5 Best Running Backs in Raiders History

The argument for Jacobs at this spot on the list is purely statistically-based, and hardly speculative. In his five seasons in the Silver and Black, Jacobs racked up 5,545 yards and 46 touchdowns, each good for third on the all-time tally.

His 2022 season was particularly great, as he led the NFL in rushing yards with 1,653. The frame of just how great the season was will be referenced later in this list.

The way he left the Raiders, a cocktail of front office disagreements and a feeling of being undervalued, will always be a sore spot for Raider fans, especially with the possibility of what he could have become had he stayed in Las Vegas.

3. Bo Jackson (1987-1990)

It's quite possible we will never see another Bo Jackson. And yes, while Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson were also baseball stars before being star quarterbacks, and Michael Jordan a flame-out baseball prospect, they must have taken a page or two from Jackson's playbook.

Jackson possessed a rare athleticism, one that allowed him to treat football as almost a hobby when away from baseball and the Kansas City Royals.

Jackson being on this list is hard to justify from a pure statistical standpoint; while Daniels is far ahead of him on the all-time rushing yards leaderboard, Jackson also racked up 2,782 rushing yards in four seasons with the Raiders (for an average of almost 700 per season).

Injuries derailed Jackson's career, but there's a real argument for Jackson being one of the most gifted running backs in Raiders history. Oh, and you can't go to a Raiders game without seeing at least one No. 34 jersey, so that has to count for something.

2. Mark van Eeghen (1974-1981)

While Marv Hubbard (sixth all-time in rushing yards by a Raider) didn't make the cut, it was his 1975 shoulder injury that allowed van Eeghen the chance to take the reins of the ground game, and the Colgate product didn't disappoint.

In fact, over eight years, including six years as a starter, van Eeghen tallied 5,907 rushing yards, good for second on the Raiders' all-time leaderboard. A major part of his legacy, though, was his contributions to the Raiders' first two Super Bowl wins.

The Raiders finally got over the hump in 1977's Super Bowl XI, and van Eeghen's 1,012 rushing yards that year were a big reason they even made it to the title game. van Eeghen turned in a similarly strong performance in 1981's Super Bowl XV, rushing for 75 yards on 18 attempts.

1. Marcus Allen (1982-1992)

Allen is an all-time face of the Raiders. Jacobs' 1,653 yards in 2022 were the closest any Raider had come to matching his 1,759 rushing yards in his 1985 NFL MVP season.

Before that 1985 season, though, Allen had made it to the top of the mountain with the Raiders, winning Super Bowl XVIII MVP in 1984 after rushing for a stupefying 191 yards and two touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was a 74-yard score, on which Allen confessed, "I messed up," by taking too wide a turn left as the play was designed.

It hardly mattered, because Allen etched his name in history with the run, which would hold as the longest rushing touchdown in Super Bowl history for 22 years, until Willie Parker would record a 75-yard rushing touchdown in Super Bowl XL.

Much like Jacobs, Allen feuded with the front office later in his career after being demoted from the starting role, and left the Raiders for the rival Chiefs, where he experienced a career resurgence and became the first NFL player to hit 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards.

Still, much of his legacy was forged with the Raiders, and he remains the most accomplished running back in franchise history.

More Raiders Rankings

• 5 Best Raiders Quarterbacks of All Time
• 5 Best Raiders Wide Receivers of All Time