For a franchise that has Hall of Fame running backs in Franco Harris, John Henry Johnson and Jerome Bettis and received superlative rushing performances in recent years from Willie Parker and Le’Veon Bell, the Pittsburgh Steelers achieved history of another sort in 2019.
Steelers running backs collectively produced one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Consider James Conner’s 464 yards rushing were the fewest by a team leader since a rookie named Don Shy had 341 in 1967, and that is one reason the Steelers went 8-8 and missed the playoffs for a second year in a row.
With second-year and rookie quarterbacks getting all but two of the starts, the Steelers were unable to support their young passers with a consistent running game. The Steelers finished No. 29 in the NFL in rushing and this contributed to an offense that averaged 10 points over the final three weeks of the season.
The mandate to improve the running game was made by team president Art Rooney II immediately after the season ended.
“I would like to see us be a team that can be more consistent running the football,” Rooney said. “I think that has to be a part of the game.”
The five running backs who had the most carries and yards for the Steelers last season all remain under contract. Conner, though, is entering the final season of his rookie deal. Given his injury history — he missed six games because of shoulder and thigh injuries — the Steelers could be looking for a more dependable running back in the NFL Draft rather than provide Conner an extension.
General manager Kevin Colbert continues to put his support behind Conner, who made the Pro Bowl in 2018 when he led the Steelers with 973 yards in 13 games. But that doesn’t mean Colbert won’t take a running back if the right candidate is available when the Steelers make their first selection at No. 49. Or, perhaps when their next turn arises at No. 102.
“What we talked about with James when those injuries were occurring is, ‘Look this is an acute injury, it happened, we know you’re going to get through it and that’s why we’re looking at this coming season,’ ” Colbert said. “James is a Pro Bowl player who had an injury-type situation last year.
“We are confident he’ll be prepared physically to face that challenge. That’s not going to be a question, but again it’s our job to make sure we have options and alternatives and competition ready to go, and that’ll be what we’ll be working on.”
The Steelers believe the other running backs on the roster — Benny Snell, Jaylen Samuels, Kerrith Whyte and Trey Edmunds — are complementary pieces.
Prospects who could be available on the draft’s second day include some workhorse running backs, beginning with Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor.
Taylor is a 5-foot-10, 226-pound bruiser who totaled 6,174 yards in three seasons — an average of 2,058 yards per year. He scored 50 touchdown and showed he could be used as a dual threat out of the backfield by catching 26 passes for 252 yards and five touchdowns as a junior.
“If you look at the next level, what separates the great backs from the elite backs is really them playing on an elite level day in and day out every Sunday,” Taylor said. “I think that’s one of the biggest thing that separates me is my ability to be consistent year in and year.”
The concern with Taylor is that Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst — to borrow a Mike Tomlin expression — ran the wheels off him in each of his three seasons on campus. Taylor totaled 926 carries, an average of 308 per season.
Taylor grew up emulating former Houston Texans running back Arian Foster, and it’s an apt comparison. Foster was a workhorse runner whose career essentially petered out after six seasons.
“He’s been remarkably durable, 968 touches is stupid and the ability to stay on the field is a credit to him,” ESPN analyst Todd McShay said. “But you have to have some concern because history tells us that a running back can only take so many hits.”
Georgia’s D’Andre Swift and Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins are two of the other premier runners in the Class of 2020. If the trio of Swift, Dobbins and Taylor is gone by the middle of the second round, the Steelers could wait until their compensatory pick in the third round to select a running back.
Prospects who could be available in that range, according to ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., are Florida State’s Cam Akers, LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Utah’s Zack Moss and Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
Akers, who is 5-10, 217 pounds, met formally with the Steelers at the NFL Combine.
“There is running back depth there that will allow that to happen,” Kiper said.
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at jrutter@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL
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