Running back is a younger man’s position. Guys tend to put up their best numbers in their mid-to-late 20s. You do, however, usually see an older back or two crash the party.
Not a ton of such backs, however. In the last 20 seasons, 33 running backs who were at least 30 years old at the end of the season finished with top-20 numbers (using PPR scoring). That’s about 1-2 per year. In only eight of those seasons did multiple 30-year-olds finish with top-20 numbers.
Cordarrelle Patterson was the best of the older running backs last year, ranking 10th in overall production (again, PPR). But production has been down recently. In the last five seasons combined, only three other 30-plus running backs have finished with top-20 numbers, and two of those guys were of the lesser variety (with Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson ranking 20th and 19th in total production in the 2017-18 seasons.
OLDER BACKS WITH TOP-20 NUMBERS | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Age | Run | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk |
2000 | Ricky Watters, Sea. | 31 | 1,242 | 613 | 1,855 | 9 | 302.5 | 7 |
2000 | Lamar Smith, Mia. | 30 | 1,139 | 201 | 1,340 | 16 | 261.0 | 13 |
2001 | Lamar Smith, Mia. | 31 | 968 | 234 | 1,202 | 8 | 198.2 | 18 |
2001 | Garrison Hearst, S.F. | 30 | 1,206 | 347 | 1,553 | 5 | 226.3 | 13 |
2002 | Garrison Hearst, S.F. | 31 | 972 | 317 | 1,289 | 9 | 232.9 | 20 |
2002 | Charlie Garner, Oak. | 30 | 962 | 941 | 1,903 | 11 | 347.3 | 4 |
2003 | Priest Holmes, K.C. | 30 | 1,420 | 690 | 2,110 | 27 | 447.0 | 1 |
2003 | Marshall Faulk, St.L. | 30 | 818 | 290 | 1,108 | 11 | 221.8 | 16 |
2003 | Curtis Martin, NYJ | 30 | 1,308 | 262 | 1,570 | 2 | 211.0 | 18 |
2004 | Curtis Martin, NYJ | 31 | 1,697 | 245 | 1,942 | 14 | 319.2 | 5 |
2004 | Priest Holmes, K.C. | 31 | 892 | 187 | 1,079 | 15 | 216.9 | 18 |
2004 | Corey Dillon, N.E. | 30 | 1,635 | 103 | 1,738 | 13 | 268.8 | 8 |
2005 | Mike Anderson, Den. | 32 | 1,014 | 212 | 1,226 | 13 | 218.6 | 12 |
2005 | Corey Dillon, N.E. | 31 | 733 | 181 | 914 | 13 | 191.4 | 17 |
2005 | Tiki Barber, NYG | 30 | 1,860 | 530 | 2,390 | 11 | 361.0 | 4 |
2005 | Warrick Dunn, Atl. | 30 | 1,416 | 220 | 1,636 | 4 | 216.6 | 13 |
2006 | Tiki Barber, NYG | 31 | 1,662 | 465 | 2,127 | 5 | 300.7 | 6 |
2006 | Fred Taylor, Jac. | 30 | 1,146 | 242 | 1,388 | 6 | 197.8 | 20 |
2008 | Thomas Jones, NYJ | 30 | 1,312 | 207 | 1,519 | 15 | 277.9 | 5 |
2009 | Ricky Williams, Mia. | 32 | 1,121 | 264 | 1,385 | 13 | 253.5 | 6 |
2009 | Thomas Jones, NYJ | 31 | 1,402 | 58 | 1,460 | 14 | 240.0 | 9 |
2010 | LaDainian Tomlinson, NYJ | 31 | 914 | 368 | 1,282 | 6 | 216.2 | 15 |
2011 | Fred Jackson, Buff. | 30 | 934 | 442 | 1,376 | 6 | 212.6 | 14 |
2013 | Fred Jackson, Buff. | 32 | 890 | 387 | 1,277 | 10 | 234.7 | 11 |
2013 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 30 | 1,128 | 141 | 1,269 | 9 | 196.9 | 18 |
2014 | Fred Jackson, Buff. | 33 | 525 | 501 | 1,026 | 3 | 188.6 | 16 |
2015 | DeAngelo Williams, Pitt. | 32 | 907 | 367 | 1,274 | 11 | 235.4 | 5 |
2015 | Frank Gore, Ind. | 32 | 967 | 267 | 1,234 | 7 | 199.4 | 14 |
2015 | Adrian Peterson, Min. | 30 | 1,485 | 222 | 1,707 | 11 | 266.7 | 2 |
2015 | Danny Woodhead, S.D. | 30 | 336 | 755 | 1,091 | 9 | 243.1 | 3 |
2015 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 30 | 898 | 389 | 1,287 | 7 | 216.7 | 8 |
2016 | Frank Gore, Ind. | 33 | 1,025 | 277 | 1,302 | 8 | 216.2 | 12 |
2016 | LeGarrette Blount, N.E. | 30 | 1,161 | 38 | 1,199 | 18 | 234.9 | 9 |
2017 | Frank Gore, Ind. | 34 | 961 | 245 | 1,206 | 4 | 173.6 | 20 |
2018 | Adrian Peterson, Was. | 33 | 1,042 | 208 | 1,250 | 8 | 193.0 | 19 |
2019 | Mark Ingram, Balt. | 30 | 1,018 | 247 | 1,265 | 15 | 246.5 | 10 |
2021 | Cordarrelle Patterson, Atl. | 30 | 618 | 548 | 1,166 | 11 | 234.6 | 10 |
—Ian Allan