I usually agree with you but not this time. Payton was a dynamo, the most aggressive RB I've ever seen. He was ten times mored physical than Curtis Martin but not as fluid. In his early years Walter had plenty of spectacular plays, usually running over one defender then eluding two or three more. Plus he had that athletic arrogance the superstars possess, holding the ball away from his body in one hand while making the great runs. I think Gale Sayers is the best pure HB I've ever seen, but Payton got the most out of his ability and was far superior to Curtis Martin.
What was this, a Bo Jackson thread, right? As I've posted before, Bo was a freak but not nearly to the degree of Marcus Dupree who was a freshman at Oklahoma in '82 the same year Bo Jackson was a freshman at Auburn. Simply no comparison when both were healthy. The well received recruiting book was called The Courting of Marcus Dupree, not The Courting of Bo Jackson. Dupree may have been the most heavily recruited high schooler of all time. I was new at USC that year and John Robinson was absolutely desperate to replace Marcus Allen with Marcus Dupree.
Bo was a slasher while Dupree could do that plus the quick elusive moves. Also Dupree was much bigger than Bo and only a shade slower, if slower at all. I still can't find Marcus Dupree highlights on the internet from his frosh year at Oklahoma. The younger fans would be amazed at his combo of size, speed and moves, all necessary to string 7 straight games with at least a 70 yard TD run.
I'm almost sure you guys would be asking the same thing if you drafted Benson, Cadillac or Clarett 
