NFL: The Top Running Back Performances This Decade

With the decade about half done, we take a look at the top running back performers in the NFL this decade. 

The decade is about half over. We have seen some good running back performances such as Adrian Peterson eclipsing the 2,000-yard mark and LeSean McCoy going over 2,000 all-purpose yards.

I will take a look at which performances were the best for this decade. I am not going to look at just total rushing yards or touchdowns. I will take everything into consideration.

It takes more than just running the ball to be a good running back. These days, a running back has to be effective in the passing game out of the backfield. The back has to be an all-around player.

In order to quantify a running back’s performance, I composed a formula. Similar to how teachers grade in a class (where quizzes equal a certain portion of your grade, a mid-term is equal to another portion, etc.), I weigh different categories.

The categories used are rushing yards, carries, receiving yards, receptions, touchdowns and fumbles. The scale goes as shown below:

The way this is set up, a big rusher gets credited well for rushing yards, but an all-around back will get better numbers overall. So you can have 1,800 yards in a season, but if you only have 100 receiving yards, you will be penalized. The ranking of the performance goes as follows:

Let’s take a look at the top performers by year.

Next: 2010