Is New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell still elite? NFL executive poll says so
It may have been a down 2019 but Le’Veon Bell still has some clout in the league. This is the perception held by the league’s top decision makers that Bell is still a top-tier running back in the NFL according to an ESPN poll of executives.
The message from this poll: Bell’s less than flashy showing in 2019 isn’t a true indicator of his talent and game-changing ability.
Last offseason, the New York Jets made a splash in signing Bell, the 28-year old running back who has made All-Pro three times in his career. But his first year in the Jets was far from smooth with Bell racking up just 789 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. His 3.2 yards per carry were the lowest of his five NFL seasons.
Truthfully, it wasn’t Bell’s fault. In fact, it was pretty remarkable that he got the traction he did considering the state of the Jets offensive line. Consistently hit behind the line of scrimmage, Bell did well to get any type of positive yards in 2019.
On Thursday, ESPN.com released their poll of league executives which had Bell ranked as the tenth best running back in the league. This comes in stark contrast to the perception that the Jets made a mistake last offseason when then general manager Mike Maccagnan signed Bell as a free agent.
Turns out that the rest of the league’s brass thinks that Bell can still be a very good player.
It also underscores that Bell, if given even an adequate offensive line, could be an asset to the offense. This offseason, the Jets put considerably resources into rebuilding their line, a unit which could feature five new starters this year from what took the field Week 1 of last season.
Bell is the top running back from the AFC East on the list and the sixth best in the AFC.
If the rebuilt offensive line can open some lanes for Bell this year, there is the potential for the offense to have some success. On a personal level, Bell figures to improve on last year’s output. The line is better and the offense should be more balanced as well.
He also got some needed depth in veteran running back Frank Gore and fourth round pick La’Mical Perine. Both running backs add a different dimension to the offense, meaning that Bell doesn’t have to carry quite as much of a load this season.
