1980 NFL Running Back Leaders
Every 1980 board running backs are read on, one page, top ten in each.
Earl Campbell led all running backs in rushing yards in 1980, with 1,934. Earl Campbell also led in yards per carry (5.18), rushing yards per game (128.9) and yards from scrimmage (1,981).
Rushing Every NFL rushing board →
The rate boards count qualified players only: 6.25 carries per team game.
Rushing Yards
YDS- 1 Earl Campbell 1,934
- 2 Walter Payton 1,460
- 3 Ottis Anderson 1,352
- 4 William Andrews 1,308
- 5 Billy Sims 1,303
- 6 Tony Dorsett 1,185
- 7 Mike Pruitt 1,034
- 8 Lynn Cain 914
- 9 Ted Brown 912
- 10 Mark van Eeghen 838
- 1 Billy Sims 13
- 1 Earl Campbell 13
- 3 Curtis Dickey 11
- 3 Tony Dorsett 11
- 5 Ottis Anderson 9
- 5 Don Calhoun 9
- 7 Ted Brown 8
- 7 Lynn Cain 8
- 7 Wilbert Montgomery 8
- 10 Elvis Peacock 7
Yards per Carry
Y/A- 1 Earl Campbell 5.18
- 2 Dexter Bussey 4.97
- 3 William Andrews 4.94
- 4 Elvis Peacock 4.74
- 5 Chuck Muncie 4.73
- 6 Jim Jensen 4.71
- 7 Walter Payton 4.61
- 8 Curtis Dickey 4.55
- 9 Ottis Anderson 4.49
- 10 Otis Armstrong 4.43
Rushing Attempts
ATT- 1 Earl Campbell 373
- 2 Walter Payton 317
- 3 Billy Sims 313
- 4 Ottis Anderson 301
- 5 Tony Dorsett 278
- 6 William Andrews 265
- 7 Mike Pruitt 249
- 8 Lynn Cain 235
- 9 Mark van Eeghen 222
- 10 Ted Brown 219
- 1 Earl Campbell 128.9
- 2 Walter Payton 91.3
- 3 Ottis Anderson 84.5
- 4 William Andrews 81.8
- 5 Billy Sims 81.4
- 6 Tony Dorsett 79.0
- 7 Wilbert Montgomery 64.8
- 8 Mike Pruitt 64.6
- 9 Pete Johnson 62.3
- 10 Franco Harris 60.7
Receiving Every NFL receiving board →
The rate boards count qualified players only: 1.875 receptions per team game.
Receiving Yards
YDS- 1 Ted Brown 623
- 2 Billy Sims 621
- 3 Earl Cooper 567
- 4 Clarence Harmon 534
- 5 Rickey Young 499
- 6 Gerry Ellis 496
- 7 Joe Washington 494
- 8 Eddie Ivery 481
- 9 Jerry Eckwood 475
- 10 Mike Pruitt 471
Receptions
REC- 1 Earl Cooper 83
- 2 Rickey Young 64
- 3 Mike Pruitt 63
- 4 Ted Brown 62
- 5 Tony Galbreath 57
- 6 Clarence Harmon 54
- 7 Cullen Bryant 53
- 8 William Andrews 51
- 8 Billy Sims 51
- 8 Joe Washington 51
- 1 Calvin Hill 6
- 2 Greg Pruitt 5
- 3 Earl Cooper 4
- 3 Clarence Harmon 4
- 3 Don McCauley 4
- 6 Cullen Bryant 3
- 6 Andy Johnson 3
- 6 Billy Sims 3
- 6 Joe Washington 3
- 6 Gerry Ellis 3
- 1 Billy Sims 12.18
- 2 Paul Hofer 11.39
- 3 Gerry Ellis 10.33
- 4 Jerry Eckwood 10.11
- 5 Ted Brown 10.05
- 6 Clarence Harmon 9.89
- 7 Joe Washington 9.69
- 8 Eddie Ivery 9.62
- 9 Tony Reed 9.59
- 10 Dexter Bussey 9.33
- 1 Paul Hofer 77.8
- 2 Clark Gaines 62.0
- 3 Ted Brown 38.9
- 4 Billy Sims 38.8
- 5 Earl Cooper 35.4
- 6 Wilbert Montgomery 33.9
- 7 Clarence Harmon 33.4
- 8 Gerry Ellis 33.1
- 9 Jerry Eckwood 31.7
- 10 Rickey Young 31.2
Yards from Scrimmage
YScm- 1 Earl Campbell 1,981
- 2 Billy Sims 1,924
- 3 Walter Payton 1,827
- 4 William Andrews 1,764
- 5 Ottis Anderson 1,660
- 6 Ted Brown 1,535
- 7 Mike Pruitt 1,505
- 8 Tony Dorsett 1,448
- 9 Eddie Ivery 1,312
- 10 Earl Cooper 1,287