Emmitt Smith vs LaDainian Tomlinson

Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson compared on their NFL careers: Emmitt Smith played 15 seasons, 1990 to 2004, LaDainian Tomlinson 11 seasons, 2001 to 2011. Emmitt Smith has 18,355 rushing yards to LaDainian Tomlinson's 13,684. Emmitt Smith won 3 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson career totals

226	GP	170
18,355	YDS	13,684
164	TD	145
4.2	AVG	4.3

How do they compare in the playoffs?

Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson postseason

17	GP	10
1,586	YDS	468
19	TD	6
4.5	AVG	3.6

Where each stands all time

Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson all-time places

1st (18,355)	Rushing yards	6th (13,684)
1st (164)	Rushing touchdowns	2nd (145)

Among the NFL players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

Emmitt Smith: 3 championships; Offensive Rookie of the Year, MVP, Super Bowl MVP
LaDainian Tomlinson: 0 championships; MVP, Offensive Player of the Year

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson season by season

1st	1990	937	11	3.9	2001	1,236	10	3.6
2nd	1991	1,563	12	4.3	2002	1,683	14	4.5
3rd	1992	1,713	18	4.6	2003	1,645	13	5.3
4th	1993	1,486	9	5.3	2004	1,335	17	3.9
5th	1994	1,484	21	4.0	2005	1,462	18	4.3
6th	1995	1,773	25	4.7	2006	1,815	28	5.2
7th	1996	1,204	12	3.7	2007	1,474	15	4.7
8th	1997	1,074	4	4.1	2008	1,110	11	3.8
9th	1998	1,332	13	4.2	2009	730	12	3.3
10th	1999	1,397	11	4.2	2010	914	6	4.2
11th	2000	1,203	9	4.1	2011	280	1	3.7
12th	2001	1,021	3	3.9	—	—	—	—
13th	2002	975	5	3.8	—	—	—	—
14th	2003	256	2	2.8	—	—	—	—
15th	2004	937	9	3.5	—	—	—	—