which running back has the highest yards per carry in nfl history at least 2500 attempts

Barry Sanders has the most career rushing yards per attempt by a running back with 2,500+ carries, with 5.0 per attempt.

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Regular season
Threshold per result

	NAME	YPC	ATT	GP	RUSH YDS	RUSH YDS/G	RUSH TD	REC YDS	REC	TRG	AVG	REC YDS/G	REC TD
1	Barry Sanders B. Sanders	5.0	3,062	153	15,269	99.8	99	2,921	352		8.3	19.1	10
2	Derrick Henry D. Henry	4.9	2,775	158	13,494	85.4	129	1,863	197	254	9.5	11.8	6
3	Adrian Peterson A. Peterson	4.6	3,230	184	14,918	81.1	120	2,474	305	423	8.1	13.4	6
4	Fred Taylor F. Taylor	4.6	2,534	153	11,695	76.4	66	2,384	290	348	8.2	15.6	8
5	Eric Dickerson E. Dickerson	4.4	2,996	146	13,259	90.8	90	2,137	281		7.6	14.6	6
6	Walter Payton W. Payton	4.4	3,838	190	16,726	88.0	110	4,538	492		9.2	23.9	15
7	Tony Dorsett T. Dorsett	4.3	2,936	173	12,739	73.6	77	3,554	398		8.9	20.5	13
8	Marshall Faulk M. Faulk	4.3	2,836	176	12,279	69.8	100	6,875	767	606	9.0	39.1	36
9	LaDainian Tomlinson L. Tomlinson	4.3	3,174	170	13,684	80.5	145	4,772	624	868	7.6	28.1	17
10	Corey Dillon C. Dillon	4.3	2,618	150	11,241	74.9	82	1,913	244	278	7.8	12.8	7
11	Frank Gore F. Gore	4.3	3,735	241	16,000	66.4	81	3,985	484	696	8.2	16.5	18
12	Thurman Thomas T. Thomas	4.2	2,877	182	12,074	66.3	65	4,458	472	29	9.4	24.5	23
13	Jamal Lewis J. Lewis	4.2	2,542	131	10,607	81.0	58	1,879	221	298	8.5	14.3	4
14	Emmitt Smith E. Smith	4.2	4,409	226	18,355	81.2	164	3,224	515	130	6.3	14.3	11
15	Steven Jackson S. Jackson	4.1	2,764	160	11,438	71.5	69	3,683	461	627	8.0	23.0	9
16	Franco Harris F. Harris	4.1	2,949	173	12,120	70.1	91	2,287	307		7.4	13.2	9
17	Warrick Dunn W. Dunn	4.1	2,669	181	10,967	60.6	49	4,339	510	594	8.5	24.0	15
18	Ricky Watters R. Watters	4.1	2,622	144	10,643	73.9	78	4,248	467	176	9.1	29.5	13
19	Marcus Allen M. Allen	4.1	3,022	222	12,243	55.1	123	5,411	587		9.2	24.4	21
20	Edgerrin James E. James	4.0	3,028	148	12,246	82.7	80	3,364	433	584	7.8	22.7	11
21	Ottis Anderson O. Anderson	4.0	2,562	182	10,273	56.4	81	3,062	376		8.1	16.8	5
22	Curtis Martin C. Martin	4.0	3,518	168	14,101	83.9	90	3,329	484	409	6.9	19.8	10
23	Thomas Jones T. Jones	4.0	2,678	180	10,591	58.8	68	2,023	308	410	6.6	11.2	3
24	Jerome Bettis J. Bettis	3.9	3,479	192	13,662	71.2	91	1,449	200	100	7.2	7.5	3
25	John Riggins J. Riggins	3.9	2,916	175	11,352	64.9	104	2,090	250		8.4	11.9	12

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StatMuse has season-level data for rush attempts and rushing yards per attempt going back to the 1932 season.

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More Lions Stats

Team Leaders

PASS

1,485

Goff

RUSH

504

Gibbs

REC

372

St. Brown

Team Rankings

PPG

32.8

1st

OPP PPG

29.6

29th

RUSH YDS/G

114.2

14th

PASS YDS/G

297.0

3rd

2026 Division Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT
Vikings	5	0	1.000
Bears	3	2	.600
Packers	3	2	.600
Lions	3	2	.600

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Sun 10/25	GB	@	DET	4:25 PM
Sun 11/1	MIN	@	DET	1:00 PM
Sun 11/8	DET	@	MIA	1:00 PM
Sun 11/15	NE	@	DET	9:30 AM
Sun 11/22	TB	@	DET	1:00 PM

Last Game

Lions

3 - 2

Final

Cardinals

1 - 4

Sun 11 Oct 2026

NFL 2026 Leaders

Pass Yards Leaders

1,572

Stafford

1,485

Goff

1,408

Love

Rush Yards Leaders

580

Robinson

537

Walker

532

Cook

Rec Yards Leaders

717

Smith-Njigba

537

Olave

507

Lamb

Pass TD Leaders

13

Purdy

12

Goff

12

Cousins

Rush TD Leaders

8

Allen

7

Gibbs

7

Henry

Rec TD Leaders

7

Smith-Njigba

6

Watson

5

St. Brown

QB Rating Leaders

119.6

Jackson

119.3

Purdy

111.3

Goff

Sack Leaders

7.5

Anderson

6.0

Rousseau

5.5

Turner

NFL 2026 Rankings

PPG Rankings

32.8

30.8

30.3

29.5

29.2

Opp PPG Rankings

12.8

14.0

18.6

18.8

19.2

Total Yards Rankings

424.4

412.0

405.8

396.2

394.2

393.8

Rush Yards Rankings

173.2

166.8

164.4

162.3

158.0

139.6

Pass Yards Rankings

317.0

297.0

281.6

280.4

276.2

Sack Leaders

20.0

18.0

17.0

NFL Fantasy 2026

Fantasy RB Rankings

126.7

Gibbs

103.8

Henry

103.2

Robinson

Fantasy WR Rankings

115.9

Smith-Njigba

83.4

Watson

76.1

Lamb

Fantasy TE Rankings

52.4

Likely

50.8

Kittle

49.6

LaPorta

Fantasy K Rankings

75

Shrader

68

Reichard

60

Myers

NFL 2026 Betting

Best Record ATS

4-1

3-1-1

Worst Record ATS

0-4-1

1-4

1-3-1

1-3-2

NFL 2026 Standings

NFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Giants	3	1	1	.700
Eagles	2	3	0	.400
Cowboys	2	3	0	.400
Commanders	1	3	1	.300
NFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Vikings	5	0	0	1.000
Packers	3	2	0	.600
Lions	3	2	0	.600
Bears	3	2	0	.600
NFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Panthers	2	2	0	.500
Falcons	2	3	0	.400
Buccaneers	1	4	0	.200
Saints	1	4	0	.200
NFC West	W	L	T	PCT
49ers	5	0	0	1.000
Seahawks	3	3	0	.500
Rams	2	3	0	.400
Cardinals	1	4	0	.200

AFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Bills	4	1	0	.800
Patriots	3	2	0	.600
Jets	2	3	0	.400
Dolphins	0	5	0	.000
AFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Ravens	4	1	0	.800
Browns	3	2	0	.600
Steelers	3	2	0	.600
Bengals	3	2	0	.600
AFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Jaguars	4	1	0	.800
Colts	2	3	0	.400
Texans	1	4	0	.200
Titans	0	5	0	.000
AFC West	W	L	T	PCT
Chiefs	4	0	0	1.000
Broncos	4	2	0	.667
Raiders	3	2	0	.600
Chargers	0	5	0	.000