both the wide-open offense he played in and his careful, patient running style. He also earned the first of two consecutive First-Team All-Pro selections. While one is considered a fullback and the other a halfback, they share more commonalities than differences in their duties. Former Tulane Green Wave running back Tyjae Spears made a big splash at the Senior Bowl, but that was hardly the first time he put on a show. 1. That couldn't have been further from the truth. John Fuqua ( 1970-76) Before Franco Harris, there was John "Frenchy" Fuqua. Bleier starred in Super Bowl XIII with a touchdown reception and a recovered onside kick to seal Pittsburghs third NFL title. In Dick Hoak's 10 years as a Steeler, he only saw two winning seasons. Merril Hoge was a versatile fullback who could carry the ball, catch passes, and block. Without further ado, here are the best 25 NFL running backs of this decade: It will be surprising to some that Johnson isn't a little higher on this list. TODAY: Running backs. In the I-formation, the fullback lines up behind the quarterback, and the halfback (tailback) lines up behind the fullback. Which of these tight ends has left a lasting legacy in the city of Pittsburgh? Overall contributions to the Steelers franchise. All-time Rushing Leader: Franco Harris 2,881 att, 11,950 yds, 91 TD . Perhaps one of the most popular and beloved Steelers players of all-time, Bleier became famous before he ever established himself as Franco Harriss partner in crime based on his experiences in the Vietnam War. Bell made three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams as a Steeler. Barkley reminded the NFL world this past season that he's one of the best running backs in the league by rushing for a career-high 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns. All-time Receiving Leader: Hines Ward 1,000 rec, 12,083 yds, 85 TD . The team made it to the playoffs ten times ( 1992-1997 , 2001-2002 , 2004-2005 ) and had a 12-9 record under Coach Hoak in playoff games. Harris was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. Fuqua led the . He scored seven touchdowns and caught the ball 22 times for an additional 204 yards and a 9.3 yards-per-reception mark. Best: Franco Harris. He ranks fourth all-time in franchise history for rushing yards and eighth all-time in receptions. Injuries hurt Foster later in his career, but he did record 1,246 rushing yards in 2014. Having gone through a tough contract negotiation in 1995, the Steelers instead of trying to settle traded Foster over to the Carolina Panthers who then cut the running back in training camp due to a failed physical. He made four Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team as a Steeler and inspired a Pittsburgh Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl XLone of the greatest wins in Steelers history. 2013 Steelers 2014 Steelers 2015 Steelers 2016 Steelers 2017 Steelers 2018 Steelers 2019 Steelers 2020 Steelers 2021 Steelers 2022 Steelers 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 8-8 11-5 10-6 11-5 13-3 9-6-1 8-8 12-4 9-7-1 9-8. In 2006 he tried to make a comeback in the Arena Football League and the National Indoor Football League but that last just part of one season. Seasons: 90 (1933 to 2022) Record (W-L-T): 666-585-23 Playoff Record: 36-27 Super Bowls Won: 6 (8 Appearances) Championships Won *: 6 . Barkley was a huge reason why the Giants returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Including last season when Bell sat out because of a contract dispute, the two-time All-Pro has missed 34 games in his six-year career. 1, Pittsburgh didn't have a top-25 running back. 6:02; See All. He's rushed for only 2,599 yards this decade, but everyone knows he's far more than just a running back. What those teams dont have is a legacy of bullying and dominating opponents, and that is what brought the Steelers six Super Bowl championships. Dudley could do it all on the field as he was just not a back but a defensive back, punter, and place kicker. He has held the all-time rushing yards record since 2002 and is . The Best Pittsburgh Steelers Tight Ends Of All Time, Vote up the players who had the most success playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers. NICK CHUBB, CLEVELAND BROWNS.
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