No, seriously. Did we all forget about Benny Snell?
Furthermore, did we all forget what happens in Year 2 with recent Steelers running backs?
Tempting as it may be to take LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire or Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins or Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor in the 2020 NFL Draft — and they're excellent prospects, no doubt — the answer to the Steelers' running back woes might just be right here, on the roster as it's currently constructed.
Let's start with this:
• Snell wasn't 'good' in college. He was ridiculous.
Snell set the all-time rushing record at Kentucky, putting up 3,873 yards and eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark in each of his three seasons. Four running backs in SEC history have accomplished that latter feat: Herschel Walker, Darren McFadden, Alex Collins and Snell.
And, oh yeah, the previous record at Kentucky, set by Sonny Collins, a three-time first-team All-SEC runner in the early-mid '70s, stood at 3,835 yards ... and Collins played four years to Snell's three.
Snell broke that 43-year record in his final game at Kentucky, too, putting up 144 yards and two tuddies against Penn State in the 2019 Citrus Bowl:
Not bad.
Snell was absolutely a product of a good system and a dedicated, steady usage throughout his time at Kentucky. He was the man there from the jump. No doubt about that. But putting up numbers and performances like that — consistently — doesn't happen by accident in the SEC or anywhere else. He had five 100-yard games as a freshman, seven as a sophomore and seven as a senior, missing an eighth in his final year by one yard.
Snell's pedigree is legit.
Which leads us to:
• Snell's rookie season was actually promising.
Yeah, "426 rushing yards" doesn't pop off the page, but what does with that atrocious 2019 Steelers offense that ranked 29th in rushing yards per game (90.4) and 30th in total yards per game (276.8)?
James Conner put up 464 rushing yards on 116 carries across an injury-shortened season — nearly identical to Snell's 426 yards on 108 attempts. The third running back with at least 50 carries last season, second-year player Jaylen Samuels, was worse yet, totaling 175 yards on 66 carries (2.7 per attempt).
Last year, Steelers running backs put up 90 or more yards three times. Snell did it twice, with 91 yards in a Week 17 loss vs. the Ravens and 98 yards in a Week 12 win over the Bengals, while Conner had the third, lighting up the Dolphins in Week 8 for 145 yards on the ground. Snell posted the fourth-best rushing performance in 2019, too, gaining 75 yards in a Week 6 win over the Chargers in Carson, Calif.
In fact, Snell received at least 15 carries five times last year. Average those games out, and his stats are 88 carries, 368 yards (4.2 yards per attempt / 73.6 yards per game), two touchdowns.
Way better when you give him multiple looks per game, eh? And, oh hey, the team went 4-1 in those games, losing only in Week 17 to the NFL-best, 14-2 Ravens when giving Snell at least 15 touches. They were an effective team on the ground when Snell got the rock on a consistent basis, and it led to team success.
David DeCastro saw it.
“I just like how hard he runs,” DeCastro said of Snell in mid-October. “Especially those third-down runs, he’s always moving downhill and getting those extra yards. That’s nice for us.”
Randy Fichtner saw it, too:
“I think for Benny it was just an opportunity,” Fichtner told reporters that same day. “He finally got an opportunity, and it came about and he did a really nice job. So I’m excited about where he’s at in his growth. Again, we’re still talking about a young guy. And he was in more than just to run the ball. He was in there [for] protection, he was in on other things. That’s exciting.”
One more, because it matters, this time from running backs coach Eddie Faulkner:
"Benny wants to be a great player,” Faulkner was saying. “He’s chomping at the bit to get out there, but he also understands that everybody has a skill set in that room, everybody brings something different to the table. And he brings something to the table. I mean, I think you saw that start to show up on Sunday night. He’s continued to work to gain the trust of the coaches and to gain the trust of myself, and Sunday was a big step in it … The future is very, very bright for that young man. I think he’s going to be a really good football player.”
Snell thrives when given that chance, but he struggled to find a rhythm in spot situations. With Snell, more volume equals more and better production, a point evidenced by his rookie campaign.
"Whenever I’m in with those guys, especially with the firsts, with our line, that’s when I show my talent," Snell was telling me back in late October following his 75-yard performance against the Chargers. "So I’m definitely fired up, especially on special teams, and I’m ready to get after it this week.”
Notice how Snell, Fichtner and Faulkner were all quick to mention other aspects of the game? That matters, too.
From the day Snell arrived at the Rooney Complex all the way through the end of his rookie season, he'd talk about three key areas when I'd ask him about his development and his progress: Special teams, pass protection and receiving. Rarely would he focus on rushing alone, because at the NFL level, there's more to it, and young running backs have to prove trustworthy in every facet of the game before being given a real shot.
So when evaluating Snell's stats from a pure rushing perspective, keep in mind that he was focused primarily on catching the ball, on protecting the quarterback and on producing on special teams to become a complete, NFL-caliber back:
“Oh, man. I take it to heart every day — only because those are areas I lacked in college,” Snell told me of his work there. “And this is the NFL. You gotta be at the top notch of your game. Week to week, I’m trying to work at what I’m not so good at. So I focus on those things; then once I get in the game, I’m well-prepared.”
In Year 2, Snell will be more comfortable from the jump, and that should allow him to fully unleash his potential as a runner. Because early on, the adjustment was real:
“At first I felt like it was a challenge on the field and I grew off that over time,” Snell told me just before Christmas. “But it was definitely the playbook when I first got here. It’s a lot more tags and a lot more things.”
As a rookie, Snell achieved all this with either Mason Rudolph or Devlin 'Duck' Hodges under center. That is to say, defenses did not respect the Steelers' 31st-ranked passing game, so they stacked the box and focused more resources on stopping the run as a result.
As a sophomore, Snell will think less and perform more — and he'll benefit from some guy named Ben Roethlisberger providing an aerial threat and a veteran, Hall-of-Fame mind to make checks and reads all the while.
• And about those X-factors ...
Lost in most discussions regarding Snell are a few crucial points.
First, Snell had surgery to repair an injured meniscus he suffered during the team's Week 8 win over the Dolphins (running backs need healthy knees to perform if you were curious). He missed three games, returning in Week 12 to run for a season-high 98 yards in the Steelers' 16-10 win over the Bengals. In that one, he helped ice the game with this late first-down run, smartly cutting toward the middle of the field to stay in-bounds and to keep the clock running:
But that surgery was significant. It disrupted the flow of Snell's rookie campaign, and it set him back just as he was getting started, one game removed from that 75-yard outburst against the Chargers that saw him receive more than three carries for the first time as a pro.
“I never had an injury,” Snell told me at the end of the season. “It was a learning experience. I took it as a learning experience. I’m blessed to be able to come back. It gave me time to think about being away from my team and I got to look at the team from a different perspective, watching. I took it as a learning experience, and I learned a lot. It made me value football even more.”
Combine that with a minor off-the-field issue on Aug. 30 plus the expanded playbook plus adjusting to life in the NFL in general, and the challenges were many for Snell in Year 1. As the year progressed, it was obvious Snell became increasingly wary of giving his time to reporters, including to me after I wrote that article about his late-August traffic stop.
We had a discussion at his locker — I explained my job, he voiced his side — and we shook hands and moved on, both better for the experience. It was a mature move from him, to actually hear me out and accept the role of the media, but there's no doubt that transition to the NFL spotlight brought with it some struggles.
“I kind of learn things every day about different people," was how Snell put it after our talk. "I’m taking it step by step ... Because I do enjoy the media, but sometimes I don’t know if the media enjoys me.”
Take that into consideration — the growth both on the field and off the field — and now sprinkle in a little bit of this:
• Year 2 is big for recent Steelers RBs
Both Le'Veon Bell and Conner resembled Snell a touch coming out of college. They were big, primarily power backs who needed to shed some weight and work on their speed and agility to excel at the next level.
When you dig into Bell's rookie 2013 campaign specifically, you see the similarities. Bell was used much more, starting 13 games and receiving 244 carries, but he averaged 3.5 yards per carry, 66.2 yards per game, and 0.62 touchdowns per game throughout. Reminds you a bit of Snell's production when he received at least 15 carries, eh?
Bell showed promise — and his receiving was excellent from the jump — but Year 2 represented his real breakout. Returning lighter, quicker and more comfortable, Bell posted 1,361 yards in 16 starts (85.1 yards per game) at a 4.7-yard-per-carry clip. Similarly, Conner got a taste of action behind Bell in 2017 then received his full opportunity in Year 2 as Bell voluntarily took the year off in a contract dispute.
Making 12 starts, Conner posted 973 yards and 12 touchdowns at a 4.5-yards-per-carry clip, good for both a Pro Bowl nod and the trust of the Steelers organization moving forward.
Even going back to Rashard Mendenhall, the team's first-round pick in 2008, the formula for featured Steelers backs is this: Get a taste in Year 1, adjust, break out in Year 2.
Mendenhall fumbled repeatedly in his first preseason, an issue so severe he was required to carry a ball with him everywhere he went until the problem subsided. Playing behind Willie Parker, Mendenhall started just one game in that rookie campaign, putting up 30 yards on nine carries. Then came the adjustment and the opportunity in Year 2.
Mendenhall took the reins as a sophomore, starting 12 games and positing 1,108 yards with seven touchdowns at a 4.6-yards-per-carry clip. He made the adjustments and he seized the opportunity, just as Bell and Conner did after him.
Given the chance, Snell can do the same. History suggests he'll be better in Year 2 and that, combined with his work when given a real chance as a rookie, tells me the Steelers can invest their highest draft capital elsewhere. A rookie back — even one of the talented newcomers that'll be available at No. 49 — will need to adjust to the NFL, just as Snell, Conner, Bell and Mendenhall did.
If the Steelers truly want to "win now," like now, and make a real run at Super Bowl LV, Year-2 Snell provides a better, safer option in the backfield. He knows the playbook. He's felt the game at this level. He understands exactly what's expected and needed of him.
The Steelers might think they have questions at running back, but the answer stands right in front of them, wearing No. 24.
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