A former NFL coach and personnel executive, Kirwan is ranking the best players at each position in the league and has tabbed the dynamic McCoy as the eighth-best back in all of football. Kirwan has McCoy ranked ahead of Pro Bowl players like Baltimore's Ray Rice and San Francisco's Frank Gore among many others. There are 10 running backs and a fullback on the NFL Network Top 100 list, which was determined by a vote of the players. Kirwan is such a fan of McCoy that he wrote an entire story dedicated to "champion" the cause for McCoy's inclusion on the list.
First, Kirwan noted that McCoy had an explosive run rate of one every 7.3 carries in 2010. An explosive run is one of more than 10 yards. Kansas City's Jamaal Charles had one every five attempts, which was the best in the NFL. McCoy's rate was better than NFL rushing champ Arian Foster, Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew and Steven Jackson.
Kirwan then argued that the modern running back must do more than just run in-between the tackles. He must be able to catch the ball out of the backfield as well. McCoy was first among all running backs with 78 catches and fourth in the league overall in yards from scrimmage. Every time McCoy touched the ball, he gained 5.86 yards. Kirwan compared that to Johnson who averaged 4.46 yards per touch. In fact, Johnson had fewer total yards and even one fewer touchdown than McCoy.
McCoy goes under the radar with the likes of Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson on this team. There also isn't a way to measure heart after McCoy played through a cracked rib in the game against Washington as well as the following week's win in San Francisco. McCoy has continued the legacy of great starting running backs in Philadelphia and is only about to enter his third NFL season in 2011.
