LeSean McCoy is a man of confidence. The Philadelphia Eagles running back is fresh off a season where he led the league in yards and he is very confident he can repeat the success despite a healthy Adrian Peterson being on the field. When asked, a casual NFL fan would name Peterson the best back in the league especially after his near record-breaking year following an ACL injury. However, McCoy feels like he is being overlooked and is claiming he is better than the Vikings' veteran.
"My brother always rips me all the time, trying to make me play harder. I say, 'I'm the best,' and he'll say, 'Did Adrian Peterson retire?' I look at the last three years and everything. I think AP has been the best back for so long, and he's been doing it for so long, that's why he automatically gets the best running back [title]," McCoy said, via ESPN.com. "But the last three years? I've been All-Pro, first-team, twice. I never leave the field. I block. I catch. I never leave the field. I don't have anybody do my job; I do it myself. Tons of credit goes out to Adrian Peterson. I'm a big fan of his, for sure. But I feel I'm the best."
McCoy certainly has a resume that would inspire the confidence. He posted 1,607 yards last season, leading the league. He ranked first in touchdowns in 2011 when he had 17. Those are good numbers. Peterson had 1,266 yards last year, but did post 2.097 yards in 2012 when he nearly broke the record set by Eric Dickerson.
McCoy is expected to return to that dominating self that may or may not be the best in the league. The Eagles no longer have DeSean Jackson to add that dynamic level to the offense and Chip Kelly is expecting the running back to help replace that. The addition of Darren Sproles could actually hurt McCoy's quest to once again lead the league, considering he has his own impressive resume that will pose a threat.
While McCoy continues to boast his talent around, he is noting that during the NFL Draft, he was rooting for Johnny Manziel to get picked up by the Eagles. Being a fan is nice, but McCoy took it a bit too far saying the rookie quarterback would have taken their offense to another level. Philadelphia is fully invested in Nick Foles, someone who brought a fair share of success to the Eagles last season.
"I'm a Johnny-guy, I really am, since college," McCoy said. "He's played in the best conference [SEC], he's played well, he has tons of swag, I mean he's an athlete. He's a quarterback and I thought he'd be a good matchup for us. Nick is good. I don't think people really appreciate him because he is so new. He can play. I think when we move a guy like Michael Vick, and Michael Vick can still play, to put Nick in the position to start he must be doing something good. You'll really see this year he's the real deal."
McCoy was quick to defend his current quarterback and even voiced his support for all the front offices moves that took place this offseason. Now he just needs to follow up on being the best this season.
