most rushing yds first 9 seasons in nfl history

Barry Sanders had the most rushing yards in his first 9 seasons, with 13,778 yards.

Regular season

	NAME	RUSH YDS	GP	ATT	YPC	RUSH YDS/G	RUSH TD	REC YDS	REC	TRG	AVG	REC YDS/G	REC TD
1	Barry Sanders B. Sanders	13,778	137	2,719	5.1	100.6	95	2,632	315		8.4	19.2	10
2	Emmitt Smith E. Smith	12,566	140	2,914	4.3	89.8	125	2,609	415		6.3	18.6	9
3	LaDainian Tomlinson L. Tomlinson	12,490	141	2,880	4.3	88.6	138	3,955	530	728	7.5	28.0	15
4	Eric Dickerson E. Dickerson	12,439	126	2,783	4.5	98.7	88	1,994	261		7.6	15.8	5
5	Jim Brown J. Brown	12,312	118	2,359	5.2	104.3	106	2,499	262		9.5	21.2	20
6	Adrian Peterson A. Peterson	11,675	120	2,381	4.9	97.3	97	1,937	238	327	8.1	16.1	5
7	Curtis Martin C. Martin	11,669	140	2,927	4.0	83.4	73	2,966	419	330	7.1	21.2	8
8	Walter Payton W. Payton	11,625	130	2,666	4.4	89.4	78	3,088	328		9.4	23.8	9
9	Edgerrin James E. James	11,607	128	2,849	4.1	90.7	77	3,260	418	563	7.8	25.5	11
10	Derrick Henry D. Henry	11,423	136	2,355	4.9	84.0	106	1,651	174	224	9.5	12.1	5
11	Jerome Bettis J. Bettis	10,876	136	2,686	4.0	80.0	53	1,220	170	57	7.2	9.0	3
12	Tony Dorsett T. Dorsett	10,832	132	2,441	4.4	82.1	66	2,988	338		8.8	22.6	11
13	Thurman Thomas T. Thomas	10,762	138	2,566	4.2	78.0	62	3,876	397		9.8	28.1	20
14	Jamal Lewis J. Lewis	10,607	131	2,542	4.2	81.0	58	1,879	221	298	8.5	14.3	4
15	Eddie George E. George	10,441	141	2,865	3.6	74.0	68	2,227	268	269	8.3	15.8	10
16	Corey Dillon C. Dillon	10,429	134	2,419	4.3	77.8	69	1,766	229	262	7.7	13.2	7
17	Marshall Faulk M. Faulk	10,395	135	2,367	4.4	77.0	87	5,984	628	422	9.5	44.3	33
18	Ricky Watters R. Watters	10,325	139	2,550	4.0	74.3	77	4,141	456	154	9.1	29.8	13
19	O.J. Simpson	10,183	112	2,123	4.8	90.9	57	1,924	175		11.0	17.2	12
20	Steven Jackson S. Jackson	10,138	131	2,396	4.2	77.4	56	3,324	407	550	8.2	25.4	8
21	LeSean McCoy L. McCoy	10,092	133	2,185	4.6	75.9	66	3,378	441	566	7.7	25.4	15
22	Frank Gore F. Gore	9,967	132	2,187	4.6	75.5	60	2,772	331	483	8.4	21.0	10
23	Clinton Portis C. Portis	9,923	113	2,230	4.4	87.8	75	2,018	247	338	8.2	17.9	5
24	Chris Johnson C. Johnson	9,537	126	2,118	4.5	75.7	55	2,212	302	418	7.3	17.6	9
25	Fred Taylor F. Taylor	9,513	112	2,062	4.6	84.9	56	2,205	261	306	8.4	19.7	8

Unlock 2x data

StatMuse has season-level data for rushing yards going back to the 1932 season.

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More Lions Stats

Team Leaders

PASS

206

Goff

RUSH

156

Gibbs

REC

67

St. Brown

Team Rankings

PPG

31.0

8th

OPP PPG

30.0

22nd

RUSH YDS/G

165.0

5th

PASS YDS/G

206.0

17th

2026 Division Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT
Bears	1	0	1.000
Lions	1	0	1.000
Vikings	1	0	1.000
Packers	0	1	.000

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Thu 9/17	DET	@	BUF	8:15 PM
Sun 9/27	NYJ	@	DET	1:00 PM
Sun 10/4	DET	@	CAR	8:20 PM
Sun 10/11	DET	@	ARI	4:25 PM
Sun 10/25	GB	@	DET	4:25 PM

Last Game

Saints

0 - 1

Final

Lions

1 - 0

Sun 13 Sep 2026

NFL 2026 Leaders

Pass Yards Leaders

410

Shough

387

Love

361

Young

Rush Yards Leaders

173

Walker

156

Gibbs

144

Henry

Rec Yards Leaders

182

Olave

150

Flowers

147

Watson

Pass TD Leaders

4

Lawrence

3

Shough

3

Dart

Rush TD Leaders

3

Swift

3

Henry

2

Williams

Rec TD Leaders

2

Jeanty

2

Watson

2

St. Brown

QB Rating Leaders

150.6

Lawrence

134.2

Dart

130.5

Allen

Sack Leaders

2.0

Hutchinson

2.0

Watt

2.0

Paye

NFL 2026 Rankings

PPG Rankings

59.0

41.0

39.0

37.0

36.0

34.0

Opp PPG Rankings

7.0

10.0

13.0

Total Yards Rankings

552.0

506.0

478.0

469.0

419.0

409.0

Rush Yards Rankings

291.0

220.0

202.0

174.0

165.0

Pass Yards Rankings

410.0

387.0

361.0

334.0

324.0

277.0

Sack Leaders

5.0

4.0

NFL Fantasy 2026

Fantasy RB Rankings

34.3

Henry

31.4

Swift

31.1

Walker

Fantasy WR Rankings

26.7

Watson

25.8

Coker

23.2

Jefferson

Fantasy TE Rankings

19.8

Likely

19.7

Goedert

15.5

McBride

Fantasy K Rankings

19

McPherson

16

Ryland

15

Sanders

NFL 2026 Betting

Best Record ATS

1-0

Worst Record ATS

0-1

NFL 2026 Standings

NFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Giants	1	0	0	1.000
Eagles	1	0	0	1.000
Commanders	0	1	0	.000
Cowboys	0	1	0	.000
NFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Vikings	1	0	0	1.000
Bears	1	0	0	1.000
Lions	1	0	0	1.000
Packers	0	1	0	.000
NFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Falcons	0	1	0	.000
Buccaneers	0	1	0	.000
Saints	0	1	0	.000
Panthers	0	1	0	.000
NFC West	W	L	T	PCT
49ers	1	0	0	1.000
Cardinals	1	0	0	1.000
Seahawks	1	0	0	1.000
Rams	0	1	0	.000

AFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Jets	1	0	0	1.000
Bills	1	0	0	1.000
Patriots	0	1	0	.000
Dolphins	0	1	0	.000
AFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Ravens	1	0	0	1.000
Bengals	1	0	0	1.000
Steelers	1	0	0	1.000
Browns	0	1	0	.000
AFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Jaguars	1	0	0	1.000
Texans	0	1	0	.000
Titans	0	1	0	.000
Colts	0	1	0	.000
AFC West	W	L	T	PCT
Chiefs	1	0	0	1.000
Raiders	1	0	0	1.000
Chargers	0	1	0	.000
Broncos	0	1	0	.000