Le'Veon Bell Bristles After Being Called Top-5 RB, Argues Case for Best Back

Pittsburgh Steelers superstar Le'Veon Bell said his consistent success and the fact he's a "great all-around football player" separate him from the pack at a deep running back position.

Bell appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Friday and quickly interrupted when the host suggested he was a top-five back. He then laid out his case against the likes of the Arizona Cardinals' David Johnson and Los Angeles Rams' Todd Gurley II:

The 25-year-old playmaker is coming off another monster year for the Steelers. He led the NFL with 321 rushing attempts and tallied 85 catches en route to 1,946 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns across 15 games.

In all, he's tallied 7,996 offensive yards in 62 games since Pittsburgh selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft. That's an average of 129 yards per contest.

Now he's angling for a new long-term contract after playing the 2017 campaign under the franchise tag.

Although he's suggested he would consider retirement if tagged for a second straight year, he also sounded an optimistic tone last month about the state of negotiations by saying the sides are a "lot closer" than last year, per Mark Kaboly‏ of The Athletic.

Ultimately, it's no surprise talks about a potential long-term deal have been slow because there are so few comparable to Bell given his massive workload. Johnson and Gurley can come close when healthy, but their track record isn't quite as long as the Steelers standout.

It will make his contract discussions with Pittsburgh one of the top stories to watch leading up to the franchise tag-deadline March 6.