Hall-Of-Famer Terrell Davis Says Today's NFL 'Would Have Killed Me'

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Terrell Davis is a Hall-of-Fame running back, former league MVP, and the all-time rushing yards leader for the Denver Broncos, but his playing days compared to today's style of play are drastically different.

Davis played in an era when running backs, well, ran the football. In today's game, running backs are asked to do a number of things out of the backfield which he doesn't think would have benefitted him as a player.

In fact, he went as far as to say the NFL today "would have killed me" as a player.

"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."

Terrell Davis doesn't think he would survive in today's NFL. (Getty Images)

"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."

READ: POOR TERRELL DAVIS IS NOW A MEME

Davis certainly knows what he's talking about given that he played the position at the highest of levels, and it's certainly interesting to see these comments from one of the best to ever do it.

The timing of Davis' admission is of note as well given the displeasure among many running backs around the league, no matter how productive they may be on the field in a number of different areas.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.