While each player on the field in football has a crucial role to play, it’s the players who get things done that are truly the best. Every player has an integral part in the team, but the ones with the most touchdowns will never fail their team.

Throughout the history of the NFL, we’ve seen different styles of players, each of which has its own strong skill set, although only a few have managed to score touchdowns time and time again. That’s why in this article, we’ll outline the top 5 touchdown scorers in NFL history, including who scored the most touchdowns, what team(s) they played for, and how many they scored.

5. Terrell Owens – 156 career touchdowns

Beginning our list of top 5 touchdown scorers in NFL history is the 49ers wide receiver known as Terrell Owens. Owens played 15 seasons for 6 separate teams from 1996 to 2012, including the 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys, Bills, Bengals, and Seahawks. Helping lead to his 156 career touchdowns, the fifth most of all time in the NFL, was his 1,078 receptions for 15,934 yards.

4. Randy Moss – 157 career touchdowns

Up next, we have Randy Moss, a wide receiver veteran for the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots. Moss started at the Vikings in 1998, before moving to the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, and then San Francisco 49ers. Moss overall edges out Owens by exactly 1 touchdown, putting him in fourth spot on our list.

3. LaDainian Tomlinson – 162 career touchdowns

Third on the list of top 5 touchdown scorers in NFL history is LaDainian Tomlinson, a running back for both the Chargers and Jets throughout his career. Tomlinson overall had 3,174 carries for 13,684 yards, part of the reason why he scored a whopping 162 touchdowns over his running back career. When your touchdown count is this high, your name is unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon.

2. Emmit Smith – 175 career touchdowns

Emmit Smith was a legendary running back who played mainly for the Dallas Cowboys. In addition to playing for the Cowboys for 13 seasons, Smith would finish his career at the Arizona Cardinals. He’d have an incredible 4,409 carries for 18,355 yards making him one of the best running backs of all time. In total, he’d finish his career with 175 total touchdowns while also currently standing as the league’s top all-time leading rusher.

1. Jerry Rice – 208 career touchdowns

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Jerry Rice, wide receiver for the 49ers, is the cream of the crop when it comes to the top touchdown scorers in NFL history. Starting his career at the 49ers, Rice would play for the Raiders, then the Seahawks, then the Broncos before effectively retiring with one of the best offensive records in history. Throughout his 1,549 catches, he’d accumulated 22,895 reception yards, helping him score an insane 208 touchdowns in his career, making him the first and only player ever to reach 200+ touchdowns. Other players might have come close, but to this day, it’s Jerry Rice who goes down as the top touchdown scorer in NFL history.

Active NFL Touchdown Leaders

To put into context just how impressive those record-breakers are, let’s look at the top TD-scoring active players (stats correct October 2024). Derrick Henry and Mike Evans lead the charge, but neither are even half-way towards Rice’s record, and would need to score another 57 touchdowns apiece to break into the top five.

There are some incredible players on the following list, which only puts into perspective the scale of the achievement of the all-time top five.