WATCH: Why Ryan Clark favors Jets' Le'Veon Bell over Giants' Saquon Barkley as NY RB king

Many people are still sleeping on Le'Veon Bell but his former teammate isn't one of them.

Bell and ex-Steelers safety Ryan Clark had some Twitter beef in 2017. However, two years later that hasn't diluted the ESPN analyst's judgement on the three-time Pro Bowl running back.

With the Jets and Giants set to open up the preseason on Thursday night, it was asked on ESPN's First Take who will have a better season at running back between Bell and Saquon Barkley.

Clark and Max Kellerman had differing views, with the former selecting Bell and the latter siding with Barkley.

In his first pro season in 2018, the 22-year-old Barkley amassed 352 touches, 2,028 yards from scrimmage and 15 total touchdowns en route to being a First-team All-Pro selection and Rookie of the Year.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Bell sat out all of last season with the Steelers due to a contract dispute. In his most recent season in 2017, Bell tallied 406 touches, 1,946 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns.

Clark appreciates the raw athleticism of Barkley but is going with Bell because of his craftiness and effectiveness.

"There is this great talent and we see all these things that Saquon can do physically and we think to ourselves: 'Well the trajectory of it says that he should be better than Le'Veon Bell.'" Clark said. "Not so fast because when I look at Jerry Rice and I look at Antonio Brown, two of the guys that are going to be considered the tops to ever play their position, we don't look at them and say that they're the most talented to ever do it. We don't think that they're the fastest but they're the most effective."

Clark also points to the personnel of the Jets as a factor in why Bell will have a better season than Barkley.

14 x 26 🔥 pic.twitter.com/lkpjcGgsQ6
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) August 3, 2019

"And now you're on this team with Sam Darnold. You're on this team that picks up Jamison Crowder. You go out and you get a center [Kelechi Osemele] from the Raiders," Clark said. "Now you've assembled a line and you have a quarterback who's better, a quarterback who's moving in a different direction. You have a team that actually has healthy wide receivers in Robby Anderson and Quincy Enunwa."

Kellerman mentioned the fact that Barkley thrived in spite of aging quarterback Eli Manning, which triggered Clark to further his case for Bell.

"When Le'Veon Bell balled like that in Pittsburgh, it wasn't because they didn't have anybody else," Clark said. "They had a lot of people but he was so good that even with Antonio Brown on the team, you needed to get the ball in his hands."

When Kellerman cited that Bell was the focal point offensively with the Steelers, Clark responded: ''That's what he's going to be in New York."

J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets LETS GET IT! pic.twitter.com/vFBEzA7XK5
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) August 8, 2019

Bell is sitting out the preseason opener but he'll have the chance to prove Clark correct when the Jets and Giants play in the regular season on Nov. 10. The running back king of New York debate is bound to be one the most fascinating battles in the NFL.