With three games left in 2014 season, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell has already gained 3,183 yards from scrimmage since being drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. So, just how good is that yardage total? You might be surprised.
As of right now only 15 other players in league history, all running backs, have registered more yards from scrimmage in their first two seasons in the league. Five of those 15 players, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Earl Campbell and Curtis Martin, are already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and it’s only a matter of time before a sixth, LaDainian Tomlinson, joins them.
Bell is currently averaging 122.4 yards from scrimmage in the 26 games that he’s played so far during his career and only four other backs have exceeded that average during their first two seasons.
While it’s way too early to predict how the rest of Bell’s career will turn out, if he’s able to stay healthy, he’ll surely have a chance to go down as one of the all-time greats. Longevity will certainly be a key factor in that and thankfully he’s currently just 22 years-old.
| Games | Total Yds | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | From | To | Draft | Tm | Lg | G | GS | Touch | TotOff | YScm | APYd | RtY |
| 1 | Eric Dickerson* | 1983 | 1984 | 1-2 | RAM | NFL | 32 | 32 | 841 | 3913 | 4456 | 4456 | 0 |
| 2 | Edgerrin James | 1999 | 2000 | 1-4 | CLT | NFL | 32 | 32 | 881 | 3262 | 4442 | 4442 | 0 |
| 3 | Chris Johnson | 2008 | 2009 | 1-24 | OTI | NFL | 31 | 30 | 703 | 3234 | 3997 | 4014 | 17 |
| 4 | Billy Sims | 1980 | 1981 | 1-1 | DET | NFL | 30 | 30 | 688 | 2740 | 3812 | 3812 | 0 |
| 5 | Clinton Portis | 2002 | 2003 | 2-51 | DEN | NFL | 29 | 25 | 634 | 3099 | 3777 | 3777 | 0 |
| 6 | LaDainian Tomlinson | 2001 | 2002 | 1-5 | SDG | NFL | 32 | 32 | 849 | 2919 | 3775 | 3775 | 0 |
| 7 | Ottis Anderson | 1979 | 1980 | 1-8 | CRD | NFL | 32 | 32 | 709 | 2957 | 3573 | 3573 | 0 |
| 8 | Barry Sanders* | 1989 | 1990 | 1-3 | DET | NFL | 31 | 29 | 600 | 2774 | 3536 | 3654 | 118 |
| 9 | Adrian Peterson | 2007 | 2008 | 1-7 | MIN | NFL | 30 | 24 | 658 | 3101 | 3494 | 3922 | 428 |
| 10 | Jamal Lewis | 2000 | 2002 | 1-5 | RAV | NFL | 32 | 28 | 691 | 2691 | 3429 | 3429 | 0 |
| 11 | Marshall Faulk* | 1994 | 1995 | 1-2 | CLT | NFL | 32 | 32 | 711 | 2360 | 3357 | 3357 | 0 |
| 12 | Terrell Davis | 1995 | 1996 | 6-196 | DEN | NFL | 30 | 30 | 667 | 2655 | 3332 | 3332 | 0 |
| 13 | Joe Cribbs | 1980 | 1981 | 2-29 | BUF | NFL | 31 | 31 | 686 | 2304 | 3300 | 3493 | 193 |
| 14 | Earl Campbell* | 1978 | 1979 | 1-1 | OTI | NFL | 31 | 30 | 698 | 3147 | 3289 | 3289 | 0 |
| 15 | Curtis Martin* | 1995 | 1996 | 3-74 | NWE | NFL | 32 | 30 | 760 | 2639 | 3233 | 3233 | 0 |
| 16 | Le’Veon Bell | 2013 | 2014 | 2-48 | PIT | NFL | 26 | 26 | 602 | 2091 | 3183 | 3183 | 0 |
| 17 | Herschel Walker | 1986 | 1987 | 5-114 | DAL | NFL | 28 | 20 | 496 | 1628 | 3180 | 3180 | 0 |
| 18 | Domanick Williams | 2003 | 2004 | 4-101 | HTX | NFL | 29 | 25 | 658 | 2219 | 3158 | 3219 | 61 |
| 19 | Matt Forte | 2008 | 2009 | 2-44 | CHI | NFL | 32 | 32 | 694 | 2167 | 3115 | 3115 | 0 |
| 20 | William Andrews | 1979 | 1980 | 3-79 | ATL | NFL | 31 | 31 | 594 | 2331 | 3096 | 3096 | 0 |
