Detroit Lions: Who is the most versatile running back in team history?

During the course of Barry’s career in Detroit, he always displayed dignity, grace and the willingness to do whatever was asked of him. He was a willing blocker that was sometimes overlooked. The vast majority of his blocking came in pass-protection. While he was described by some as a finesse blocker, there were times that he did put a defender on the ground.

Barry was also a willing receiver, but the extent of his pass routes were pretty much limited to flat patterns and making defenders miss after the catch, which he excelled at in all situations. However, his hands were not always as reliable as his feet.

In other words, Barry was always a weapon that sent chills down the spines of defenders, but when opponents saw him going out for a pass, they knew they had a chance.

Barry was inhumanly great, but he wasn’t quite as versatile as another All-American back who hit the Silverdome running almost a decade before Sanders. An outstanding back from the University of Oklahoma who Barry lists as one of his childhood hero’s.

That would be the Lions previous Heisman winner named Billy Sims.

Sims was considered one of the best prospects to come out of college in quite a while and the Lions wasted little time using the first pick in the 1980 NFL Draft to select Sims and hitch their fate to his wagon.

As a rookie phenom, he helped turn a 2-14 team into a 9-7 playoff contender. Billy ran around, over and even through NFL defenders with regularity as he finished the season with 1,303 yards rushing.

As much as Sims was a human highlight film with the ball in his hands he was also one of the leagues better blockers. Like Sanders he was willing to do the dirty work in order to help the team win and he did it to devastating effect. When he would block for one of his backfield mates like Dexter Bussey or Rick Kane, he performed like a pulling guard.