Reggie Bush wasn't shy about heaping big-time praise upon Steelers 2020 fourth-round draft pick Anthony McFarland.
Drafted with the Steelers' first of two fourth-round picks, 124th overall, McFarland projects as a speedy, game-changing runner who could inject life and big-play ability into the Steelers' backfield.
Bush certainly sees it — and he says McFarland can provide not only that change of pace but so much more.
"The other guy I'm really excited about is Anthony McFarland, a running back from Maryland," Bush recently said on Fox Football Now with Curt Menefee. "Kid can flat-out fly. Explosive. He is a game-breaking type of player, and I think he has the ability to be just as good as Le'Veon Bell, if not better."
Oh, yes. You read that correctly. Bush said McFarland can be just as good as Bell — or better.
Bell is ranked fourth in Steelers history with 5,336 rushing yards (just behind Willie Parker's third-place mark of 5,378) despite playing only 62 games in the black and gold. It wasn't just his rushing, either. In Pittsburgh, Bell established himself as one of the game's all-time best dual-threat running backs, catching 83 passes in 2014 and surpassing that figure in 2017 with 85 receptions, earning first-team All-Pro honors in each of those seasons. His 2014 season saw him put up 2,215 all-purpose yards, while he nearly hit 2,000 on two other occasions as well, registering 1,884 yards in 2016 and 1,946 yards in 2017.
So, yeah. All that considered, Menefee's reaction — repeatedly saying "What?!" and looking flabbergasted — was appropriate.
But Bush stood behind his words.
"Yes. I like him that much," Bush said. "If you watch him in college, you watch and you see he has the ability to play out of the backfield, he can catch the ball in space, he's explosive and the Pittsburgh Steelers love to run the football — but it's the way they love to run the football. They use those tackles and those tight ends, and they pull. And what that does for running backs is, if they just get a crease, you get a running back like Anthony McFarland, he just gets a crease [and] he's gone."
Here's the video for those of you who need proof of such a claim:
Last night on #FoxFootballNow, @ReggieBush stated he believes that new @steelers running back, @AnttMacc_, could be as good if not better than Le’Veon Bell!! Reggie knows running backs and I trust his football mind, what do you all think? #FootballTalk pic.twitter.com/If1YdNBIDw
— Curt Menefee (@curtmenefee) May 5, 2020
At Maryland, McFarland averaged a ridiculous 6.7 yards per carry across two seasons, appearing in 23 games total. He rushed for 1,034 yards on 131 attempts in his freshman season then doubled back to score nine total touchdowns in his injury-hampered sophomore campaign.
His best work as a freshman — a 298-yard performance against Ohio State — gives some validity to Bush's claim:
But we're talking about Bell here, arguably the most talented back in Steelers history. McFarland needs to, you know, make the 53-man roster and everything before any of these comparisons can take shape.
No pressure.
