Roger Craig was the perfect modern running back. The only problem is that he played mainly in the 1980s.
At the college level, Craig played three full seasons at the University of Nebraska from 1980-82. In his time there, he rushed for 2,446 yards and 26 touchdowns, averaging 6 yards per carry. He was an essential piece at running back in Head Coach Tom Osborne’s I-formation option offense.
In 1983, after completing his college career, Craig entered the NFL draft, where he was selected as the 49th pick by the San Francisco 49ers. He stood out from the start, totaling 12 touchdowns in his rookie season. Craig soon became known for his high-knee running style and pass-catching ability. While playing in the NFL, he was a pioneer who helped change the role of running backs.
Craig played eight seasons with the 49ers, reaching the postseason in each. Alongside quarterback Joe Montana, Craig would win three Super Bowls. In his first Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XIX, Craig rushed for 58 yards, caught seven passes for 77 yards and became the first player ever to score three touchdowns in a Super Bowl as the 49ers beat the Miami Dolphins 38-16.
Yet, even with a Super Bowl ring and touchdown record, the highlight of Craig’s career would come during the following season. In 1985-86, Craig became the first player in NFL history to run and receive for at least 1,000 yards in the same season. Since then, only Marshall Faulk and Christian McCaffrey have achieved this feat. He ran for 1,050 yards on 214 carries and led the NFL with 92 catches for 1,016 yards while scoring a team-high 15 touchdowns. Craig, Lydell Mitchell and Chuck Foreman are the only running backs to lead the NFL in receptions for a single season.
But he wasn’t done there. In 1988, Craig was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. He ran for a career-high 1,502 yards and caught 76 passes for 534 yards, leading the league in total yards. During week seven against the Los Angeles Rams, he scored three rushing touchdowns while running for a career-high 191 yards. In the 49ers’ 20-16 win over Cincinnati in Super Bowl XXIII, he rushed for 71 yards and caught eight passes for 101 yards, making him the first running back to have 100 receiving yards in a Super Bowl.
Then in the 1989 season, the 49ers returned to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. Craig supported their efforts by amassing 1,527 combined rushing/receiving yards and seven touchdowns in the season. In San Francisco’s 55-10 win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV, Craig rushed for 69 yards, caught five passes for 34 yards and scored a touchdown.
In eight seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Craig played in 121 games and missed only seven, and five of those games were in his final season. After leaving the 49ers, Craig played three more seasons in the NFL, one with the Minnesota Vikings and another two with the Los Angeles Raiders. He appeared in the postseason in each of his 11 seasons and made the Pro Bowl four times (1985, 1987-89). He finished his career with 13,143 total yards and 73 touchdowns, 56 rushing and 17 receiving.
Craig’s career résumé is very strong, which begs the question: Why is Roger Craig not in the NFL Hall of Fame?
He set records, won the biggest game of the season three times, consistently made the postseason and changed the role running backs play in an offense. Yet, people have repeatedly denied his entry to the Hall of Fame on the grounds that his career statistics, particularly rushing yards, make him undeserving. These people should grow up. If statistics were the only thing that mattered, then Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone are better basketball players than Michael Jordan because they have more total points. However, any basketball fan would know this to be false because Michael Jordan’s impact on the game of basketball cannot be encapsulated by looking only at statistics.
All in all, I have made my position on this matter unambiguous. Roger Craig deserves to be in the Hall of Fame for the records he set and the way he modernized the running back position.
This article is dedicated to Roger Craig and the fools on the NFL Hall of Fame election committee. Can we please get this man in the hall already?
