Steelers Primed to Select a Running Back Round 1?

Scott Long

4/12/21

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team known for building through the draft, and in recent years have spent their early picks on the defensive side of the ball. In fact, the Steelers have not selected an offensive player in the first round since 2012, when they took David DeCastro, an offensive guard with the 24th overall selection. As for a skill position player, the Steelers have not used a first selection on one since 2008, when the team selected Rashard Mendenhall with the 23rd overall selection. However, this could be the year that the team bucks both trends and selects a running back in the first round.

The Steelers seem primed to spend the pick on an offensive player, if things go as they expect them to, with the team’s three biggest needs being running back, center and offensive tackle. While this does not guarantee a selection on the offensive side of the ball, it is the betting favorite. As for why running back is the most likely selection, that lies more in this year’s draft rankings and the availability of players at each of their top needs. This year’s offensive tackle class is fairly deep, and the Steelers have Chukwuma Okorafor and Zach Banner penciled in as the starting tackles, and both are more than capable of starting if need be. Banner is expected to start regardless as he signed a two-year deal with the team this offseason and was slated to start at right tackle for the team last year before suffering a season ending injury in the team’s opening game against the New York Giants. As for Okorafor, the team will look to bring in competition to start at left tackle, but in Banner’s absence last season he proved he is more than capable of filling in for Alejandro Villanueva, who left in free agency.

At center, unlike offensive tackle, the Steelers do not have such a luxury. Longtime center Maurkice Pouncey retired in the offseason, leaving a gaping hole at the position for this upcoming season. While the team did bring back B.J. Finney for some depth on the interior of the offensive line, he projects more as a swingman who can back up at center, as well as both guard positions. But this year’s center class features three strong possible selections, that are all slated to go either at the very end of the first round, or in the second round. Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey, Alabama’s Landon Dickerson and Wisconsin Whitewater’s Quinn Meinerz are the three center’s the team will likely target. While it is unlikely all three are there in the second round for Pittsburgh, it is likely that at least one of them slip to the 55th overall selection for the Steelers to select one of them.

Finally, running back, one of the team’s top three needs, features a top-heavy class this year. While there is some talent later in the draft, it appears that after the top three backs, the remaining selections are more likely to have success in more specific roles, rather than in a bell cow role, which is why it would make a lot of sense for the team to select one in the first round. The running game was a major issue for the Steelers, who ranked near the bottom of the league in nearly every rushing category, and they just lost last year’s starter, James Conner to free agency, leaving a huge hole for the team. The top three backs in this year’s class are Alabama’s Najee Harris, Clemson’s Travis Etienne and North Carolina’s Javonte Williams. While the lack of depth was addressed earlier, it’s also worth mentioning that unlike center, with their being a huge drop off at the running back position, and it being a premier position, it is unlikely that any of these three would still be around come the 55th overall selection, so if the Steelers want one, they will likely have to address the position round 1.

Najee Harris and Javonte Williams fit the team best schematically, as both are big and physical backs who don’t shy away from contact but can also catch the ball out of the backfield and hold up in pass protection. While, Etienne is also adept at carrying the ball between the tackles and catching out of the backfield, he does not possess the same build as the other two, so has question marks about his ability to hold up in pass protection. Etienne would not be a bad selection for the team either, but his question marks regarding his pass protection, as well as his smaller frame not fitting the mold of past Steelers running backs, lead him to being a much less likely Steelers selection. As for the other two, both have shown all around success at the collegiate level, with Harris having a bit more of a track record by staying for his Senior season and having big game experience in the National Championship this year, while Williams has the benefit of youth and fresh legs on his side, with him only being 20 years old, and having much less wear and tear, by bypassing his Senior season to enter the draft. As things currently stand, it would appear that if the Steelers stay at 24, Harris would be the most likely selection, while Williams would be the most likely selection if the team decides to trade back and add a few additional picks. However, the draft is unpredictable, and Harris could already be off the board at 24, so it is impossible to tell for sure.

While it will not be known until draft day, and things could inevitably change with trades, the best course of action for the Steelers would be to select either Harris or Williams in round 1, and then going whichever of the three centers remains in the second round. They will likely pick an offensive tackle round 3, but inside linebacker, cornerback and outside linebacker present three additional needs so there is a chance that one of the three is addressed in the third round, if a player falls.