Buffalo Bills All-Drought team: Running back

The post-millennial Buffalo Bills had a long string of great running backs, though most of them only played a few seasons before moving on to another team. Who do you think was the best of the group? Vote for your choice below. As we fill out our starting roster, we’ll be taking the runner-up from each skill position choice as a candidate for a “flex” RB/WR/TE position poll to complete the offense.

Travis Henry

Henry played four seasons for the Bills before injuries and the selection of the next player on this list made him expendable in the eyes of the management. His peaks were good enough to displace a player like Thurman Thomas. His 2002 and 2003 seasons rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in single-season rushing yards, and the 13 rushing touchdowns from 2002 ranks second-best. Henry has the fifth-highest career rushing total in franchise history, and ranks sixth in rushing touchdowns.

Willis McGahee

McGahee quickly wore out his welcome in Buffalo with his low opinion of the city, but was a great runner for three seasons before the Bills got tired of his act and traded him to Baltimore. While he never made a Pro Bowl in Buffalo, he anchored the offense for three years, rushing 868 times for 3365 yards and 24 touchdowns. In his first playing season, he rushed for 13 touchdowns, which ranks second-best in franchise history. McGahee ranks seventh in career rushing yards for the Bills.

Fred Jackson

Jackson is one of the most-beloved players in Buffalo Bills history, playing with the team from 2007 through 2014. Among running backs, he ranks third in career rushing yards, fifth in yards per attempt (min. 200 attempts), and third in rushing + receiving touchdowns. In 2009 Jackson led the league in all-purpose yards with 2516, as Buffalo’s primary rusher and kick returner. That season ranks fifth all-time, and is a franchise record for the Bills. Jackson often had to share a role with more well-known names like Marshawn Lynch and C.J. Spiller, but he still carved out one of the best careers in Buffalo Bills history.

LeSean McCoy

When we wrote up the All-Decade team of the 2000’s and McCoy was in his breakout season with the Philadelphia Eagles, no one could’ve imagined that McCoy would become an All-Pro runner in his home state of Pennsylvania, then get traded to the Buffalo Bills for a rental linebacker. After a healthy contract extension helped ease the tension from the trade, McCoy continued his excellent career in Buffalo for the past three seasons. He earned a Pro Bowl nod in each year, rushing for 3300 yards and 22 touchdowns on 724 carries, and added 1096 receiving yards and five more touchdowns. McCoy ranks ninth in career rushing yardage in franchise history, but only has eight fumbles in his time with the Bills, the lowest among any of the top ten rushers.

Next time, we’ll take a look at the wide receivers. One name stands tall above the rest, but the debate for #2 will be more spirited.