Top 100 RBs of all-time list includes 5 former Browns: Jim Brown doesn’t top the list

Sometimes, timing just works out perfectly. On Tuesday, we suggested that Cleveland Browns HC Todd Monken should make it the team’s goal to lead the NFL in rushing attempts. If they are able to do so, or come close, that would mean the team is running the ball with some success, sustaining drives, minimizing responsibility for the quarterback(s), and giving the defense time to rest.

Adding a quality QB run game to a group of talented young backs could allow the Browns to be successful in that goal and, in turn, win more contests.

A good rushing attack has been a bedrock of the Cleveland franchise for a long time. The list of best players in Browns history starts with RB Jim Brown, with other backs littered all over it. Many believe that Brown is the greatest of all time (GOAT), or was before QB Tom Brady’s career.

Timing just so had it that our SB Nation sister site covering the Chicago Bears, Windy City Gridiron, put out their ranking of the top 100 backs of all time in the NFL. Perhaps not surprisingly, WCG ranked Bears legend Walter Payton over Brown as the greatest running back of all time. Brown took second place:

To me, Brown is the only other running back that stake a claim to the top spot. Brown won MVP 3 times and was the most dominant player, regardless of position, in the 1960s. Brown chose to walk away and pursue other interests; had he stuck around a few more years, he probably would have had a spot that not even Payton could have surpassed.

Four other Cleveland running backs made the list of 100:

• Leroy Kelly
• Marion Motley
• Earnest Byner
• Nick Chubb

Kelly joined Brown in the Top 50 of the list. Chubb’s inclusion near the bottom of the list was a nice nod for the three great and two good seasons he had for the Browns before his major injury in 2023.

How do you feel about Brown not in the top spot? Any Browns backs you think should be on the list? Are you surprised to see Byner and Chubb on the list?

Read More