This was the #3-highest rated Running Backs crew out of all 8 divisions. Sure, they have Brown, but if he goes down they lose a lot of speed.
AFC North Starting Running Back: Jim Brown
What if Jim Brown hadn't retired at 30? We'll never know the answer to that question, but we do know that for the nine years he played for the Cleveland Browns he was one of the best players, if not the best, the league had ever seen.
"For mercurial speed, airy nimbleness, and explosive violence in one package of undistilled evil, there is no other like Mr. Brown," Pulitzer Prize-winning sports columnist Red Smith wrote.
Brown entered the NFL in 1957 after an All-America career at Syracuse and was named the NFL Rookie of the Year and the league MVP after rushing for 942 yards and scoring nine TDs in a 12-game season. It would just be a glimpse of what the 6-foot-2, 230-pound bruising fullback would do over his all-too-brief career. He'd top 1,200 yards rushing in seven of his next eight seasons and win two more MVP awards. But the durable Brown - he never missed a game in his nine years in the NFL - stunned the sports world by announcing his retirement in the summer of 1966 while filming "The Dirty Dozen" in London.
At the time of his retirement, no player in NFL history had rushed for more yards (12,312) or had as many touchdowns (126 total, 106 rushing) than Brown. Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971, Brown said that he chose to walk away from the game to focus more of his time on his film career and his work in the community.
Back-up Running Back: Franco Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers and Chuck Noll received an unprecedented amount of pessimism and controversy when they selected Harris, and not his fellow-Penn State RB tandem partner Lydell Mitchell instead in the first round of the 1972 NFL Draft. Worked out pretty well for them in the end. In addition to the 4 Super Bowls Harris won with his team he also garnered 9 Pro Bowl selections, Super Bowl IX MVP, and an invitation to join the Hall of Fame.
Back-up Running Back: Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh Steelers
He just would not go away. He actually had his very best offensive seasons initially with the Rams; however, in his 3rd year they converted to a more pass-happy offense and his carries began to decrease. Every GM in the league, including Pittsburgh's, were fairly convinced that Bettis had lost most of his steam by now, but his career was only getting started. After logging 6 Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl to his credit, the Bus finished with 13,662 yards. He currently sits in #6 all-time among rushing yards in history.
AFC North Starting Fullback: Marion Motley, Cleveland Browns
In 1968, Motley became the second black player voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, located in his hometown of Canton. Running back Jim Brown surpassed Motley's rushing records in the early 1960s, but many of Motley's coaches and fellow players regarded Motley as the better player, in part because of his strength as a blocker. "There is no comparison between Jim Brown and Marion Motley," Quarterback Otto Graham said at a luncheon in Canton in 1964. "Motley was the greatest all-around fullback."
Click HERE to see the next series of roster announcements for the All-Time AFC North!
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