#6. Le’Veon Bell– You come across football players that can do a wide variety of things to make their versatility stand out. Then, you have this guy that goes above and beyond and proves he’s the top guy at what he does and that’s what sets him apart from so many other running backs in the game today. I’m talking about that guy in Pittsburgh. Le’Veon Bell comes in as my sixth best player in the NFL and my top rated running back heading into the 2017 season. As I said up top in the opening sentences, some guys are good at what they do, this guy is great and he’s considered by many to be the best running back in the business today. The first thing that stood out to me about him is how conditioned he is. He’s so in shape and that’s why the Steelers hand the ball off to him as much as possible. Now, let’s talk about the moves. That’s the first thing that stands out with most people about Le’Veon. His ability to allow the hole to open up, use his field vision and patience is something that I’ve never seen from a running back. He waits and then he executes. He’s so shifty with his moves. You could think he’s going one way and then bam! He plants his foot down and he’s going the opposite way. As a defender, you need to get to him before he can find open space because if and when he does, there’s no stopping him and it really doesn’t matter where his team may be lined up with the football. They could be backed up or in the red zone and once that ball is in his hands, he’s a threat for a big gain and possibly, a touchdown. He sits back first, waits, gets a little burst and then he’s in the red zone for six. The game against the Buffalo Bills stands out to me the most from his 2016 campaign. He had the best game of his career and ran through and around the Bills. What made what he did even more impressive was he ran for 236 yards in the snow on 38 carries and scored three touchdowns. I see so much of Marshall Faulk and Barry Sanders when I watch Le’Veon Bell run. He displays the patience of Marshall and allows the holes to open up and lets the play come to him and he has the springing ability of Barry especially when he’s in the open field. If he can remain healthy, he will be a regular on lists like these for years to come.
