NFL legend Terrell Davis offers sobering thought on league: 'Today's game would have killed me'

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Terrell Davis was one of the most prolific running backs of his era.

The Hall of Famer rushed for more than 2,000 yards during the 1998 season as he picked up an NFL MVP award and his second Offensive Player of the Year Award en route to a Denver Broncos Super Bowl title.

Though he only played seven seasons, Davis’ impact on the NFL and the Broncos was profound. He was a workhorse who could find any seam and bolt through it. However, as he takes a look at the landscape of today’s NFL, even he admits he would have had a really tough time.

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New York Giants safety Sam Garnes facemasks Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis, right, in the first quarter of their Dec. 13 game at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images)

"Today's game would have killed me," Davis told The Athletic in a recent interview. "It's funny now. I coach youth football, and I coach the old-school way for running backs, but most of my periods with them are spent running routes because I know that's where the game is. I can't get them stuck in 1990 where it was all about how you run zone and wide zones and counters and draws.

"They're not running that stuff now. I'm giving them some of it, but most of what I give them is pass protection and receiver drills. I want them to be up with the times, so that when they go to the next level they're not behind. I would never teach that if the game was played the way I played because you didn't need to know that."

Terrell Davis is seen at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 26, 2019 in Indianapolis. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

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Davis’ comments come as running backs have expressed their displeasure with their market value getting depressed despite the influx of backs who not only can run in between the tackles and pass block but also catch passes as well.

Davis never had more than 49 receptions in any of his seven seasons, while a player like New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley – who will play the 2023 on the franchise tag – had 50 or more receptions in three of his first five seasons in the NFL, including 91 in his rookie year.

Saquon Barkley, #26 of the New York Giants, during training camp at NY Giants Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Aug. 1, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

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The two-time Super Bowl champ saw his career get cut short because of injuries. His final season was in 2001 when he appeared in eight games.