The Vikings' Adrian Peterson? The Titans' Chris Johnson?

Those elite NFL running backs have nothing on the Browns' Peyton Hillis. I know, let's not get carried away, but who would have predicted Hillis gracing the cover of a Madden video game before the likes of Peterson and Johnson?

Certainly not Hillis, who's not about to put himself in the class of what many consider the top two running backs in the NFL.

"I would never look at myself like that to tell you the truth." Hillis said in a phone interview with The News-Herald. "Even if I had 20 1,000-yard seasons, I would not think of myself as one of the greats. That's just not how I was raised. 

"I always felt, just go out and do my best, stay level-headed and stay humbled. Those guys are great football players and when I look at myself, I think of myself as just being good and I've got to get better. I think that's the mindset a guy like me needs if I want to stay around for a long time."

The Madden 12 video game with Hillis on the cover hits stores on Aug. 30.

- Mark Podolski