Rushing yards trends & analysis 1970-present

[jeffcorner]

I went back to 1970 (AFL-NFL Merger) and did some research on rushing yards. I wanted to chart what the highest amount of yardage (leader) was for each season/year for white rushers (RB/FB/QB/Whatever). I thought it would be interesting to see the trends (although I am not going to graph it). For each season I'm going to name the rusher, the yardage amount, & in parentheses I'm going to put where that rusher ranks that season for total rushing yardage [For example, for 2023 it would be: Christian McCaffrey, 1,459 yards (#1)]. That way we can contextualize what an amount really means relative to the rest of the league for that particularly selected year. **Also, unlike the receiving post I did like this, for this one in addition to the name of the rusher I think it would be interesting to see how they are classified positionally.....so I will be naming the position they are given on the source I'm using (Profootballreference.com). For example, some seasons John Riggins is listed as a Fullback and other seasons he is listed as a Running Back, so there may appear to be some discrepancies on the list. If you guys see any type of error or correction I need to make, PLEASE feel free to correct me and I'll edit it. I have no ego whatsoever when it comes to this stuff. I'm just incredibly curious to understand it all.

1970: Larry Csonka FB 874 yards (#5)
1971: Larry Csonka FB 1,051 yards (#3)
1972: Larry Csonka FB 1,117 yards (#4)
1973: Larry Csonka FB 1,003 yards (#5)
1974: Marv Hubbard FB 865 yards (#7)
1975: John Riggins FB 1,005 yards (#7)
1976: Rocky Bleier RB 1,036 yards (#9)
1977: Mark Van Eeghen FB 1,273 yards (#2)
1978: Mark Van Eeghen FB 1,080 yards (#8)
1979: John Riggins FB 1,153 yards (#9)
1980: Mark Van Eeghen FB 838 yards (#11)
1981: Rob Carpenter FB 822 yards (#21)
1982: John Riggins RB 553 yards (#15) *Strike shortened season. No 1k runners, league leader had 786 yards.
1983: John Riggins RB 1,347 yards (#5)
1984: John Riggins RB 1,239 yards (#6)
1985: Craig James FB 1,227 yards (#9)
1986: Craig James FB 427 yards (#40)
1987: Jamie Mueller FB 354 yards (#42) *Strike shortened season.
1988: Merril Hoge FB 705 yards (#21)
1989: Merril Hoge FB 621 yards (#24)
1990: Merril Hoge FB 772 yards (#18)
1991: Merril Hoge FB 610 yards (#26)
1992: Steve Young QB 537 yards (#30)
1993: Tommy Vardell FB 644 yards (#27)
1994: Steve Young QB 293 yards (#51)
1995: Mark Brunell QB 480 yards (#37)
1996: Mark Brunell QB 396 yards (#45)
1997: Mike Alstott FB 665 yards (#29)
1998: Mike Alstott FB 846 yards (#24)
1999: Mike Alstott FB 949 yards (#15)
2000: Rich Gannon QB 529 yards (#32) *Gannon was 35 years old during this season.
2001: Mike Alstott FB 680 yards (#28)
2002: Mike Alstott FB 548 yards (#36)
2003: Jeff Garcia QB 319 yards (#52)
2004: David Carr QB 299 yards (#58)
2005: David Carr QB 308 yards (#56)
2006: Charlie Frye QB 215 yards (#60)
2007: Brian Leonard FB 303 yards (#57)
2008: Tyler Thigpen QB 386 yards (#54)
2009: Aaron Rodgers QB 316 yards (#64)
2010: Peyton Hillis RB 1,177 yards (#11)
2011: Tim Tebow QB 660 yards (#28)
2012: Peyton Hillis RB 309 yards (#60) *right behind him @ #61 is Danny Woodhead, also listed as RB, and having 301 yards.
2013: Alex Smith QB 431 yards (#49) *right behind him @ #50 is Danny Woodhead, still listed as RB, having 429 yards.
2014: Blake Bortles QB 419 yards (#47)
2015: Alex Smith QB 498 yards (#45)
2016: Aaron Rodgers QB 369 yards (#50)
2017: Christian McCaffrey RB 435 yards (#44)
2018: Christian McCaffrey RB 1,098 yards (#6)
2019: Christian McCaffrey RB 1,387 yards (#3)
2020: Taysom Hill QB/WR 457 yards (#46) *Hill is listed as QB/WR for this season
2021: Josh Allen QB 763 yards (#25)
2022: Christian McCaffrey RB 1,139 yards (#8)
2023: Christian McCaffrey RB 1,459 yards (#1)
2024: Josh Allen QB 531 yards (#41)
2025: TBD

3 things;

1. Rob Carpenter in 1981 & Christian McCaffrey in 2022 both played for 2 different teams during their respective seasons.

2. For 2025, Christian McCaffrey is on pace for 1,084 yards, Cam Skattebo (at time of his injury) was on pace to finish with 872 yards, Josh Allen is on pace to finish at 580 yards, Justin Herbert is on pace to finish with 500 yards, Jaxson Dart is on pace to finish with 472 yards, and Drake Maye is on pace to finish with 417 yards.

3. Below is the screenshot of what profootballreference.com (PFR) has listed as Taysom Hill's position designations throughout the years:



What say you all?

 

[Don Wassall]

It's more awesome research. My only suggestion would be to take out the QBs and list only the RBs (and FBs). I think that would illuminate the Caste System much more starkly and how just as with receivers it went hard-core in the mid-1980s with the near total elimination of White running backs, a still ongoing situation despite a generational "outlier" like McCaffrey and possibly Skattebo. And CFers well know that "outliers" at all the mostly black positions changes nothing when it comes to the "scouting services," "draft gurus" and the NFL Draft itself year after year, decade after decade.

 

[sprintstar]

Great work! I think many peoples eyes would be opened to the Caste system after reading this chart. I think charts like this could be done on QB's separately and tight ends separately. Would really illuminate the attempt to get rid of white men in the NFL by the NFL owners and the league brass.

 

[Freethinker]

Excellent! Thank you for taking the time.

 

[backrow]

Great list, however as Con said, I think it would be more impactful if RB/FB are separated from QBs.