Is Derrick Henry the best RB of all-time? Where he stands among NFL's top-10 running backs — SkimNews
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- Derrick Henry is projected to jump from 10th to 6th on the NFL's all-time career rushing list by season's end, having just passed Hall of Famer Marcus Allen for 3rd all-time in career rushing touchdowns.
- Terron Armstead, CBS Sports NFL analyst and former NFL lineman, argued Henry is "arguably the greatest running back of all time," saying the conversation is lacking because Henry "is not flashy" despite his relentless production.
- Henry ran for 1,921 yards in 2024 — the best season ever for a running back over 30 — and is one of only nine players in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.
- Jim Brown tops the all-time RB ranking, having led the NFL in rushing eight times across his 1957-65 career with the Cleveland Browns and posting a career 104.3 yards-per-game average that remains the highest in league history.
- Walter Payton ranks second and is described as the greatest back since the 1970 merger, having led the 1985 Bears to a Super Bowl XX championship behind over 2,000 all-purpose yards that postseason.
- Emmitt Smith slots third on this list while remaining the NFL's all-time career leader with 18,355 rushing yards and 164 rushing touchdowns, powered by three Super Bowl wins with the 1990s Cowboys dynasty.
- Barry Sanders checks in at fourth, gaining 15,259 career rushing yards in just 10 seasons with a running style the article says was "never seen before and never seen since."
Why it matters: Henry's climb reshapes a debate that has historically been settled — his projection to leap four spots on the all-time career rushing list by season's end, combined with his record-setting age-30+ season in 2024, gives him a longevity case no back since Emmitt Smith has mounted. The ranking reframes the standard: Jim Brown's nine-year peak remains the ceiling, but Henry's decade-plus of production forces an era-adjusted comparison the league's all-time lists have never had to make.
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