The 10 best running backs in the history of the Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams remain one of the most historic franchises across the NFL, as their history of success dates all the way back to the 1940s. Be it in Cleveland, Los Angeles, or St. Louis, the Rams have been able to break through and be heralded as champions.

While many of the game's great quarterbacks have worn that iconic curled horn on the side of their helmet, the Rams have a tradition of high-end running back play pacing their offense. Multiple Hall of Famers played the bulk of their careers in either Los Angeles or St. Louis.

With so many impressive names to choose from, finding the best 10 in Rams history was not an easy undertaking. However, due to the combination of their accolades, this group appears to be the clear best of the best across the history of this franchise.

Criteria for selection

These running backs were chosen based on a combination of:

• Statistical Achievements
• Impact on Success
• Longevity
• Memorable Moments

The 10 best running backs in the history of the Los Angeles Rams

10. Les Josephson

With a nickname like "The Blonde Bull" going for you, toughness is expected. Not even an Achilles tear or broken jaw could slow down Josephson, as he ran for 3,400 yards and 17 touchdowns during a decade-long stint with the Rams. Primarily, Josephson was a thundering power back up the middle.

While Roman Gabriel's passing attack dominated the offense for those Rams teams, Josephson, who was a Pro Bowl player in 1967, was a key part in giving those teams some consistency on the ground. After his career, Josephson had a brief tenure as an actor.

9. Jerome Bettis

Bettis became a Hall of Famer in Pittsburgh, but "The Bus" made his first NFL stop in Los Angeles. Bettis looked poised to become an all-time Rams great during his first two seasons in the league (consequently, the team's last in Los Angeles before the move). A two-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro, Bettis ran for 2,400 yards and scored 11 touchdowns in two seasons.

Replacing Chuck Knox, famous for his commitment to running the ball, with pass-happy Rich Brooks after moving to St. Louis alienated Bettis and limited him to 637 yards.

The Rams would later make one of the worst trades in franchise history, sending Bettis away to the Steelers for a second-round and fourth-round pick. The picks became tight end Ernie Conwell and right tackle Ryan Tucker. Tucker had his moments, but he wasn't one-fourth as good as Bettis was. Lawrence Phillips was...a mistake.

8. Tank Younger

Younger was a 6-3, 225-pound fullback at the time when many defensive linemen weren't that big. As his namesake would imply, Tank would flatten defenses beneath his treads. Younger, a part of the famed "Bull Elephant" backfield, is still in the top 10 on the Rams' all-time rushing list despite playing 12-game seasons.

Younger was a Pro Bowl player four times in five years, making an All-Pro twice. One of the first Black stars in NFL history, Younger would later break barriers throughout his career. Younger was the first Black player to play in an NFL All-Star Game and became the first Black assistant general manager in NFL History with Dan Fouts' Chargers in the 70s and 80s.

7. Dick Bass

Bass is another underrated player who performed in Gabriel's shadow during the 1960s. Bass was a 1,000-yard rusher twice in an era where hitting that mark was increasingly rare. At the time he retired, Bass was the all-time leading rusher in Rams history, and held that mark for almost a decade.

Bass became a three-time Pro Bowl player in five years. His 17-game pace, despite often sharing the backfield, would put him in position to collect over 1,300 yards from scrimmage. With a greater role away from a backfield where he had to share carries, Bass could have been an even bigger star.

6. Dan Towler

Playing alongside Younger in the backfield, Towler had one of the greatest four-year stretches any running back has ever had. In the early 50s, Towler was as close to unstoppable as a running back could be. While he may not be in Canton, he would have been on track if he played longer than six years.

Between 1951 and 1954, Towler was an All-Pro all four years, leading the league in rushing yards twice and touchdowns once. Averaging an insane 5.5 yards per carry, Towler and Younger were exactly what two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin needed to supplement their arms.

5. Todd Gurley

Gurley had a tough second season in the pro game under Jeff Fisher, and the dismount was hard to watch after arthritis sucked away much of his open-field elusiveness. Those who saw his two-year peak in the 2018 and 2019 seasons will know that he was as good as it got at the running back position.

How do you follow up a 2,000-yard, 19-touchdown season? How about a 1,800-yard, 21-touchdown season? Gurley was the finest back in the league during that stretch, blending power, speed, and soft hands in a way that very few in recent NFL history can claim to have equaled.

Gurley was out of the league by 27 years old, which is one of the great football tragedies of the last decade. At his peak, he had almost no equals.

4. Lawrence McCutcheon

McCutcheon was never a superstar running back, but he was as consistent as the day is long for Rams teams that loved to pound the rock. You don't make five Pro Bowls in a row, running for 1,000 yards in four of them, without being incredibly effective between the tackles.

McCutcheon is another player who burned very brightly before flaming out, as he never again topped 500 yards in a season after Knox was fired and Ray Malavasi came to town in 1978. While Knox did help McCutcheon's career immeasurably, he had more than enough ability on his own to be the focal point of an offense.

3. Steven Jackson

Even with all of the amazing names in Rams history, it's Jackson who has the franchise record for rushing yards. One of the best Rams who exclusively played in St. Louis, No. 39 was an old-school power back who gave the team an identity after the Greatest Show on Turf splintered apart.

A 240-pound back who piled up an astounding 2,334 yards from scrimmage in 2006, Jackson ran for 1,000 yards in eight straight campaigns. The Rams of the last 2000s and early 2010s won three or fewer games four times in five seasons, showing the lack of talent around Jackson on both sides. Nevertheless, he became a star.

Jackson is still the only Rams player to top 10,000 career rushing yards for the franchise. A three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro Jackson's fearsome frame barreling toward you would make any defender of that era cower.

2. Eric Dickerson

Dickerson only missed out on the No. 1 spot due to how short his tenure was, as he didn't even last five full seasons with the Rams. As short as his time in LA was, it would be completely within reason to call Dickerson's first four seasons in Los Angeles the greatest four-year stretch any running back has ever had.

Dickerson was a First Team All-Pro player four times with the Rams, winning Offensive Player of the Year in 1986 and coming in second place twice in 1983 and 1984 (Dan Marino's 48 touchdowns beat him out that year). Dickerson led the league in rushing three times and scored 58 touchdowns in 64 games with below-average quarterback play.

Dickerson is most famous for running for 2,105 yards in 1984, a record that still stands and likely will never be broken as the running back loses value in the modern NFL. That year, he ran for more yards than quarterback Jeff Kemp threw for. Dickerson's rare size-speed combination was the stuff of legend.

1. Marshall Faulk

While Dickerson was one of the best ever at running the football, Faulk's ability to be an elite runner while also claiming the mantle of the best receiving running back in NFL history is what gave him the top spot. The Rams had promise without him, but he made them the Greatest Show on Turf.

Faulk, who is one of just three running backs to tally 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in the same season, won Offensive Player of the Year three times in a row between 1999 and 2001. The former Colts star also won MVP in 2000 and played a role on two teams that went to the Super Bowl.

Extrapolating his numbers in that three-year span out to 17 games is mind-boggling. An average Faulk season would have consisted of just under 1,600 rushing yards, 1,000 receiving yards, and 23 touchdowns. These are beyond video game numbers.

Faulk has success well into the next decade, as he was a high-end starter at age 31. No one in NFL history tied rushing and receiving in one package quite like Faulk.

The 3 best running backs in the history of the Los Angeles Rams by rushing yards