It has been more than 75 years since the Philadelphia Eagles first played in the National Football League. The Eagles have had a lot of great players over the past 75 years, but the running backs have been overlooked.
There hasn’t been much progress in running the ball technique compared to passing in recent decades, which has seen radical regulation changes. The Eagles have produced some of the greatest running backs in NFL history.
Here is a list of the top 5 Philadelphia Eagles Best Running Backs Of All-Time
1. Steve Van Buren
The Eagles’ all-time leading runner, Van Buren, concluded his career with 5,860 yards and 64 touchdowns. With five First-Team All-Pro choices in eight seasons, Van Buren was truly dominant in his day.
Just 12 games a year, he had two seasons with 1,000-yard totals. Van Buren was the first NFL player to score more than 10 touchdowns in a season, and he won four league rushing titles during his career. First, in NFL history, he also became the first player to carry for more than 1,000 yards in two consecutive seasons.
2. LeSean McCoy
McCoy made the Pro Bowl last season after finishing fourth in the league in running (with a career-best of 1,309 yards) and scoring 17 touchdowns. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards each of the last two seasons. Third in franchise history, his 44 rushing touchdowns are a franchise record. Second only to Ricky Watters is his 75.5-yard-per-game average.
3. Brian Westbrook
With 5,995 yards and 37 touchdowns, Westbrook is third on the Eagles’ all-time rushing chart. Westbrook’s accomplishments, though, were not limited to his ability to run the football. He amassed 3,790 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns during his career. He also carried for a career-high 1,333 yards (at 4.8 yards per carry) that season, totaling 2,104 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns.
4. Wilbert Montgomery
Throughout his career, Montgomery carried for over 1,000 yards three times and was selected to two Pro Bowls. In 1979, he set the Eagles single-season yardage record of 1,512, which he still maintains today. With 6,538 yards and 45 touchdowns, Montgomery is the second-most productive rusher in Eagles history.
5. Duce Staley
Eagles running back Duce Staley is ranked fifth in the team’s history for total rushing yards. He carried for 4,807 yards and 22 touchdowns while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008. During his stint with the Eagles, Staley amassed three seasons of at least 1,000 yards rushing, with his best season coming in his third year, when he ran the ball 325 times for 1,273 yards.
