the guy I remember having and amazing top gear was Eric Dickerson from SMU, one half of the Pony Express
the way he pulled away from DBs in the NFL and made many take bad angles was crazy

Eric Dickerson was absolutely phenomenal. He gets forgotten far too often in the greatest RB ever discussion. He is right up there with Barry, Walter, and Jim Brown in that all-time greatest discussion imo.
His first 7 years in the NFL were better than any RB in history first 7 years. It's not close imo.
1,808 yards & 18 TD's - full 16 games
2,105 yards & 14 TD's - full 16 games
1,234 yards & 12 TD's - he held out for a bigger contract and missed 3 games
1,821 yards & 11 TD's - full 16 games
1,288 yards & 6 TD's - only 12 game season that year due to NFL player strike
1,659 yards & 14 TD's - full 16 games
1,311 yards & 7 TD's - missed 2 games with injury
11,226 rushing yards and 82 rushing TD's in only 7 seasons. One of which was a strike shortened season, another in which he missed 2 games with injury, and another in which he held out for a bigger contract. Pretty damn impressive.
Forcing a trade to the awful Colts and injuries started to derail his career. As brilliant as his first 7 years were, his last 4 was just a cliff dive. He went from being the most productive back in NFL history to one of the least productive.