Zeke vs Barkley: Which is best RB in NFL?

[CouchCoach]

Barkley is an interesting case. You have a guy who is bigger than Zeke but runs small. This isnt just because of the Giants offensive line. He ran the same way at Penn State. Too many loss plays for my liking. Barkleys game relies on speed and sudden cuts. It works for him. But what happens when he loses a step? He will. Eveyone does. If Zeke chooses to he could evolve into a Marshawn Lynch older back. Lynch was a smaller quicker version of himself in college. He was able to transform his game to the NFL. Will Barkley be able to be the tough runner? Will the punishment wear Zeke down? I will say that Zeke is built in a way that few others have been. He looks like a guy that is almost unbreakable.

This is a good argument and a good problem both the Cowboys and the Giants have.


As for Gurley...nah.... I've never seen enough from him to show he is more than a great McVey system back. Doesnt have Barkleys burst or cuts or Zeke toughness. He seems like a lesser back than either of these guys. But again for the Rams this is a good problem to have.

I first saw Gurley at UGA and was blown away with what he could do. Like Elliott, he's a former hurdles record holder and he was as impressive to me as Barkley was at Penn St. But then he got injured but was so impressive before that he was still taken in the 1st round while he still couldn't play.

I've seen glimpses of the old Gurley but nothing sustained. I do think if he'd never had that first knee injury, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. LA was crazy to give him that contract and they will regret it.

 

[johneric8]

Lets deal with facts based on what we have seen. Zeke gets tough yards which equals a higher percentage of first downs which helps drives stay alive, and barkley isn't as strong getting tough yards but can break long runs more often than zeke. Logic tells me go with the guy that gets more yards and gives you a higher chance of first downs. So I would say Zeke is better back to have on a team that wants to keep the ball away from offenses. That should be the end goal right?

 

[CouchCoach]

Many questions.

And some yet to be answered by the rookies this season. And the next draft is even better for RB's.

The offensive systems make it hard to judge RB's because they aren't used the same way. They also don't have the same OL's or compliment of players around them. And contrary to what some beleive, Elliott doesn't see as many stacked boxes as a lot of the RB's on other teams.

 

[CouchCoach]

Lets deal with facts based on what we have seen. Zeke gets tough yards which equals a higher percentage of first downs which helps drives stay alive, and barkley isn't as strong getting tough yards but can break long runs more often than zeke. Logic tells me go with the guy that gets more yards and gives you a higher chance of first downs. So I would say Zeke is better back to have on a team that wants to keep the ball away from offenses. That should be the end goal right?

It is for this team. Whether that should be the goal is the larger question.

If your D is dependent on the RB to be their best player, you have a problem before you get on the field. TOP isn't what it used to be, it's POP, Points Off Possessions, that matters now and a grind it out offense, while they are keeping their D on the bench, they're also keeping the other O resting on the other bench.

 

[JBond]

Barkley had 7 games in 2018 that he had less than 3.35 yards per carry.

Zeke has had 5 in his career!

Put them both behind the same line and see what happens. I believe this forum probably underestimates Barkley's toughness between the tackles. His line is garbage.

 

[IAmLegend]

Saquon put up over 1,300 yards and 11 rushing TD’s as a Rookie behind a subpar O-Line... Oh and he also had over 700 yards receiving and another 4 TD’s through the air... At 21 years old. He’s a monster.

Faster, more explosive, more elusive, and overall just more athletic than Zeke. Sorry folks. Barkley's the better back. But that’s not a slight on Zeke, who is great in his own right.

 

[zrinkill]

Zeke

 

[JoeKing]

Both are very good. I'm too much of a Cowboys fan to be objective about this though. Zeke is the leading yards rusher so I'll give him the edge.

 

[ItzKelz]

I would take Zeke, Gurley and Kamara over Barkley

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

Who says its between these two?

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

Zeke now. Barkley has another few more years like last then its obviously him and he will be paid as such.

Wasnt Zeke coined as the best runningback after his rookie season on here?

 

[Super_Kazuya]

Who says its between these two?

Apparently a lot of homers who don’t watch other games...

 

[The Natural]

Does off field behavior and not being a knucklehead count in the decision or is this purely on field?

the question is who is the best running back, does that sound like it includes anything beyond the football field

 

[CouchCoach]

Who says its between these two?

Because they're in this game Sunday, I am assuming. And that would really be the only marquis matchup between the two teams.

 

[CouchCoach]

the question is who is the best running back, does that sound like it includes anything beyond the football field

Nope, he didn't ask about the person, just what he does on the field.

 

[IAmLegend]

Who says its between these two?

Well it’s definitely between these two and Gurley as the best overall RB in the league right now.

Melvin Gordon and Alvin Kamara are both a tier below, and Le’Veon Bell is a wildcard because he hadn’t played football in a year and a half. With that said, if he comes back as the old Le’Veon, he’s right there in the mix too.

 

[quickccc]

very true its the old whos better Emmitt(Zeke) vs Barry(Barkley) at that time Thurman had an argument(Gurley) and others..Just like today 10 really good backs it can go in any argument..Zeke gets nod for tie break given health/durability..

top 10

Zeke
Barkley
Gurley
Kamara
Johnson
Bell
Fournette(when healthy)
Mcaffrey
Gordon
Cook

runner ups
henry
michel
Conner
Linsey

take your pick

Good job, that's kool ..and da gang;

I had my top 10 RBs looking something like this:
1) zeke elliott
2) saquon barkley
3) todd gurley
4) leveon bell
5) alvin kamara
6) david johnson
7) melvin gordon
8) kareem hunt
9) christian mcCaffrey
10) phillip lindsey

 

[gjkoeppen]

Zeke Elliott vs Saquon Barkley NYG- who is the best RB in NFL ?

I admit that I go back and forth with this question and I can see why there’s always a comparison between the two.
Both RBs have great run instincts, extremely athletic (hurdling tacklers) have been extremely productive and possess dangerous breakaway ability.
Both players have receiving ability that’s been under-utilized with their respective teams, imo. But if used properly can be very dangerous.

- Zeke is a one cut runner who seems more powerful between the tackles, and gets more yardage after contact. I’ve heard testimonies from opposing players say that Zeke tends to wear you
down with his power and relentless, ..drive while you still have to always be on alert of his ability to break a play open - whether its' a run play or that patented screen pass
Plus Zeke is a better blitz blocker than Barkley.

- Barkley is probably the most explosive breakaway back in the entire NFL – I think he is more elusive than Zeke, harder to bring down in the open field, (tacklers just slide off his legs like butter)
And he has an edge in that special extra gear to hit the home TD run sprint – even more than zeke.

So what are your thoughts when comparing the two RBs ?

I'll give you the reason I lean towards Barkley. So far Barkley hasn't done things in his off season to make the giants worried about whether he's going to get suspended. Elliott has proved to the Cowboys that he can not give them the same ease in thinking. With Elliott it's not a case of if but when.
.

 

[TexasHillbilly]

I look at them exactly in the same way I did in the Emmitt-Barry Sanders debate. Sanders would wow you more than Emmitt. He was a “prettier” runner. He would break more long, ankle-breaking runs. Emmitt was much more consistent and more dependable. He got the yards when you absolutely needed it. He put the team on his back at times. He ended games. If you’re down 4 with 50 seconds to go on the 4 yard line in the Super Bowl, who do you want to give the ball to? The answer is clearly Emmitt. Emmitt was the better, more complete back. Zeke is Emmitt and Barkley is Sanders. Thus endeth the lesson.

The real question is who has the most rushing yards? I rest my case.

 

[johneric8]

It is for this team. Whether that should be the goal is the larger question.

If your D is dependent on the RB to be their best player, you have a problem before you get on the field. TOP isn't what it used to be, it's POP, Points Off Possessions, that matters now and a grind it out offense, while they are keeping their D on the bench, they're also keeping the other O resting on the other bench.

I understand what you're saying, but look at it this way, the cowboys offense does play ball control style, but it also can strike fast as proven when game is on the line. Just look at the amount of comebacks Dak has at this point in his short career. I also never said our Defense was dependent on zeke or a ball control offense, it's just the style they play. Having said that, I think we can all agree that something has to change with this in terms of on we keep defenses off balance. Our defense is very good, so I don't see a ball controlled offense a necessity at all, but just the style of our coach which I know many of us don't like. But make no mistake about it, keeping the ball out of the hands of good NFL offenses with some steady drives and three and outs on the defensive side of the ball is a fine recipe, I just don't think that the team should rely on that.

Offensively the cowboys really need to be less predictable if they want to move further to their goals, and hopefully the addition of the beaver calling plays this can be of some major help. I think all of us can agree that watching us run the same plays from the same static formations has been an utter joke in many ways and it's time to change things around. Just having the opposing defense guessing a bit would do us wonders in terms of being able to strike quicker and more often.

The last thing I'm going to say is that I still think that Zeke is a better all around back and can get the tougher yards, but can still do many of the things SB can do, and I think this season will tell us quite a bit.