Should Pittsburgh Be In the Market For A Free-Agent RB?
Photo Credit: Bill Streicher via USA TODAY Sports
With marquee names like Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott still on the market, the value of running backs in the modern NFL is becoming more and more apparent.
Having a No. 1 back who pounds the ball 30-40 times per game, racks up tons of yards, and has a blockbuster franchise contract simply isn’t viable anymore. As a result, the Steelers should consider taking advantage of this trend and targeting a top free-agent to complement the their current tandem of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
Miles Sanders, David Montgomery, and Jamaal Williams are off the board, having already signed deals with new teams, but there are some names still available that the Steelers should look into, including Kareem Hunt, Leonard Fournette, and, yes, even Elliott.
Except for his off-the-field issues, Hunt shined during his stints in Cleveland and Kansas City. His versatility as both a runner and pass catcher are valuable to any offense, and his addition would give quarterback Kenny Pickett another weapon to help him continue to thrive.
When healthy, Fournette is a big, bruising downhill runner, which is something the Steelers haven’t necessarily had on their roster since Rashard Mendenhall. His durability is a concern, but he wouldn’t need to be an every-down guy and the Steelers could likely sign him cheap.
While some may think Elliott’s best days as a No. 1 option are behind him, he still has the capability to shine in the right situation. He’s still only 27 and is certainly capable of producing solid numbers. However, his contract demands might be too steep for the Steelers.
All three of those options are only 27 years old and still have plenty of years of football left. Other potential candidates available include Royce Freeman and Kenyan Drake.
As some of the top teams in the league demonstrated last season, it’s valuable to have several options in the backfield. The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles each had four different players with at least 50 carries last season. The San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens both had even more versatility in their running back rooms, with San Francisco having five players that had at least 40 carries, while the Ravens had six players with at least 40 carries.
The Steelers had just three players with at least 50 carries, with one of them being Pickett. Pittsburgh needs to keep Pickett healthy, so him carrying the ball that often is not sustainable. Another viable running back would take those carries out of his hands.
Having options would give the offense additional flexibility and versatility, which it desperately needs, especially with Public Enemy No. 1 Matt Canada continuing on as offensive coordinator.
Harris played all 17 games during the regular season last year but wasn’t 100% for the first half of it after entering the year with a left foot/ankle injury sustained during preseason practice. The injury slowed his production in an already sluggish offense, and the Steelers started the year 2-6. After the bye week, he had two breakout games against New Orleans and Cincinnati and the offense finally started to come back to life, as Pittsburgh closed out the year 7-2.
Had the team had another back to help shoulder the load when Harris wasn’t fully healthy, the offense wouldn’t have been so stagnant, some of those early losses could have been avoided, and the team would likely have made the playoffs.
It’s clear that players like Benny Snell Jr. and Anthony McFarland simply just aren’t good enough to get on the field consistently and make meaningful contributions to the offense. The Steelers have already moved on from Snell, releasing him earlier in the offseason, which opened up a spot in the running back room.
Snell’s spot would be filled by a marquee free-agency signing, but the Steelers could still let McFarland go and fill his spot with a young, up-and-coming undrafted free agent. That would leave four viable options at running back, along with Pickett’s occasional ability to utilize his legs. With a stable, consistent running game to help open up the offense and set up the passing game, the Steelers’ offense would be able to take the step forward to a level it hasn’t come close to reaching since the Killer B’s days of Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown.
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