The most accomplished running back in Washington history

Posted on by

June 23, 2025

by Steve Thomas

Welcome to another edition of my recent dive into Commanders Washington Football Team Redskins Washington football history.  This column is one of these efforts that, as has happened to me many times, started out as a simple, short throwaway idea – who is Washington’s best running back ever? – and in a couple of days, turned into a statistical monstrosity.  I apologize in advance.  If you want to get straight to the point, then skip down to the bottom and read the summary section.

This started in the wake of of my recent film study of the team’s seventh round draft pick, Jacory Croskey-Merritt.  After that effort, I thought I’d figure out who were the most accomplished running backs in franchise history – not based on nostalgia, but based on data.  I have my favorites, as does everyone, but that doesn’t mean that those particular players were necessarily the best and most effective ever.  Discovering that objective truth is the object of today’s exercise.

Please note that by “most accomplished”, I mean some combination of the most talented and most productive.  I recognize that someone along the way may have been a flash in the pan and showed a ton of talent for a very short period of time, but that’s not what I’m going for in this column.  My goal here today is “most accomplished”, which is a term I created for this column.  I’ve always thought that the term “best” is too vauge.  Hopefully you get the point.

To figure this out, I had to establish some ground rules.  First, sheer volume of carries and yardage is a factor, but isn’t enough.  Volume and length of time with the team is certainly important, but it isn’t the be-all, end-all of running back excellence.  Average yards per carry is also crucial.  Number of touchdowns is similarly crucial, because at the end of the day, the goal of the game of football is to score points.  I also took receptions into account, but weighted them at a lower value, as I will describe below.

I also threw in some information on the NFL leaders along the way, just for fun.

As usual with these types of columns, I have no agenda here and don’t know how the results are going to turn out before the calculations are done.  With that said, let’s jump in.

Total rushing yardage

Hall of famer and Super Bowl-era great John Riggins has the most rushing yardage in team history, with 7472 yards.  Washington’s top 10 are as follows:

Name Years Rushing yards
John Riggins 1976 – 1985 7472
Clinton Portis 2004 – 2010 6824
Larry Brown 1969 – 1976 5875
Stephen Davis 1996 – 2002 5790
Alfred Morris 2012 – 2015 4713
Terry Allen 1995 – 1998 4086
Earnest Byner 1989 – 1993 3950
Mike Thomas 1975 – 1978 3359
Ladell Betts 2002 – 2009 3176
Don Bosseler 1957 – 1964 3112

In terms of total rushing yardage, it’s Riggins, Portis, Brown, Davis, and then everyone else.

Emmitt Smith, who was with Dallas and the Cardinals from 1990 to 2004, is the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing yardage, with 18,355 yards.  Smith is followed by Walter Payton, with 16,726, then Frank Gore, who had 16,000 yards with Buffalo, Indianapolis, Miami, the Jets, and the 49ers from 2005 to 2020, then Barry Sanders, who had 15,269, and Adrian Peterson, who had 14,918 yards with the Vikings and 6 other teams including Washington from 2007 to 2021.

Total number of carries

A total of 34 running backs have had 250 or more carries for the Washington franchise.  John Riggins is the leader in the clubhouse by this statistic as well.  The table below shows the top 15:

Name Years # of carries
John Riggins 1976 – 1985 1988
Clinton Portis 2004 – 2010 1667
Larry Brown 1969 – 1976 1530
Stephen Davis 1996 – 2002 1383
Alfred Morris 2012 – 2015 1078
Terry Allen 1995 – 1998 1043
Earnest Byner 1989 – 1993 990
Mike Thomas 1975 – 1978 878
Ladell Betts 2002 – 2009 776
Don Bosseler 1957 – 1964 775
Charlie Harraway 1969 – 1973 719
George Rogers 1985 – 1987 697
Antonio Gibson 2020 – 2023 642
Brian Robinson Jr. 2022 – 2024 570
Andy Farkas 1938 – 1944 555

Honestly, as a franchise, Washington hasn’t excelled by this measurement, particularly considering how long the team has been in existence.  This means that they haven’t had alot of running backs who’ve stuck with the team for significant periods of time.  The fact that Antonio Gibson and Brian Robinson Jr. are on this list should tell you all you need to know.

The NFL’s all-time leader in number of carries is Emmitt Smith from the Cowboys and the Cardinals, with 4409.  Walter Payton is second with 3838, followed by Frank Gore with 3735.  However, the leaders with one team are Dallas’ Smith with 4052, followed by Chicago’s Payton with 3838, Detroit’s Barry Sanders with 3062, the Steelers’ Franco Harris with 2881, and the Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson with 2880.  Riggins’ 1988 carries for the Redskins is ranked 21st in NFL history.

Yards per carry

For this measurement, I felt it was important to set a floor for number of carries since we’re after the most accomplished running back in team history, not just the best for one season or one moment.  Of the 34 Washington running backs with 250 of more carries for the team, Brian Mitchell is first with 5.0 yards per carry.  Only 20 running backs in team history with more than 250 carries averaged 4.0 or more yards per carry, as shown below:

Name Years YPC No. of carries
Brian Mitchell 1990 – 1999 5.0 352
Charlie Justice 1950 – 1954 4.8 266
Chris Thompson 2013 – 2019 4.8 250
Kelvin Bryant 1986 – 1990 4.6 260
Joe Washington 1981 – 1984 4.5 455
Roy Helu 2011 – 2014 4.4 255
Alfred Morris 2012 – 2015 4.4 1078
Rob Goode 1949 – 1954 4.4 513
Adrian Peterson 2018 – 2019 4.2 462
Stephen Davis 1996 – 2002 4.2 1383
Reggie Brooks 1993 – 1995 4.2 325
George Rogers 1985 – 1987 4.2 697
Antonio Gibson 2020 – 2023 4.1 642
Clinton Portis 2004 – 2010 4.1 1667
Ladell Betts 2002 – 2009 4.1 776
Brian Robinson Jr. 2022 – 2024 4.1 570
Keith Griffin 1984 – 1988 4.1 329
Jim Musick 1932 – 1935 4.0 321
Don Bosseler 1957 – 1964 4.0 775
Earnest Byner 1989 – 1993 4.0 990
Dick James 1956 – 1963 4.0 263

If we match up the players with the top yards per carry averages with the most carries, that gives us, in order, (1) Alfred Morris, with 1078 carries at 4.4 yards per carry, (2) Stephen Davis, with 1383 carries at 4.2 yards per carry, (3) Clinton Portis, with 1667 carries at 4.1 yards per carry, and (4) Earnest Byner, with 990 carries at 4.0 yards per carry.  Each of those four players are also in the top 7 in terms of number of carries.

Jamaal Charles, who had 1407 carries with Denver, Jacksonville, and Kansas City from 2008 – 2018, is the NFL’s all-time leader in yards per carry for backs with 250 or more carries, with 5.4 yards per carry.  Charles is followed by Jim Brown, who averaged 5.2 yards per carry, Nick Chubb, who averaged 5.1 yards per carry in 1340 carries with the Browns from 2018 to 2024, and Barry Sanders, who averaged 5.0 yards per carry.  Those players are the only players in NFL history to average over 5.0 yards per carry with 250 or more carries.  31 other running backs averaged between 4.5 and 4.9 yards per carry in 250 or more carries.

Rushing touchdowns

John Riggins had 79 rushing touchdowns, which is more than any other running back in Washington history.  13 Washington running backs had 20 or more rushing touchdowns, as shown below:

Name Years Rushing TDs
John Riggins 1976 – 1985 79
Clinton Portis 2004 – 2010 46
Stephen Davis 1996 – 2002 45
Terry Allen 1995 – 1998 37
Larry Brown 1969 – 1976 35
George Rogers 1985 – 1987 31
Alfred Morris 2012 – 2015 29
Earnest Byner 1989 – 1993 25
Don Bosseler 1957 – 1964 22
Antonio Gibson 2020 – 2023 22
Andy Farkas 1938 – 1944 21
Gerald Riggs 1989 – 1991 21
Charlie Harraway 1969 – 1973 20

As you can see, by this statistic, there’s Riggins, Portis, Davis, and then everyone else.  For those wondering, Charley Taylor leads all Washington players in touchdowns via any type of play, with 90, followed by Riggins with 85.  Art Monk is a distant third with 65, followed by Jerry Smith with 60 and Gary Clark and Hugh Taylor, who each had 58.

In terms of the NFL as a whole, Emmitt Smith had 179 rushing touchdowns, which is the most in NFL history, followed by LaDainian Tomlinson with 145, Marcus Allen with 123, Adrian Peterson with 120, and Walter Payton with 110.

Receptions

As those who are knowledgeable about Redskins history might guess, Larry Brown leads the team in receptions for a running back.  The following is the top 10:

Name Years # of recs
Larry Brown 1969 – 1976 238
Brian Mitchell 1990 – 1999 232
Chris Thompson 2013 – 2019 212
Earnest Byner 1989 – 1993 185
Clinton Portis 2004 – 2010 176
Antonio Gibson 2020 – 2023 172
Ladell Betts 2002 – 2009 165
Charley Taylor 1964 – 1966 165
Kelvin Bryant 1986 – 1990 154
Larry Centers 1990 – 2000 150
J.D. McKissic 2020 – 2022 150

By this statistic, it’s Larry Brown and Brian Mitchell, then everyone else.

Larry Centers, who was with Washington and 4 other teams, is the NFL’s all time leader in receptions by a running back, with 827.  Behind Centers is Marshall Faulk, who was with Indianapolis and the Rams, with 767, and LaDainian Tomlinson, who was with the Jets and the Chargers, with 624.

Receiving touchdowns

Larry Brown and Charley Taylor are tied for the most receiving touchdowns by a running back in Washington history, with 20 each.  The top 10 for Washington are as follows:

Name Years Receiving TDs
Larry Brown 1969 – 1976 20
Charley Taylor 1964 – 1966 20
Kelvin Bryant 1986 – 1990 14
Wilbur Moore 1941 – 1945 13
Andy Farkas 1938 – 1944 11
Clarence Harmon 1977 – 1982 11
Mike Thomas 1975 – 1978 11
Jim Podoley 1957 – 1959 10
Chris Thompson 2013 – 2019 10
Joe Washington 1981 – 1984 10

As you can see, Brown and Taylor are far ahead of everyone else.

In terms of the NFL as a whole, Marshall Faulk leads the way with 36 touchdowns, followed by Darren Sproles from the Saints, Eagles, and Chargers, with 32, then James Brooks who was with 4 teams from 1981 – 1992, with 30, then Washington’s own Austin Ekeler with 30, the bulk of which came from his time with the Chargers, and Brian Westbrook from the Eagles and 49ers, with 30.

So who’s the most accomplished?

What do all of these statistics show?  Who is the most accomplished running back in Washington football history?  Because I’m me, I can’t just look at these charts and guess.  Therefore, I created an objective formula to provide the answer.  Generally, I assigned each running back 10 points for being ranked first in each category, 9 points for second place, as so on, with 1 point for 10th place.  I gave zero points to any ranking below 10.  However in my view, yards per carry is ultimately the most important statistic for a running back, so I weighted that statistic at twice the weight of the others, meaning, for that category, I awarded 20 points for 1st place, 18 for 2nd, etc., down to 2 points for 10th.

Also, I weighted the two receiving categories, receptions and receiving touchdowns, at half value each in order to prevent receiving from being too big of a factor in the rankings.  At the end of the day, rushing is more important for a running back.  In effect, both of the receiving categories put together equal one full category.

All players tied at a ranking received the same number of points; meaning, for example, if running backs tied for 10th in a particular category, then they all received 1 point.  I’m not going to show the points per each category, because that’s a little bit too much brain damage.  You’ll just have to trust me that that the math is right.  Without further ado, here’s the list of the most accomplished running backs in Washington franchise history:

Name Points
John Riggins 30
Clinton Portis 28.5
Larry Brown 27
Alfred Morris 24
Stephen Davis 24
Brian Mitchell 22.25
Chris Thompson 18.25
Charlie Justice 18
Terry Allen 17
Kelvin Bryant 16.5

So there you go: objectively, John Riggins is the overall most accomplished running back in Washington history, followed by Clinton Portis, Stephen Davis, Larry Brown, and Alfred Morris.

Removing the two receiving statistics from the equation leaves the following results:

Name Points
John Riggins 30
Clinton Portis 27
Alfred Morris 24
Stephen Davis 24
Larry Brown 22
Brian Mitchell 20
Charlie Justice 18
Terry Allen 17
Chris Thompson 16
Kelvin Bryant 14

As you can see, either way, it’s the same 10 running backs, and John Riggins is the undisputed winner.  The main changes when the two receiving categories are removed from the equation are that Larry Brown moved from 3rd to 5th and that Chris Thompson moves down a couple of spots.

To me, both are reasonable lists.  Certainly, fan votes would depend in no small part on the age of the fan, but it appears undeniable that John Riggins and Clinton Portis are the two most accomplished running backs in team history.  I probably would have predicted that result without all of these calculations, which begs the natural question: why did I go through this?  Because I can’t help myself, that’s why.

What do you think?  Are there any surprises on these lists?  Let me know in the comment section below.