Oakland Raiders: Top Ten Running Backs In Team History
No. 10: Bo Jackson
Legendary Raiders owner Al Davis always went out and found the biggest, strongest, fastest, most freaky athletes around. And Bo Jackson was the freakiest at 6’1″, 235 pounds and running a combine-record 40-time of 4.12 seconds in 1986.
No disrespect to Deion Sanders, Jim Thorpe and Bruce Jenner but Jackson was the best athlete to ever walk this planet.
Why he made the list
I couldn’t leave him off of the list because of his amazing 5.4 yards per carry over his short career, he once ran for 950 yards in nine games and the eye test. He simply did things that no other human being could do with that 4.1 speed and power to run over linebackers (Brain Bosworth).
On top of outrunning ridiculous angles, Jackson is the only running back I ever saw run over someone without breaking stride.
Why he’s not higher
He’s not on the Raiders’ all-time rushing list nor did he win any championships with the Raiders as his career was cut short by a hip injury.
He couldn’t even maximize his numbers for the time he played with the Raiders because he was only available for half the season because he played Major League Baseball.
He should be No. 1 as well as the all-time leading rusher for the Raiders and the NFL, but playing part-time and a short career ruined that.