1981 NFL Running Back Leaders
Every 1981 board running backs are read on, one page, top ten in each.
George Rogers led all running backs in rushing yards in 1981, with 1,674. William Andrews led in receiving yards (735), receiving yards per game (45.9) and yards from scrimmage (2,036). Joe Cribbs led in receiving touchdowns (7) and yards per reception (15.08).
Rushing Every NFL rushing board →
The rate boards count qualified players only: 6.25 carries per team game.
Rushing Yards
YDS- 1 George Rogers 1,674
- 2 Tony Dorsett 1,646
- 3 Billy Sims 1,437
- 4 Wilbert Montgomery 1,402
- 5 Ottis Anderson 1,376
- 5 Earl Campbell 1,376
- 7 William Andrews 1,301
- 8 Walter Payton 1,222
- 9 Chuck Muncie 1,144
- 10 Joe Delaney 1,121
- 1 Chuck Muncie 19
- 2 George Rogers 13
- 2 John Riggins 13
- 2 Billy Sims 13
- 5 Pete Johnson 12
- 5 Wendell Tyler 12
- 7 William Andrews 10
- 7 Earl Campbell 10
- 7 Billy Jackson 10
- 7 Ron Springs 10
Yards per Carry
Y/A- 1 Tony Nathan 5.32
- 2 Wilbert Montgomery 4.90
- 3 Kenny King 4.87
- 4 Billy Sims 4.85
- 5 Tony Dorsett 4.81
- 6 Joe Delaney 4.79
- 7 Curtis Dickey 4.75
- 8 Frank Pollard 4.63
- 9 Chuck Muncie 4.56
- 10 Freeman McNeil 4.55
Rushing Attempts
ATT- 1 George Rogers 378
- 2 Earl Campbell 361
- 3 Tony Dorsett 342
- 4 Walter Payton 339
- 5 Ottis Anderson 328
- 6 Billy Sims 296
- 7 William Andrews 289
- 8 Wilbert Montgomery 286
- 9 Ted Brown 274
- 9 Pete Johnson 274
- 1 George Rogers 104.6
- 2 Tony Dorsett 102.9
- 3 Billy Sims 102.6
- 4 Wilbert Montgomery 93.5
- 5 Ottis Anderson 86.0
- 5 Earl Campbell 86.0
- 7 William Andrews 81.3
- 8 Walter Payton 76.4
- 9 Chuck Muncie 76.3
- 10 Joe Delaney 74.7
Receiving Every NFL receiving board →
The rate boards count qualified players only: 1.875 receptions per team game.
Receiving Yards
YDS- 1 William Andrews 735
- 2 Ted Brown 694
- 3 Greg Pruitt 636
- 4 Joe Cribbs 603
- 5 Terry Metcalf 595
- 6 Joe Washington 558
- 7 Wilbert Montgomery 521
- 8 Dave Preston 507
- 8 James Wilder 507
- 10 Gerry Ellis 499
Receptions
REC- 1 Ted Brown 83
- 2 William Andrews 81
- 3 Joe Washington 70
- 4 Gerry Ellis 65
- 4 Greg Pruitt 65
- 6 Mike Pruitt 63
- 7 Lynn Cain 55
- 8 Dave Preston 52
- 9 Ottis Anderson 51
- 9 Earl Cooper 51
- 1 Joe Cribbs 7
- 2 Wendell Tyler 5
- 3 Pete Johnson 4
- 3 Dan Doornink 4
- 3 Greg Pruitt 4
- 6 Billy Campfield 3
- 6 Gerry Ellis 3
- 6 Harlan Huckleby 3
- 6 Kevin Long 3
- 6 Curtis Dickey 3
- 1 Joe Cribbs 15.08
- 2 Terry Metcalf 12.40
- 3 Curtis Dickey 11.32
- 4 Andy Johnson 11.00
- 5 Wilbert Montgomery 10.63
- 6 James Wilder 10.56
- 7 Tony Dorsett 10.16
- 8 Greg Pruitt 9.78
- 9 Dave Preston 9.75
- 10 Wendell Tyler 9.69
- 1 William Andrews 45.9
- 2 Ted Brown 43.4
- 3 Greg Pruitt 42.4
- 4 Joe Cribbs 40.2
- 5 Joe Washington 39.9
- 6 Terry Metcalf 37.2
- 7 Tony Nathan 34.8
- 8 Wilbert Montgomery 34.7
- 9 Dave Preston 31.7
- 9 James Wilder 31.7
Yards from Scrimmage
YScm- 1 William Andrews 2,036
- 2 Tony Dorsett 1,971
- 3 Wilbert Montgomery 1,923
- 4 Billy Sims 1,888
- 5 George Rogers 1,800
- 6 Ottis Anderson 1,763
- 7 Ted Brown 1,757
- 8 Joe Cribbs 1,700
- 9 Walter Payton 1,601
- 10 Mike Pruitt 1,545