I saw an interesting tweet yesterday:
Todd Gurley currently leads all RBs in rushing yards/TDs & receiving yards/TDs.
This has never happened before in NFL history.
— Ryan McDowell (@RyanMc23) December 27, 2017
My first thought was, “No way!” But then again, the leading RB in receiving touchdowns is a pretty obscure category, so who knows. Well, it turns out McDowell is correct (at least back to 1970, which is as far as I checked; before 1970 you are dealing with much smaller leagues, anyway).
So yes, Todd Gurley really does have a running back quadruple crown: he leads all running backs in rushing yards (1,305; Kareem Hunt is second with 1,292); rushing TDs (13; Mark Ingram is second with 12); receiving yards (Alvin Kamara has 742) and receiving TDs (6; Kamara and Christian McCaffrey each have 5). That is not going to hold up, as Gurley will rest this weekend as the Rams have clinched the NFC West but can not get the 1 or the 2 seed in the NFC. But for now, it is pretty remarkable, if from nothing else than from a trivia perspective.
In fact, since 1970, only two running backs — Jamaal Charles in 2010 and Arian Foster in 2013 — have led all running backs in three out of those four carries. Charles ranked 3rd in rushing yards that year, Foster ranked 7th in this receiving TDs.
The table below shows all running backs since 1970 whose average rank in these four categories was 5.0 or lower.
| Running Back | Year | Team | Rush | Yd | TD | Rec | Yd | TD | RuYd Rk | RuTD Rk | ReYd Rk | ReTD Rk | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Gurley | 2017 | LAR | 279 | 1305 | 13 | 64 | 788 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jamaal Charles | 2013 | KAN | 259 | 1287 | 12 | 70 | 693 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson | 2007 | SDG | 315 | 1474 | 15 | 60 | 475 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Priest Holmes | 2002 | KAN | 313 | 1615 | 21 | 70 | 672 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Ray Rice | 2011 | BAL | 291 | 1364 | 12 | 76 | 704 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson | 2006 | SDG | 348 | 1815 | 28 | 56 | 508 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2.25 |
| Marshall Faulk | 2001 | STL | 260 | 1382 | 12 | 83 | 765 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2.25 |
| O.J. Simpson | 1975 | BUF | 329 | 1817 | 16 | 28 | 426 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2.25 |
| Edgerrin James | 1999 | IND | 369 | 1553 | 13 | 62 | 586 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2.25 |
| Ron Johnson | 1970 | NYG | 263 | 1027 | 8 | 48 | 487 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2.25 |
| Arian Foster | 2010 | HOU | 327 | 1616 | 16 | 66 | 604 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2.5 |
| Chuck Foreman | 1975 | MIN | 280 | 1070 | 13 | 73 | 691 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2.5 |
| Marshall Faulk | 2000 | STL | 253 | 1359 | 18 | 81 | 830 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson | 2003 | SDG | 313 | 1645 | 13 | 100 | 725 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Marcus Allen | 1982 | RAI | 160 | 697 | 11 | 38 | 401 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Steven Jackson | 2006 | STL | 346 | 1528 | 13 | 90 | 806 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Ron Johnson | 1972 | NYG | 298 | 1182 | 9 | 45 | 451 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Larry Brown | 1972 | WAS | 285 | 1216 | 8 | 32 | 473 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3.25 |
| Otis Armstrong | 1974 | DEN | 263 | 1407 | 9 | 38 | 405 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.25 |
| David Johnson | 2016 | ARI | 293 | 1239 | 16 | 80 | 879 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Chris Johnson | 2009 | TEN | 358 | 2006 | 14 | 50 | 503 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 3.5 |
| Lydell Mitchell | 1975 | BAL | 289 | 1193 | 11 | 60 | 544 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Marcus Allen | 1984 | RAI | 275 | 1168 | 13 | 64 | 758 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3.75 |
| Edgerrin James | 2000 | IND | 387 | 1709 | 13 | 63 | 594 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 3.75 |
| Brian Westbrook | 2007 | PHI | 278 | 1333 | 7 | 90 | 771 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Billy Sims | 1980 | DET | 313 | 1303 | 13 | 51 | 621 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| Chuck Foreman | 1974 | MIN | 199 | 777 | 9 | 53 | 586 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Thurman Thomas | 1992 | BUF | 312 | 1487 | 9 | 58 | 626 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Marcus Allen | 1985 | RAI | 380 | 1759 | 11 | 67 | 555 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| Matt Forte | 2013 | CHI | 289 | 1339 | 9 | 74 | 594 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Ahman Green | 2003 | GNB | 355 | 1883 | 15 | 50 | 367 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 4.5 |
| Thurman Thomas | 1991 | BUF | 288 | 1407 | 7 | 62 | 631 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 4.5 |
| Tiki Barber | 2004 | NYG | 322 | 1518 | 13 | 52 | 578 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4.5 |
| Marshall Faulk | 1999 | STL | 253 | 1381 | 7 | 87 | 1048 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 4.75 |
| MacArthur Lane | 1970 | STL | 206 | 977 | 11 | 32 | 365 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 4.75 |
| Le'Veon Bell | 2014 | PIT | 290 | 1361 | 8 | 83 | 854 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| Eddie Lacy | 2014 | GNB | 246 | 1139 | 9 | 42 | 427 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson | 2005 | SDG | 339 | 1462 | 18 | 51 | 370 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Dalton Hilliard | 1989 | NOR | 344 | 1262 | 13 | 52 | 514 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| Wilbert Montgomery | 1979 | PHI | 338 | 1512 | 9 | 41 | 494 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| Barry Sanders | 1990 | DET | 255 | 1304 | 13 | 36 | 480 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
It’s been a pretty remarkable year for Gurley, particularly after a disastrous 2016 season.