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25 best NFL running backs of the 21st century

By Brad Weiss

Charger RB LaDainian Tomlinson runs down the field as the San Diego Chargers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 20 - 9 on December 17, 2006 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA. (Photo by Tracy Frankel/Getty Images)
Charger RB LaDainian Tomlinson runs down the field as the San Diego Chargers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 20 - 9 on December 17, 2006 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA. (Photo by Tracy Frankel/Getty Images) /
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CANTON, OH – AUGUST 05: LaDainian Tomlinson speaks during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 5, 2017, in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CANTON, OH – AUGUST 05: LaDainian Tomlinson speaks during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 5, 2017, in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

25 best NFL running backs of the 21st century

. LaDainian Tomlinson. 1. player. 13. .

So if Adrian Peterson is the No. 2 running back of the 21st century, then that must mean that former Chargers legend LaDainian Tomlinson comes in as the No. 1 back since 2000. After a record-breaking career at TCU, a school not really known for their football program, Tomlinson burst onto the NFL scene, rushing for over 1,200 yards and ten touchdowns as a rookie.

That would begin a string of eight consecutive years where LT would rush for over 1,000 yards in a season, and he certainly did it in style. One of those rare running backs who was almost impossible to tackle, Tomlinson was a touchdown factory during his NFL career, and to this date, only Emmitt Smith has more rushing touchdowns.

During the 2006 NFL season, a year that saw him win the league’s Most Valuable Player honor, Tomlinson went nuts, rushing for an eye-popping and NFL record 28 touchdowns. In that season, he scored 19 touchdowns in six games alone, and with his three receiving scores, he finished with an NFL record 31 touchdowns, a mark that still stands today.

Tomlinson was named first-team or second-team All-Pro in every season from 2002 through 2007 and was named a Pro Bowler five times in that span. A Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award winner, Tomlinson is considered by many as one of the top-3 running backs to ever play at the NFL level, and he earns our honor as being the best we have seen since the turn of the century.

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