Barry Sanders NFL's Greatest Running Back Ever?

METRO DETROIT, MI — Just who is the greatest NFL running back of all time? It’s a hotly debated topic in cities like Dallas, Cleveland, San Diego, Chicago and, yes, Detroit. For fans of the Detroit Lions, the answer is obvious: Barry Sanders.

After all, he retired as the game’s second all-time leading rusher and is one of only two backs to average more than five yards per carry for their career. According to the National Football Hall of Fame, the other guy to average five yards is ranked one notch ahead of Barry, and that’s Jim Brown.

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The Hall of Fame will enshrine LaDainian Tomlinson and Terrell Davis on Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio. Ahead of that ceremony, three Hall of Fame voters compiled their list of the 10 greatest running backs of all-time.

Cleveland’s Jim Brown is rated as the best with Detroit’s own Barry Sanders at No. 2. Walter Payton, Gale Sayers and Sanders contemporary Emmitt Smith are also in the top five. Tomlinson is rated 10th and Davis didn’t make the list.

“He was only 1,457 yards short of Payton’s career rushing record. The knock on Sanders has been that A) He didn’t play on a champion, with the Lions winning only one playoff game during his tenure; B) he had an NFL-record 1,114 yards in minus yardage; and C) he was removed from the lineup in goal-line situations,” wrote Hall of Fame voters Rick Gosselin, Clark Judge and Ron Borges, and John Turney, according to a Detroit News article.

“But get real, people. He is one of only two backs to average over five yards a carry for his career. (Jim Brown is the other.) Furthermore, in 1997 he set an NFL record with 14 consecutive 100-yard games (including two 200-yarders) en route to a 2,053-yard year and league MVP season (he shared it with Brett Favre).”

Do you agree with their assessment? Should Barry be No. 1? Patch readers, let us know what you think in the comments section of this article.

Photo by Gregory Shamus / Stringer / Getty Images Sports / Getty Images