NFL Mocks Round Table: Favorite Running Backs
As we get closer to Super Bowl 50, I love to think back on how exciting a year this was. The rookie success, the veteranssuch as Eric Berry coming back, and players making a real name for themselves like Josh Norman. So that means only one thing can follow…..
Another NFL Mocks round table!!!
I got the mad scientists we have here out of their respective laboratories to ask them a simple question: who is your favorite running back of all time to watch?
Notice how I worded that: “favorite to watch”, does not necessarily mean the best of all time. As some of you know I’m a running backs coach and just a running backs guy in general, and I’m very picky. So let’s see what the boys here at Mocks had to say on the subject!
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Rodney Stokes
Barry Sanders. You can enter Barry Sanders into any era and he can work the same magic he did through the 90s. He’s the kind of back that could turn a -5 yard gain into a 65 yard touchdown. Still today there’s no back like Barry.
Erik Lambert
This is going to come across completely biased, but I don’t care. I never got to watch many of his games, but I saw enough to know that Walter Payton was my favorite. Sure, being with the Chicago Bears had a lot to do with it but nobody can name me a running back who did more on the field and with more effort than him. He was a dominant runner who refused to go down easy. He could catch passes like a wide receiver, throw them 50 yards with accuracy and was arguably the best blocker ever at his position. If that weren’t enough, he was almost as entertaining off the field. Really wish I could’ve gotten to see him play live.
Sayre Bedinger
Terrell freaking Davis. Davis is one of the primary reasons I love football today. His career in the NFL was such a blip on the radar, but he accomplished everything an NFL running back hopes to over the course of a 10, even 15-year NFL career. 2,000 yards rushing, NFL MVP, Super Bowl MVP, two-time Super Bowl champion…Not many NFL backs will ever do what Davis did, and he did it in basically five seasons. Hopefully in 2016, he’s inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
Kyle McKinnon
Earl Campbell. He was the definition of a workhorse and is by far most physical, bruising back of all-time. He put Houston on the map in terms of professional football and really shouldered the load for the Oilers during his time there. A back with his combination of size, physicality, vision, and sprinter speed is rare.
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Eric Robinson
Barry Sanders. No ifs, ands, or buts. The agility, the speed, the vision, the fact that he accomplished so much with little playoff success, and unfavorable circumstances. Sanders has done so much with very little. 10 time Pro Bowl, 4 time rushing champion, most 1,500 yard seasons in league history with five. The cream of the crop.
As for me….
When it comes to my favorite running back to watch, I know some people might be thinking Priest Holmes, which isn’t a bad guess. He will always be one of my favorites, but there is one I rank higher in terms of who I love watching: LaDanian Tomlinson. His work ethic showed every game he ever played in. From college to professional, he was as electrifying as it gets, and every time he touches he ball you hold your breath and wonder “is he scoring?!”. There is a reason he holds the league record for both rushing touchdowns and combined rushing and receiving touchdowns in a single season. I love his ability to cut forward. He would make a cut on a dime, but still be moving forward to gain as much yardage as possible, and give defenders less time to react. Since putting up 31 touchdowns in a season no one has even sniffed his numbers. Easily my favorite to watch.