Michael Irvin didn’t mince his words when he compared former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith and former Philadelphia Eagles star LeSean McCoy. After Emmanuel Acho opined that his Speakeasy co-host was a better RB than Smith, Irvin had to take a stand for Smith. 

Irvin believed that McCoy was, in no way, better than Smith. While he branded McCoy as “great,” he claimed that Smith was “greatness.” He admitted that the Eagles star was more elusive in the open field. Yet, Irvin argued that Smith’s unmatched durability and ability to stay on his feet were far more valuable to winning football games. 

McCoy responded with a bold take of his own: “I do respect Emmitt, but I have my own opinion. And I did watch [film] like before games. I wasn’t watching Emmitt Smith highlights to get me going, to get me excited. I wasn’t.”

“I respect what shady saying.. we as players always will respect the guys that paved the way..” former Eagles cornerback and Super Bowl winner Darius Slay Jr. wrote on X. “but it’s not a crime to think or kno u was a better player than the OG’s.” 

One cannot help but include Emmitt Smith when talking about the greatest running backs in the league. Irvin, himself known as the Playmaker, would know Smith’s worth, having played with and been among the pillars of Dallas’ offense in the 90s. Smith leads the list of running backs with the highest career rushing yards with 18,355 yards.

Meanwhile, McCoy is in 23rd position with 11,102 rushing yards. But according to McCoy, these numbers didn’t mean that Smith was a better running back. 

“Not to say [Smith] wasn’t a great back, as he was. But it’s like, you can’t even have an opinion no more. Is Emmitt more accomplished than I was? Yeah. But I don’t think he’s a better running back than me.”

He further named legends like Adrian Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinson and claimed that these names were certainly better than him. Peterson is fourth all-time on the list with 14,918 career regular-season yards.

“I love him, but I’m just being honest. I’m a running back. If I sit there and talk to other running backs, they’re going to say the same thing I’m saying.” 

There is one section of NFL fans who might side with McCoy in saying that Smith was not the greatest RB of all time. In fact, Smith himself said that it is tough for him to consider himself as the greatest, when there have been other greats before him. His body of work cannot be erased, but neither can that of other equally great running backs.

“When I look at what I’ve done, there’s no debating over the yardage at all. But there’s always going to be a debate on who’s the greatest,” he said on the NXT Chapter podcast. “Jim Brown during his era and settling the foundation for Walter Payton and Gale Sayers and others that come behind him. That foundation and what he went through and what he had to deal with during that era when people didn’t want him on the football field. That in itself is great all by itself because he’s standing for justice and injustice and fighting for injustice and everything else that opened up the door for others to follow.”

There is also the question of the era. The timelines in which Smith and someone like Peterson and McCoy played are very distinct, and so was the nature of the game. Someone who did not grow up watching Smith play cannot be expected to defend him. McCoy gave the former Dallas great his due flowers, but he also had an opinion of his own.

Smith’s all-time rushing crown and legacy remain untouchable. Meanwhile, McCoy refuses to back down on the eye test.