The Cincinnati Bengals have long been a bastion for solid quarterback play, including their two MVP seasons coinciding with Super Bowl runs in the 1980s. However, several running backs have come through the franchise and made significant contributions.
Here are three of the best Bengals' running backs.
3. Pete Johnson (1977-83)
The first name on this list goes to fullback Pete Johnson, a 6-foot and 250-pound machine, who led the Bengals in rushing yards for every season he spent in Cincinnati.
Johnson, a second-round selection by the Bengals in the 1977 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, gets the distinction of possessing the most rushing touchdowns in franchise history with 64, 16 more than the next one in the record books, former Bengals aughts Pro Bowl rusher Rudi Johnson.
Johnson was a one-time Pro Bowler, earning the selection during the famed 1981 season, where he helped the Bengals reach the organization's first (of two, all-time) Super Bowl appearances. That was the only season Johnson eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards. But after his rookie campaign, he recorded six or more touchdowns on the ground six times with the Bengals, including three seasons with 12 or more rushing scores.
In the 1981 AFC Championship game, Johnson was instrumental in leading the Bengals to the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl, rushing for 80 yards and a touchdown. Johnson was later traded for James Brooks, the next man on this list and left as the franchise's all-time rushing touchdowns leader, which was later surpassed by a few individuals.
2. James Brooks (1984-91)
James Brooks was the bedrock of the Bengals' running game in the late 1980s. A first-round pick out of Auburn by the then-San Diego Chargers in the 1981 NFL Draft, Brooks was under-appreciated in his role, totaling 323 carries for 1,471 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns with his first team.
Then Brooks came to the Bengals and turned into a very valuable piece for a team quarterbacked by 1988 MVP Boomer Esiason.
In eight seasons with the Bengals, Brooks recorded nearly 6,500 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns on the ground, good for the second-most rushing yards in franchise history along with the fourth-most rushing touchdowns. Additionally, Brooks appeared in the most games for a Bengals running back, leading the pack with 118 total.
A four-time Pro Bowl selection (all with Cincinnati), Brooks left the Bengals after 1991, and the all-around athlete competed for the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before hanging up his cleats.
1. Corey Dillon (1997-2003)
The best running back in Bengals franchise history would have to be Corey Dillon, the former second-round selection in the 1997 NFL Draft out of Washington. Dillon possesses several team records, including most proudly the all-time career rushing yards total, with 8,061 yards — a healthy margin of 1,500 more than the next individual, Brooks.
Like Brooks, Dillon was a four-time Pro Bowler (thrice with the Bengals), but, unfortunately for Dillon, he did not play at a time when Cincinnati was very competitive. Dillon rushed for over 1,000 yards six times with the Bengals (the first six of his seven seasons with the franchise), and Cincy never once made the postseason. Dillon finally made peace with the playoffs when he later won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2004-05.
Dillon may never get his day in Canton as a Hall of Fame inductee, but he gets the distinction of holding many records for the Bengals and leading the franchise in rushing yards.
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