Is Le'Veon Bell the Best Running Back in the League?
- Tyler Webb
- Jan 21, 2017
- 4 min read
Ezekiel Elliott has taken the league by storm, and quite honestly revamped the position of running back in the NFL. Getting 1,631 yards from 322 carries as a rookie are legendary numbers for sure. Many people are saying he is the best running back in the league, and I understand the argument there Cowboys Nation, do not worry. Not only did he run for 5.1 yards a carry, he had 14 carries of 20+ yards and a rush for 60 yards and ran in 15 touchdowns to put the cherry on top. Not very far behind him are players like David Johnson, DeMarco Murray, and LeSean McCoy, and they are all amazing running backs that I could see an argument for top back. Put either of those backs behind the Dallas offensive line, and I think you can get some crazy video game stats as well. None of those backs could do what Le’Veon Bell does though. Bell may have his off the field issues, and definitely isn’t your traditional running back, but that is what breaks him apart from the rest of the pack.
Le’Veon Bell was suspended the first 3 games of this season and missed the last game of the season for rest, and still managed to rush for 1,268 yards with 7 touchdowns. Bell was also targeted 96 times, hauling in 75 of those for 616 and another 2 touchdowns. With the averages he had during the season for just the suspended 3 games he would have 1585 rushing yards and 94 catches for 770 yards. Even greats like LaDainian Tomlinson didn’t reach those number together in the same season. Now that you see Le’Veon’s 2016 production, let me remind you this is a team that also has to feed Antonio Brown, Eli Rogers, and up in coming tight end, Jesse James, and still has DeAngelo WIlliams to spell him at anytime. Between those 3 players there was 275 targets thrown their way this season , and that’s not even including a healthy Ladarius Green, Sammie Coates, and a clean Martavis Bryant. So when you look at the names I mention throughout the article, you’ll see most of them are the best player of their respected team, and is most likely the workhorse to that offense. The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t a normal offense, and are blessed enough to say they can function without Le’Veon Bell, but just imagine his numbers if he was the focal point of an offense.
There are other great running backs other than Bell obviously but they still seem to fall short some way or another. David Johnson rushed for 1,239 and 16 touchdowns, adding 80 catches for 879 yards and 4 touchdowns too. That all was done in 16 games though, and even then aren’t really close to the production that Bell produces. LeSean McCoy finished a banged up 2016 with 1,267 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. McCoy also caught 50 balls and produced 356 yards and a touchdown with those catches. DeMarco Murray has had an up and down career, but it looks like he found a nice home behind the Tennessee Titans offensive line. Murray rushed for a total of 1,287 yards on 293 attempts and rushed for 9 touchdowns. Just like the rest of these running backs, DeMarco Murray was also targeted often (67 times) and caught 53 passes for an extra 377 yards and another touchdown. Once again Le’Veon proves that he isn’t just another elite running back, he is the most productive back in the NFL.
Bell is introducing a whole new style of running into the NFL, and I personally believe it will spread once coaches learn how to teach the style. I believe it doesn’t just help the running back find the best gap to hit, I think it makes the offensive line look better too. Where in the traditional NFL, your offensive line makes the running back look like the God, voila Ezekiel Elliott, Le’Veon Bell finds the gaps that other backs cant. When your back has the ball carrier vision that Bell does, it makes it a lot easier on your offensive line. Like I stated earlier, the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line was banged up, and average throughout most of the season. Pro Football focus shuffled them from 12-15, but they finished a top 5 offensive line. I will give credit, offensive line is one of the toughest position in sports and by no means am I dissing the players, I am just going off the numbers. When you have a back that doesn’t need great run blocking to begin with to average 4.9 yards a carry, your quarterback can more than likely get the pocket he needs to complete his reads, and find the open target.
Hype can really transform a player's career, which is why you don’t see offensive linemen getting the credit they deserve but someone like Odell was cast into the spotlight off one play. For most media it’s all about the pretty stats, and crazy highlight reel moments, which draws away from the average production of a whole season. Le’Veon Bell doesn’t have to carry his team on his back like others do, but just because he doesn’t have to, sure as hell doesn’t mean he can’t.
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