Top 10 Players with most Touchdowns in NFL history
Here are the top 10 players with the most touchdowns in NFL history.
Follow Us
Image via SBNation.com
NFL is one of the most popular sports in North America and has been gaining a lot of fanbase in Europe as well. Each team has an offense and a defense to help score points for them and win games. Of the two, the offense is a fan favorite because they are the ones putting points on the scoreboard. However, the defense can also score points with a pick-six, but that is a rare occurrence.
The offense has the quarterback, wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs who make plays that score those points. An offense is given three downs to cross the 10 yards threshold and move forward. These downs keep on playing out until the offense is unable to pass those 10 yards or they ultimately score a touchdown. A touchdown can be scored by any member of the offense, and that includes the center, guards, and tackles.
However, most touchdowns are scored by wide receivers because they have the speed and stealth moves to get away from the secondary and run into the endzone. The same is also done by tight ends and running backs, but not on a regular basis. Even quarterbacks sometimes sneak into the endzone to score touchdowns. But which of these offensive players has scored the most touchdowns in the NFL?
Let’s take a look at the all-time NFL leaders in touchdowns.
Related: Colin Cowherd’s Net Worth in 2023: How much is the renowned analyst worth?
10. Adrian Peterson and Jim Brown (126 TDs)
The 10th position in the all-time touchdowns leader is a tie between Adrian Peterson and Jim Brown.
Adrian Peterson played in the NFL for 14 seasons and has been a free agent since January 2022. He hasn’t filed his retirement papers with the NFLPA just yet, but he hasn’t been given an opportunity to continue playing in the league by any team. Anyway, the 37-year-old is widely renowned as one of the greatest running backs of all time. He has scored a total of 126 touchdowns in his illustrious career, which saw him win multiple awards, including the 2012 NFL MVP.
Jim Brown is one of the greatest football players of all time and is considered a legendary running back who transcended the position. In the nine years he spent in the NFL, Brown was nominated to Pro Bowl for the entirety of his career and led the league in rushing yards for eight seasons. The 87-year-old also won the 1964 NFL championship and 3x NFL MVPs. In his short but impactful career, Jim Brown scored 126 touchdowns.
9. Marvin Harrison (128 TDs)
At #9 comes Marvin Harrison, who played as a wide receiver in the league for 13 seasons. He is one of the few wide receivers who are recognized as the greatest. Harrison also holds a plethora of NFL records to his name, which will take a long time to list down. In short, he won Super Bowl XLI, was nominated to the Pro Bowl eight times, and led the league twice in receiving yards, and twice in receptions. Harrison also holds the honor of being inducted into the Indianapolis Colts Rings of Honor. The 50-year-old scored 128 touchdowns in his career and now sits at the number 9 position among all-time touchdowns leaders.
8. Cris Carter (131 TDs)
Cris Carter, Vikings legend, ranks 8th in the all-time touchdown leaders. He played as a wide receiver for 16 years in the league, and the majority of it was for the Minnesota Vikings. Carter had one of the best hands in the league and one of the most famous quotes about him said by ESPN’s Chris Berman is “All he does is catch touchdowns.” And this is true as he ended his career with a total of 131 touchdowns.
7. Marshall Faulk (136 TDs)
Coming in at lucky number 7 is one of the greatest running back the league has ever seen, Marshall Faulk. Faulk played for 13 years with the Indianapolis Colts and the St. Louis Rams. He was a part of “The Greatest Show on Turf” which had record-breaking offenses for three consecutive years from 1999 to 2000. Marshall Faulk has a part of the St. Louis Football Ring of Fame as well as the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor. The 2000 NFL MVP scored 136 touchdowns in his career.
6. Marcus Allen (145 TDs)
Marcus Allen sits at number 6 with 145 touchdowns. Allen played in the NFL for 16 years as a running back, which in itself is a huge achievement, and is one of the greatest goal-line and short-yard runners of all time. The former 10th overall pick won Super Bowl XVIII, Super Bowl XVIII MVP, 1985 league MVP, 1985 OPOY, 1993 Comeback Player of the Year, and Offensive Rookie of the Year.
5. Terrell Owens (156 TDs)
Terrell Owens played in the NFL for 15 seasons with five different teams and is widely considered one of the greatest wide receivers. Owens ranks fifth in the all-time touchdowns list with 156 touchdowns. With achieving everything a WR can in the NFL, the 49-year-old still plays in the Fan Controlled Football League. Let’s hope he ends up scoring, if not more than the same number of touchdowns!
4. Randy Moss (157 TDs)
Everyone who watches football knows and loves Randy Moss. He played 14 seasons in the league and is one of the best and most talented wide receivers of all time. The term “mossed” is named after Randy Moss, who had the unique and never seen ability to catch the ball no matter how many hands were blocking the ball. Moss holds a number of records that won’t fit on one page. He was named one of the 50 greatest Vikings and indicted in the Vikings Ring of Honor and the New England Patriots All-Dynasty Team. Moss scored 157 touchdowns in his career.
3. LaDainian Tomlinson (162 TDs)
Coming in at number 3 is a star running back of the Los Angeles Chargers, LaDainian Tomlinson. The 5-foot-10 running back was a consistent scorer for the Chargers during his nine seasons with them. Tomlinson won the 2006 NFL MVP award where he rushed for 1,815 yards and led the league with 28 touchdowns. After spending his last two years with the New York Jets, Tomlinson rejoined the Chargers as Special Assistant to owner Dean Spanos. L.T. scored 162 touchdowns in his career, which is the second most by a running back.
2. Emmitt Smith (175 TDs)
Considered as one of the best running backs the league has ever seen, Emmitt Smith was a part of “The Triplets” alongside Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin who led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins and established them as ‘America’s Team.’ Smith played for 15 years in the NFL majority of which was in Dallas. The Super Bowl XXVIII MVP scored 175 touchdowns in his Hall of Fame career and ranks second all-time in touchdowns scored.
1. Jerry Rice (208 TDs)
It wasn’t a herculean task to guess that Jerry Rice was coming on top of this list. The greatest wide receiver of all-time and also one of the greatest players to grace the NFL, Jerry Rice, played for 20 years, which is the most by any receiver in the modern Super Bowl era. Rice primarily played for the San Francisco 49ers with short stints with the Raiders and the Broncos.
In the 20 years he spent in the league, Rice amassed huge total stats that cannot be replicated ever. The Pro Football Hall of Fame introduces Jerry Rice as “the most prolific wide receiver in NFL history with staggering career totals.” Rice helped the 49ers to win three Super Bowls and was named Super Bowl XXIII MVP. The elite WR won every award there was for a receiver to win except the league MVP. Despite holding every record during his playing career, Rice was never named the league MVP and to this date, not a single wide receiver has won this award.
Jerry Rice ranks first in the all-time touchdowns scored by players with a staggering total of 208 touchdowns!
Do follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Related: 5 players with the most rushing yards in NFL history
Related: Most passing yards in NFL history (Top 5)
Stay Updated!
Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)