I’m not so sure about that. I love Emmitt Smith, but I get tired of hearing how Zeke only looked good because he had one of the greatest offensive lines ever assembled. The offensive line matters, but so do the coaching staff, the defense, and the entire team. The way opponents play you and plan for you is about the whole team, if they have to respect the receivers, they back off and let Emmitt do his thing. Those “pick your poison” teams were great, and that’s why it’s hard to choose just four players. It’s the classic chicken-or-egg question: what truly made Emmitt great, besides his talent as a running back? Did he just happen to be on one of the best teams with one of the best offensive lines? Same with Troy, people have said he was carried, just a really good player who benefited from a great team.
These debates can go on forever, which is why I say there’s no way to pick four players from two dynasties and some of the best teams ever assembled in the NFL. Even in this era, Zeke is a great back, but I wonder what he could’ve done playing with Troy, Michael, that offensive line, that defense, and that coaching staff in a run-heavy era.
Emmitt Smith was a great player and deserves to be up there, but there will always be a “but.”