Kenneth Gainwell knows all about what a great running back looks like.
While the 27-year-old is currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he won a Super Bowl with Saquon Barkley on the Philadelphia Eagles. That was the year Barkley won Offensive Player of the Year after becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for at least 2,000 yards in a single season.
Gainwell has been in the NFL since 2021 and has also played with D'Andre Swift when he went to the Pro Bowl as a member of Philadelphia. When asked who the best running back in the game currently is, he mentioned two names -- Bijan Robinson and Derrick Henry.
"I gotta give it to Bijan Robinson right now or Derrick Henry," said Gainwell in a one-on-one interview. "But everybody's not
gonna look at Derrick Henry as being probably the best in the league right now. But Derrick Henry is doing something special, man. He's top of the line, all that. But the best running back right now in today's game is Bijan."
The veteran running back ultimately concluded that the Atlanta Falcons' running back is the best in the game because of his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Robinson is coming off of a season in which he caught 79 passes for 820 yards and four touchdowns. He actually ranked second on the Falcons in receptions last season and garnered his first First-Team All-Pro selection.
"Yeah, most definitely," said Gainwell. "That puts him over everybody."
Gainwell will get to experience that up close and personal twice a year as a new member of the Buccaneers. He'll face the Robinson-led Falcons in Week 8 and once again in Week 15. Through the first three weeks of the season, Robinson ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards (349) and is coming off a game in which he ran for 194 yards and two touchdowns while leading the Falcons to an upset victory over the Green Bay Packers.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Buccaneers' Kenneth Gainwell reveals who is the NFL's best running back
