1976 NFL Running Back Leaders
Every 1976 board running backs are read on, one page, top ten in each.
O.J. Simpson led all running backs in rushing yards in 1976, with 1,503. MacArthur Lane led in receiving yards (686), receptions (66) and receiving yards per game (49.0). O.J. Simpson also led in rushing yards per game (107.4) and yards from scrimmage (1,762).
Rushing Every NFL rushing board →
The rate boards count qualified players only: 6.25 carries per team game.
Rushing Yards
YDS- 1 O.J. Simpson 1,503
- 2 Walter Payton 1,390
- 3 Delvin Williams 1,203
- 4 Lydell Mitchell 1,200
- 5 Lawrence McCutcheon 1,168
- 6 Chuck Foreman 1,155
- 7 Franco Harris 1,128
- 8 Mike Thomas 1,101
- 9 Rocky Bleier 1,036
- 10 Mark van Eeghen 1,012
- 1 Franco Harris 14
- 2 Chuck Foreman 13
- 2 Walter Payton 13
- 4 Lawrence McCutcheon 9
- 4 Don McCauley 9
- 6 O.J. Simpson 8
- 6 Steve Jones 8
- 8 Boobie Clark 7
- 8 Roosevelt Leaks 7
- 8 Delvin Williams 7
Yards per Carry
Y/A- 1 Don Calhoun 5.59
- 2 O.J. Simpson 5.18
- 3 Rickey Young 4.95
- 4 Delvin Williams 4.85
- 5 Sam Cunningham 4.79
- 6 Greg Pruitt 4.78
- 7 Rocky Bleier 4.71
- 8 Clark Gaines 4.61
- 9 Mike Hogan 4.56
- 10 Archie Griffin 4.53
Rushing Attempts
ATT- 1 Walter Payton 311
- 2 Lawrence McCutcheon 291
- 3 O.J. Simpson 290
- 4 Franco Harris 289
- 4 Lydell Mitchell 289
- 6 Chuck Foreman 278
- 7 Mike Thomas 254
- 8 Delvin Williams 248
- 9 Otis Armstrong 247
- 10 Jim Otis 233
- 1 O.J. Simpson 107.4
- 2 Walter Payton 99.3
- 3 Delvin Williams 92.5
- 4 Lydell Mitchell 85.7
- 5 Mike Thomas 84.7
- 6 Lawrence McCutcheon 83.4
- 7 Chuck Foreman 82.5
- 8 Franco Harris 80.6
- 9 Sam Cunningham 74.9
- 10 Rocky Bleier 74.0
Receiving Every NFL receiving board →
The rate boards count qualified players only: 1.875 receptions per team game.
Receiving Yards
YDS- 1 MacArthur Lane 686
- 2 Chuck Foreman 567
- 3 Lydell Mitchell 555
- 4 Otis Armstrong 457
- 5 Rickey Young 441
- 6 Clark Gaines 400
- 7 Sherman Smith 384
- 8 Don McCauley 347
- 9 Andy Johnson 343
- 10 Greg Pruitt 341
Receptions
REC- 1 MacArthur Lane 66
- 2 Lydell Mitchell 60
- 3 Chuck Foreman 55
- 4 Rickey Young 47
- 5 Greg Pruitt 45
- 6 Clark Gaines 41
- 7 Ronnie Coleman 40
- 7 Brent McClanahan 40
- 9 Otis Armstrong 39
- 10 Scott Laidlaw 38
- 1 Andy Johnson 4
- 1 Mike Thomas 4
- 3 Lydell Mitchell 3
- 3 Ronnie Coleman 3
- 3 Lenvil Elliott 3
- 6 Clark Gaines 2
- 6 Lawrence McCutcheon 2
- 6 Don McCauley 2
- 6 Delvin Williams 2
- 6 Preston Pearson 2
- 1 Andy Johnson 11.83
- 2 Otis Armstrong 11.72
- 3 Sam Cunningham 11.07
- 4 Lawrence McCutcheon 10.89
- 5 Sherman Smith 10.67
- 6 Delvin Williams 10.48
- 7 MacArthur Lane 10.39
- 8 Mike Thomas 10.36
- 9 Chuck Foreman 10.31
- 10 Don McCauley 10.21
- 1 MacArthur Lane 49.0
- 2 Chuck Foreman 40.5
- 3 Lydell Mitchell 39.6
- 4 Otis Armstrong 32.6
- 5 Sherman Smith 32.0
- 6 Rickey Young 31.5
- 7 Clark Gaines 28.6
- 8 Sam Cunningham 27.2
- 9 Don McCauley 26.7
- 10 Scott Laidlaw 25.0
Yards from Scrimmage
YScm- 1 O.J. Simpson 1,762
- 2 Lydell Mitchell 1,755
- 3 Chuck Foreman 1,722
- 4 Walter Payton 1,539
- 5 Delvin Williams 1,486
- 6 Lawrence McCutcheon 1,473
- 7 Otis Armstrong 1,465
- 8 Mike Thomas 1,391
- 9 Greg Pruitt 1,341
- 10 Rocky Bleier 1,330