Emmitt Smith..
...any position or in any era. As the third-ranked rusher in NFL history, Smith has also won four NFL rushing titles, three Super Bowl titles and a league (1993) and Super Bowl (XXVIII) MVP award. When looking at Smith's career numbers, it's easy to see why he will be remembered as one of the greatest NFL players of all-time. His career rushing total of 15,166 yards has him trailing only Walter Payton (16,726) and Barry Sanders (15,269). Smith is the NFL's career rushing touchdowns leader with 145 and stands second in league annals in total touchdowns with 156, trailing the all-time leader, Jerry Rice, by 31. Already the first player in NFL history with five straight seasons with over 1,400 yards rushing, Smith and Jim Brown are the only players with seven straight 10-touchdown seasons to start their career. With 1,203 yards rushing in 2000, Smith became just the second player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons (Barry Sanders) and only the third player in NFL history to post 10 1,000 yard rushing seasons in his career (Payton, Sanders). He is also second on the NFL's all-time rushing attempts list with 3,537, trailing only Payton (3,838). With an NFL record 25 touchdowns in 1995, Smith scored 100 career touchdowns in just six seasons, the fastest anyone in league history has reached that mark (he tied Brown's NFL record by scoring 100 touchdowns in just 93 career games). His 145 career rushing touchdowns in 171 games gives him a 0.85 touchdown-per-game scoring average, second behind Brown's 0.90 for tops among the all-time rushing touchdown scorers (John Riggins 0.59 and Walter Payton 0.58 are next on the list). Smith is one of only three players in Dallas history with three career 100 point seasons, and he is the only non-kicker to accomplish the feat. His value to the Cowboys' success can be seen in the club's 92-23 mark (including...
View Full Essay