The quarterback position has always represented the leader of the offense over the course of football history, but the duties entailed in the role have changed several times. When schemes primarily centered around running the ball at the dawn of the sport, quarterbacks were mostly expected to hand the ball off, only occasionally keeping the pigskin for themselves to run or throw. The importance of passing increasingly grew until the prototypical QB became a pocket passer whose running duties were minimal.
In 1990, however, Randall Cunningham became the first quarterback to total 500 rushing yards in five straight seasons. Thus began the rise of the dual-threat quarterback, a weapon who could march his team downfield with his arms and/or legs.
To determine the best rushing quarterbacks in NFL history, PointAfter considered the 27 players with at least 2,000 rushing yards and 500 passing attempts. Each player was then rewarded between 1-27 points for their standing among the group in rushing yards, yards per carry, yards per game and rushing touchdowns. Therefore, the maximum total one could achieve is 108 points.
By this system, five of the top 10 rushing QBs primarily played during the 2000s — and one is an active gunslinger who's in good shape to take over the top spot in the coming years.
