After 28 years, three-time Super Bowl Champion Roger Craig is finally getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Craig’s wait has been long overdue. As a key piece of one of the greatest dynasties the sport has ever seen, it felt like Craig should’ve been a sh00-in, but instead, he missed out time and time again before it was announced he’d be joining Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri in the 2026 HOF class.

While Craig may not have always blown you away with his numbers (though they were still very good), he was far ahead of his time and helped shape what the running back position is today. And for that alone, I think he deserves to be forever enshrined in Canton.

Roger Craig’s Beginning

Before we get too far into Roger Craig’s impact, let’s talk about how it all began for the former 49ers star.

In 1979, Craig committed to the University of Nebraska, where he’d spend all four years of his college career. As a freshman, Craig hardly saw the field, rushing for 31 yards on seven carries, but he exploded onto the scene as a sophomore, totaling 769 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.

After his sophomore year, Craig took off, rushing for 1,646 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final two seasons, which led to him being the 49th overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft.

Craig, who is largely remembered for his abilities as a pass catcher out of the backfield, actually only recorded 102 receiving yards in his four years at Nebraska. But once he got to the NFL, San Francisco quickly realized they had a rising star on their hands, but I don’t think even they knew how much of an impact he’d have on the game of football.

Craig’s Impact on the RB Position

Back in the 1980s, running backs weren’t used like they are now. Sure, there were some scat backs that could get out and catch passes, but there weren’t a whole lot of guys that were considered big receiving threats at the running back position. That is, until Roger Craig showed up.

In Craig’s rookie season, he caught 48 passes for 427 yards and four touchdowns, but that would be his worst year as a receiver over his first seven seasons in the league. In his sophomore season, Craig caught 71 passes for 675 yards and three scores, but that was still far from his best season as a receiver.

In 1985, Craig’s third season in the NFL, he did something no other player in NFL history had ever done: totaled 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. Craig finished the year with 1,050 rushing yards and 1,016 receiving yards, while also leading the league in receptions with 92, becoming the fifth, and latest, running back to do so. And to put the cherry on top, he also helped lead San Fran to the Super Bowl with seven receptions for 77 yards and two touchdowns in the Big Game.

Craig never hit the 1,000-yard receiving mark again, but he finished his career with a whopping 4,911 receiving yards, which, at the time of his retirement in 1993, ranked second all-time behind only Lenny Moore, who totaled 6,039 receiving yards from 1956-1967, nearly 30 years earlier.

Since his retirement, eight other running backs have surpassed Craig’s total, but it’s clear that after Craig, the NFL started to utilize their running backs in the passing game much more frequently.

Other 1,000-1,000 Seasons

Roger Craig was the first player in NFL history to go for 1,000 yards on the ground and through the air in a single season, but since then, only two other backs have been able to accomplish that feat.

In 1999, Marshall Faulk became the second man to put up 1,000 yards as a rusher and a receiver, totaling 1,381 yards on the ground and 1,048 yards through the air en route to winning the Offensive Player of the Year award and finishing second in MVP voting. Faulk was the centerpiece of the Greatest Show on Turf, and is one of the most dynamic running backs we’ve ever seen grace the gridiron.

It took another 20 years for another player to go for 1,000 yards through the air and on the ground, but in 2019, Christian McCaffrey did it in just his third year in the league. McCaffrey rushed for 1,387 yards and caught 116 passes for 1,005 yards that year, just getting over the line in the final game of the season.

McCaffrey almost became the first person to ever accomplish that feat twice, hitting 1,202 yards on the ground and 924 yards through the air in 2025. If anyone’s going to do it twice, it’ll be McCaffrey, but time is running out for the 30-year-old.

It’s hard to believe that 40 years later, in a league that has become more and more pass heavy, only two other players have ever been able to accomplish what Craig did in 1985. But that just puts into perspective how much of a game-changer he was as a pass catcher and how he changed the game for every running back that came after him.