He returned to put . Prior to being drafted by the Army for service, Bleier was a University of Notre Dame product graduating in 1968 earning a degree in Business Management. In many ways, this style of offense is the polar opposite of the methods the Steelers used to win six Super Bowls. Despite the occurrences of injury, Hoge ran for 3,115 yards as a Steeler and rushed for 21 touchdowns. Gordon averaged a career-best 5.1 yards per carry in 2018. But he's rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season twice, and he led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016. Over the past 50 years, the Steelers have tallied 36 winning seasons . | He also posted many of his best seasons in the previous decade, which robbed him of a chance at the top 10 on this list. The Steelers haven't shied away from targeting lesser-valued positions by the modern standard early in recent drafts, such as running back, linebacker and maybe to a lesser degree, safety. He is currently the third leading rusher in Steelers history. That meant Bell joined Marshall Faulk as the only players in NFL history with 1,350-plus yards rushing and 850-plus yards receiving in the same season. With the Redskins, Cowboys and 49ers, Morris has 5,931 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns in the 2010s. For years, the Pittsburgh Steelers were considered a team that dominated with the run. Teams like the 49ers, Packers, and Chargers still have plenty of use for thembut many organizations dont carry a fullback on their roster at all. Parker never regained his starting job and was released only to make on attempt at staying in the NFL with the Washington Redskins in 2010 where he spent his time on the practice squad before retiring. These quarterbacks have started at least one game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Drafted in the third round by the Steelers, Zereoue would play from 1999 to 2003 in Black and Gold before finishing his career in Oakland for one season and another in New England. The next ingredient is a tough, hard-nosed rushing attack that controls the ball and methodically plows through opposing defenses. He'll get the chance to continue his career with the Browns, but he'll miss the first eight games of 2019 because of a suspension. He never made a Pro Bowl and never had a 1,000-yard season, but he appeared in 111 games over nine seasons and managed to rack up 3,989 career rushing yards. Advertisement In some form or fashion, the Steelers will need to add quality depth to . In fact, no back has even finished top-two in consecutive years, and only Adrian Peterson (second in 2009 and 2015; first in 2012) and Le'Veon Bell (first in 2014; second in 2017) have even had more than one top-two year in a decade. NAME GP RUSH YDS ATT YPC RUSH YDS/G RUSH TD REC YDS REC TRG AVG REC YDS/G REC TD; Felix Jones: 16: 184: 48: 3.8: 11.5: 0: 63: 9: 13: 7.0: 3.9: 0: Isaac Redman: 3: 12: 10: 1.2 . Do you have a sports website? 3 in NFL history. Dave Holcomb began working as a sports writer in 2013 after graduating from Syracuse University. The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right of their name: These quarterbacks have the most starts for the Steelers in regular season games. The power running back is a dying breed in football. While those numbers may not seem impressive by todays standards, they were good enough to earn Tracy Pro Bowl appearances with the Steelers in 1958 and 1960. Having gone through a tough contract negotiation in 1995, the Steelers instead of trying to settle traded Foster over to the Carolina Panthers who then cut the running back in training camp due to a failed physical. The Steelers won a lot of games in the late-90s to mid-2000s by lining up 250-pound running back Jerome Bettis behind 250-pound fullback Dan Kreider and bulldozing any defense that came before them. He made the Pro Bowl three times, from 2014-16. There was a time when almost every NFL offense was predicated on a feature back that got most of the carries and earned a big paycheck. Barry Foster first came to the attention of Steeler Nation in 1990 when he treated a kickoff as a punt, stood aside, and watched the ball bounce along the ground until the opposing team recovered it. All-time Receiving Leader: Hines Ward 1,000 rec, 12,083 yds, 85 TD . Pittsburgh Steelers Stats: The official source for Pittsburgh Steelers game statistics . Lists that rank the greatest players and coaches in the history of the NFL franchise. His entire career was with the Steelers and he would finish those six seasons with 1,512 yards and 18 touchdowns. Bell made three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams as a Steeler. The team has selected second overall once, and third overall four times. But during the Super Bowl seasons of 1978 and 1979, Sidney Thornton played a significant role in the Steelers' rushing attack. His teammate Terry Hanratty, the QB at Notre Dame during that tenure became a Steeler as well. He ran for 5,378 yards while playing at Heinz Field. [5] Through 2021, eight Steeler first-round picks have gone on to have playing careers deemed worthy of enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Bill Dudley, Len Dawson, Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Rod Woodson, Troy Polamalu, and Alan . To prepare, we at Chargers Wire are previewing players from every position. In 1982, he was Pittsburghs first overall pick in the draft coming in at number 12. The concussion was so bad that Hoge had to learn to read again and suffered from memory loss as well as encountering headaches and confusion. Only other is safeties at sub lb and doesn't change their ratings just where they are on the field. In 1980, Thornton would average five yards-per-carry while carrying the rock 78 times. He also was a punt returner, bringing back 20 punts with a 14.0 average per return. The 32-year-old has been a bit of a journeyman, playing for five different teams this decade. Born in the Ivory Coast, Zereoue played his high school football in Long Island, New York and then went on to be a star running back for the Mountaineers. Let us know your thoughts down in the comments!For Business Inquiries: insid. Others were blocking fullbacks who spent their careers opening holes for star backs. The team made it to the playoffs ten times ( 1992-1997 , 2001-2002 , 2004-2005 ) and had a 12-9 record under Coach Hoak in playoff games. Dick Hoak: The running backs coach for the Steelers for an incredible 35 years, Hoak was also an excellent player at the position he would spend so many years coaching up. A good scoring drive based on running plays eats up the clock and keeps the ball out of the hands of the other team's offense. Conner responded with a Pro Bowl performance and gave Steeler Nation hope that hed become the next great Pittsburgh running back. 1. In addition, he got 52 receiving yards, with an average of 10.4. Another big bruising back that also has surprising quickness, Bell at 244 pounds is turning into a super star in the NFL. Today he is 68 and still colorful. Unfortunately for Johnson, his 2,000-yard season came in 2009, so it just missed the cut for counting on this list. Franco Harris was a fullback, as was Merril Hoge and John Henry Johnson. The controversy surrounds what is called by many as the Greatest play in NFL history. . 1. The Senate passed the bill . In 1999 the Chiefs cut him and his life spiraled out of control with drug problems and jail time. However, it's not too early to break down the best from the 2010s either. The speedy running backs, the classic old power running back, and the mixed, well-rounded, good running back. Including last season when Bell sat out because of a contract dispute, the two-time All-Pro has missed 34 games in his six-year career. In 2007, Fuqua created a candy and marketed it as The Immaculate Confection. But aside from that 1972 playoff game with the Oakland Raiders, Fuqua could be seen off the field wearing the flashiest of clothes that included shoes with see-through heals and live fish in them. The 30-year-old has failed to rush for 500 yards in four of his seven seasons in the NFL. This is a list of National Football League running backs by total career rushing yards, and includes the 31 running backs who have rushed for at least 10,000 yards, for which sixteen of them have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.. Emmitt Smith leads with 18,365 yards and is also the postseason leader with 1,586. Christian McCaffrey (2019) This past season, McCaffrey became the third running back in NFL history to generate over 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in a single season. Dudley also found himself on kickoff returns where he fielded 11 of those for 298 yards (27.0 average). Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, injured during his tour of duty and told he would never play football again. Merril Hoge: Lasting until the 10th round in the 1987 NFL draft, Merril Hoge was a tough as nails runner for the Steelers who suffered a rash of concussion injuries that would cost him his career. Seasons: 90 (1933 to 2022) Record (W-L-T): 666-585-23 Playoff Record: 36-27 Super Bowls Won: 6 (8 Appearances) Championships Won *: 6 . The days of Jim Brown or John Riggins getting 40 carries a game are gone. Merril Hoge was a versatile fullback who could carry the ball, catch passes, and block. Bill Dudley was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and 10 year prior was inducted into College Footballs Hall of Fame. If Lions general manager Brad Holmes follows that plan exactly, Minnesota Golden Gophers' Mohamed Ibrahim would be a great late-round running back prospect for Detroit to target. 1, Pittsburgh didn't have a top-25 running back. Without further ado, here are the best 25 NFL running backs of this decade: It will be surprising to some that Johnson isn't a little higher on this list. Draft Henry with absolute confidence this season if you have a top-five pick. After a slow start (for a seventh overall draft pick from . He made four Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team as a Steeler and inspired a Pittsburgh Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl XLone of the greatest wins in Steelers history. Murray is another back who put together three strong seasons during his career and led the league in rushing once. I enjoy the passing game, and I love that Ben Roethlisberger has matured into an elite quarterback, but it is hard for me to imagine there is a better way to play football than Steelers Football. Many teams even rotate three or more backs throughout the game, with all getting an equal number of carries. In 1984 while beating the Denver Broncos in the playoffs, Pollard ran for 99 yards and two scores, a game won by Pittsburgh 24-17. 2013 Steelers 2014 Steelers 2015 Steelers 2016 Steelers 2017 Steelers 2018 Steelers 2019 Steelers 2020 Steelers 2021 Steelers 2022 Steelers 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 8-8 11-5 10-6 11-5 13-3 9-6-1 8-8 12-4 9-7-1 9-8. Franco Harris was the man during The Renaissance, and Jerome Bettis was the man in The Modern Era. Some readers are probably going to argue this is too high for Forte. Let's take a look back at the rest of the Steelers picks since the 2000 season. As a Steeler, Bettis crashed his way for 10,571 rushing yards and 78 rushing touchdowns, both second-best in team history. But Foster ended up as a one-hit wonder because when he was at peak ability he really didn't love the game, and then it became too late. Parker set the record for longest rushing touchdown from scrimmage in a Super Bowl (XL) with a romp of 75 yards which still stands today. Visit ESPN to view the Pittsburgh Steelers team depth chart for the current season The Pittsburgh Steelers have a long history of smash-mouth football dating back to before they ever won their first Super Bowl. First running back gets drafted in the seventh round. Bleier was an outstanding lead blocker as well as being able to run the ball well and also had solid hands as a receiver. He joins Franco Harris and John Henry Johnson. For the purposes of this article, I will be considering the following: Its tricky to piece it all together, but I think these are the best Steelers running backs of all time. All Rights Reserved. Emmitt Smith leads with 18,365 yards and is also the postseason leader with 1,586. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Anderson was traded mid-season in 1986; he played four games for the Cardinals and eight for the Giants. Always free! If he had played in those games, Bell is easily in the top five on this list and maybe close to the top. But Stewart posted 5,366 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns in the decade. Murray rushed for 7,174 yards and 49 touchdowns with the Cowboys, Eagles and Titans in the 2010s. In two seasons, he is already 18th among all Steelers backs in rushing. Bettis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. Greatest Power Backs in NFL History. Please see our Contributors and Sources page for data source details. Morris peaked as a rookie, rushing for 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2012. Perhaps one of the most popular and beloved Steelers players of all-time, Bleier became famous before he ever established himself as Franco Harriss partner in crime based on his experiences in the Vietnam War. Parker had a shot to lead the NFL in rushing in 2007, but he broke his leg in the regular season's penultimate game and finished with 1,316 yards. Jerome Bettis is the latest Steelers running back to become a member in Canton, Ohio. The Steelers have always had great defensive playersand that hasn't changedbut the Steelers of today have fallen into the trendy traps of modern offenses with little use for a fullback. The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Overall, Foster registered 6,270 rushing yards and 8,523 yards from scrimmage playing for the Texans and Dolphins from 2010-16. Over the entire decade, he posted 6,417 rushing yards and 7,909 yards from scrimmage with the Titans, Jets and Cardinals from 2010-17. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Even putting a left end at right end can cause a drop. Barkley was a huge reason why the Giants returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Despite suffering continuing pain and losing weight down to 180 pounds, Rocky spent the next two years putting on weight and fighting for a roster spot. I want to travel the world and write. If that wasnt strange enough, Mendenhall got himself into hot water in 2011 as a Steeler when he tweeted a controversial reaction to the United States elimination of Osama bin Laden. Players were considered based on having careers with the Steelers from 1992 until the present. A fullback is not required in this type of offensive game plan. As a Steelers, he was occasionally brilliant but more often disappointing. 2023 ABG-SI LLC. Hoak's record as the team's running backs coach was 149-90-1, making him the third-most successful running backs coach in Pittsburgh Steelers history. From '61 to '64, he was part of a powerful rushing attack along with Hall of Famer John Henry Johnson. The move closes the latest chapter of Wentz's career after just one season in Washington. As the tight end position increasingly becomes more of a focal point in offensive schemes , one can only imagine what this list will look like in years down the road. Is the fullback truly gone, banished into the deep recesses of pro football history? Harris is one of the main reasons the Steelers won four Super Bowls in the 1970s. A dominant defense and an unstoppable running gamethats Steelers Football. Teams run RPOs, or run-pass option plays, where the quarterback decides after the snap whether he will hand the ball off or throw a pass.