1978 NFL Running Back Leaders
Every 1978 board running backs are read on, one page, top ten in each.
Earl Campbell led all running backs in rushing yards in 1978, with 1,450. Rickey Young led in receiving yards (704), receptions (88) and receiving yards per game (44.0). Earl Campbell also led in rushing yards per game (96.7).
Rushing Every NFL rushing board →
The rate boards count qualified players only: 6.25 carries per team game.
Rushing Yards
YDS- 1 Earl Campbell 1,450
- 2 Walter Payton 1,395
- 3 Tony Dorsett 1,325
- 4 Delvin Williams 1,258
- 5 Wilbert Montgomery 1,220
- 6 Terdell Middleton 1,116
- 7 Franco Harris 1,082
- 8 Mark van Eeghen 1,080
- 9 Terry Miller 1,060
- 10 John Riggins 1,014
- 1 David Sims 14
- 2 Earl Campbell 13
- 3 Terdell Middleton 11
- 3 Walter Payton 11
- 3 Horace Ivory 11
- 6 Kevin Long 10
- 7 Mark van Eeghen 9
- 7 Wilbert Montgomery 9
- 9 Hank Bauer 8
- 9 Sam Cunningham 8
Yards per Carry
Y/A- 1 Greg Pruitt 5.45
- 2 Horace Ivory 4.91
- 3 Sherman Smith 4.88
- 4 Earl Campbell 4.80
- 5 Wilbert Montgomery 4.71
- 6 Delvin Williams 4.63
- 7 Curtis Brown 4.62
- 8 Andy Johnson 4.59
- 9 Tony Dorsett 4.57
- 10 Kevin Long 4.46
Rushing Attempts
ATT- 1 Walter Payton 333
- 2 Franco Harris 310
- 3 Earl Campbell 302
- 4 Tony Dorsett 290
- 5 Terdell Middleton 284
- 6 Delvin Williams 272
- 7 Mark van Eeghen 270
- 8 Wilbert Montgomery 259
- 9 John Riggins 248
- 10 Roland Harper 240
- 1 Earl Campbell 96.7
- 2 Walter Payton 87.2
- 3 Wilbert Montgomery 87.1
- 4 Tony Dorsett 82.8
- 5 Greg Pruitt 80.0
- 6 Delvin Williams 78.6
- 7 Terdell Middleton 69.8
- 8 Franco Harris 67.6
- 9 John Riggins 67.6
- 10 Mark van Eeghen 67.5
Receiving Every NFL receiving board →
The rate boards count qualified players only: 1.875 receptions per team game.
Receiving Yards
YDS- 1 Rickey Young 704
- 2 Tony Galbreath 582
- 3 Preston Pearson 526
- 4 Lydell Mitchell 500
- 5 Walter Payton 480
- 6 Horace King 396
- 6 Chuck Foreman 396
- 8 Mike Thomas 387
- 9 John Cappelletti 382
- 10 Tony Dorsett 378
Receptions
REC- 1 Rickey Young 88
- 2 Tony Galbreath 74
- 3 Chuck Foreman 61
- 4 Lydell Mitchell 57
- 5 Walter Payton 50
- 6 Horace King 48
- 7 Preston Pearson 47
- 8 Joe Washington 45
- 9 Roland Harper 43
- 10 John Cappelletti 41
- 1 Calvin Hill 6
- 2 Rickey Young 5
- 3 Archie Griffin 3
- 4 Tony Dorsett 2
- 4 Tony Galbreath 2
- 4 Roland Harper 2
- 4 Lydell Mitchell 2
- 4 Horace King 2
- 4 Chuck Foreman 2
- 4 Robert Newhouse 2
- 1 Preston Pearson 11.19
- 2 Mike Thomas 11.06
- 3 Tony Dorsett 10.22
- 4 Terdell Middleton 9.76
- 5 John Riggins 9.65
- 6 Walter Payton 9.60
- 7 Sam Cunningham 9.58
- 8 John Cappelletti 9.32
- 9 Wayne Morris 9.03
- 10 Dexter Bussey 8.87
- 1 Rickey Young 44.0
- 2 Tony Galbreath 36.4
- 3 Preston Pearson 32.9
- 4 Lydell Mitchell 31.3
- 5 Walter Payton 30.0
- 6 Mike Thomas 29.8
- 7 Chuck Foreman 28.3
- 8 John Cappelletti 27.3
- 9 Horace King 26.4
- 10 Greg Pruitt 24.3
Yards from Scrimmage
YScm- 1 Walter Payton 1,875
- 2 Tony Dorsett 1,703
- 3 Earl Campbell 1,498
- 4 Delvin Williams 1,450
- 5 Terdell Middleton 1,448
- 6 Wilbert Montgomery 1,415
- 7 Mark van Eeghen 1,371
- 8 Joe Washington 1,333
- 9 Roland Harper 1,332
- 10 Lydell Mitchell 1,320