Matt Forte, Darren Sproles, Reggie Bush, and Career Leaders in RB Receptions

by Chase Stuart on August 11, 2016

Right now, three of the top 20 running backs in career receptions are active: Matt Forte, Darren Sproles, and Reggie Bush. Note that for these purposes, players like Bobby Mitchell, Charley Taylor, and Eric Metcalf — who all entered the league as running backs but then converted to wide receiver — were excluded.

					Games		Rushing					Receiving
Rk	Player	From	To	Draft	G	GS	Att	Yds	Y/A	TD	Y/G	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt
1	Larry Centers	1990	2003	5-115	198	108	615	2188	3.56	14	11.1	1044	827	6797	8.22	28	34.3		6.51
2	Marshall Faulk*	1994	2005	1-2	176	156	2836	12279	4.33	100	69.8	1013	767	6875	8.96	36	39.1	75.7%	6.79
3	LaDainian Tomlinson	2001	2011	1-5	170	155	3174	13684	4.31	145	80.5	868	624	4772	7.65	17	28.1	71.9%	5.50
4	Keith Byars	1986	1998	1-10	189	160	865	3109	3.59	23	16.4	428	610	5661	9.28	31	30.0		13.23
5	Marcus Allen*	1982	1997	1-10	222	168	3022	12243	4.05	123	55.1	241	587	5411	9.22	21	24.4		22.45
6	Tiki Barber	1997	2006	2-36	154	109	2217	10449	4.71	55	67.9	814	586	5183	8.84	12	33.7	72.0%	6.37
7	Ronnie Harmon	1986	1997	1-16	181	27	615	2774	4.51	10	15.3	462	582	6076	10.44	24	33.6		13.15
8	Roger Craig	1983	1993	2-49	165	133	1991	8189	4.11	56	49.6	62	566	4911	8.68	17	29.8		79.21
9	John Williams	1986	1995	1-15	149	133	1245	5006	4.02	18	33.6	316	546	4656	8.53	19	31.2		14.73
10	Eric Metcalf	1989	2002	1-13	179	77	630	2392	3.80	12	13.4	635	541	5572	10.30	31	31.1		8.77
11	Herschel Walker	1986	1997	5-114	187	137	1954	8225	4.21	61	44.0	296	512	4859	9.49	21	26.0		16.42
11	Earnest Byner	1984	1997	10-280	211	131	2095	8261	3.94	56	39.2	275	512	4605	8.99	15	21.8		16.75
13	Warrick Dunn	1997	2008	1-12	181	154	2669	10967	4.11	49	60.6	710	510	4339	8.51	15	24.0	71.8%	6.11
14	Walter Payton*	1975	1987	1-4	190	184	3838	16726	4.36	110	88.0		492	4538	9.22	15	23.9
15	Tony Galbreath	1976	1987	2-32	170	73	1031	4072	3.95	34	24.0		490	4066	8.30	9	23.9
16	Matt Forte	2008	2015	2-44	120	120	2035	8602	4.23	45	71.7	636	487	4116	8.45	19	34.3	76.6%	6.47
17	Curtis Martin*	1995	2005	3-74	168	166	3518	14101	4.01	90	83.9	606	484	3329	6.88	10	19.8	79.9%	5.49
18	Darren Sproles	2005	2015	4-130	153	23	577	2867	4.97	20	18.7	631	473	4156	8.79	28	27.2	75.0%	6.59
19	Thurman Thomas*	1988	2000	2-40	182	160	2877	12074	4.20	65	66.3	416	472	4458	9.44	23	24.5		10.72
20	Reggie Bush	2006	2015	1-2	121	96	1274	5493	4.31	35	45.4	652	470	3508	7.46	18	29.0	72.1%	5.38

Sproles just turned 33, and entered the league back in 2005. He was a rookie at 22, but as a late 4th round pick, he had just 42 career receptions before turning 26.

Bush was the second overall pick in ’06, of course, and he entered the NFL at just 21. He got off to a blazing start, tying the NFL record for receptions through two seasons set by Larry Fitzgerald. ^[1]By the end of that season, his teammate Marques Colston broke that record, and A.J. Green, Odell Beckham, and Jarvis Landry have all since broken that Bush’s mark. But Bush has not maintain that level of play, and the future isn’t all that bright. He turned 31 in March, and just signed with the Bills, his 5th NFL team. Bush had just 4 catches in five games last year, before an ACL injury in St. Louis ended his season.

Forte, despite being only nine months younger than Bush, he entered the NFL two years later. Forte has been a mix of Bush and Sproles when it comes to the age curve: he started off strong, like Bush, but has aged well, like Sproles. Forte had 223 receptions in his first four seasons in 60 games; In his last 4 years, he has also played in 60 games, and caught 264 passes.

Despite being the youngest of the three, Forte has the most career receptions. Bush had more receptions last year, but given the age difference, Forte seems like the better bet to become the 5th running back — and only 3rd non-fullback — to hit the 600-reception mark.

References[+]

References
↑1	By the end of that season, his teammate Marques Colston broke that record, and A.J. Green, Odell Beckham, and Jarvis Landry have all since broken that Bush’s mark.

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