LOS ANGELES — In a recent discussion, former NFL Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis shared his thoughts on the current state of running backs in the NFL and highlighted a few players catching his eye. Bettis, also known as “The Bus” for his powerful running style during his illustrious career with the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers, expressed concern about the dwindling presence of big, physical running backs like himself in today’s NFL.
When observing the running back position in the NFL today, if you look mainly at the running backs, only a few names come to mind if a running back reminds anyone of Bettis’ style.
Bettis mentioned Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Henry as a player who might come close. “You got Henry that’s at Baltimore now. He’s probably the only one physically around the size,” he noted, acknowledging Henry’s similar physicality.
However, he admitted, “Nobody that kind of looks like me or runs like me.”
Bettis elaborated on the broader trend, suggesting that the decline in bigger running backs stems from changes at the college level. “The age of the really big running back is not dead, but it’s not there because in college, the big running backs aren’t revered,” he explained. The transformation of these athletes into tight ends or linebackers limits the NFL’s ability to draft players similar to those of Bettis’s era.
“Unfortunately, we just don’t have them in the college ranks they can draw from in the NFL,” he lamented.
Shifting the focus to a promising talent, Bettis spoke highly of Kyron Williams, a dynamic running back from Bettis’s alma mater Notre Dame who currently plays for the Los Angeles Rams. “I’ve been a fan of his, obviously, since college,” he revealed. Bettis appreciated Williams’s skills and potential, recounting,
“I always thought that he had the ability to play on the next level.”
Despite concerns about Williams’s size, Bettis believes he has already proven himself capable. “The big question was his size. Was he capable? I think he more than proved that last year.” Bettis anticipates that a healthy season could further showcase Williams’s talents. “I think a full, healthy season this year, I think he’s going to show a lot of people that he’s a special football player because he has the ability to do everything,” he affirmed.
Bettis is confident in Williams’s ability to handle significant workload demands: “A lot of people will say, ‘Oh, can he take 20, 25 carries a game?’ He can do that. He’s done that.” Bettis concluded with a hopeful outlook for Williams, stating, “I think he has the potential to be special.“
In an NFL that is continually evolving, Jerome Bettis remains hopeful for the resurgence of formidable running backs while supporting the new generation of versatile players like Williams.
*Currently Williams has 360 yards with six touchdowns, while Henry has 572 yards with six touchdowns.
