The drumbeat for the Steelers selecting a first-round running back is only getting louder. Najee Harris, Travis Etienne, Javonte Williams -- all seem like reasonable possibilities. If it happens, that player immediately merits early consideration in fantasy drafts.
Pittsburgh could just as easily select an offensive lineman; that wouldn't be overly surprising. I've also seen suggestions they'll take a linebacker, since they so often select defensive players in the first round. As in, their last seven first-round picks, not counting the year they traded away their first-rounder -- for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. No one should get too comfortable with the idea of them drafting a running back in the first round. They've done so only once in the last 30 years.
But if they do, that player has a really good chance of being an important running back in fantasy leagues right away. The Steelers have long been a team to favor a featured player at the position. Before the injury-driven mishmash of the past two seasons, Pittsburgh had a significant lead runner almost every year for a decade.
The last two seasons, with now-departed James Conner the No. 1, Pittsburgh didn't have a top-25 running back. In the previous nine years, however, the Steelers had a top-15 player seven times. Four of those were LeVeon Bell, but three were different players who stepped up in those seasons: Mendenhall (Pittsburgh's last first-round running back), Williams, Conner. Harris, Etienne or Williams might very well be the next.
| BEST STEELERS RUNNING BACKS, 2010-2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Att | Run | No | Rec | TD | FFRk |
| 2010 | Rashard Mendenhall | 324 | 1273 | 23 | 167 | 13 | 11th |
| 2011 | Rashard Mendenhall | 228 | 928 | 18 | 154 | 9 | 22nd |
| 2012 | Jonathan Dwyer | 156 | 623 | 18 | 106 | 2 | 41st |
| 2013 | LeVeon Bell | 244 | 860 | 45 | 399 | 8 | 15th |
| 2014 | LeVeon Bell | 290 | 1361 | 83 | 854 | 11 | 1st |
| 2015 | DeAngelo Williams | 200 | 907 | 40 | 367 | 11 | 5th |
| 2016 | LeVeon Bell | 261 | 1268 | 75 | 616 | 9 | 3rd |
| 2017 | LeVeon Bell | 321 | 1291 | 85 | 655 | 11 | 2nd |
| 2018 | James Conner | 215 | 973 | 55 | 497 | 13 | 6th |
| 2019 | James Conner | 116 | 464 | 34 | 251 | 7 | 34th |
| 2020 | James Conner | 169 | 721 | 35 | 215 | 6 | 28th |
To be honest, I won't believe Pittsburgh uses a first-round pick on a running back until I see it happen. They badly need an offensive lineman, and their consistency picking a defensive player is also noteworthy.
But if they do go running back, that player is not only likely to be the 1.01 in a lot of rookie drafts, he should be the first rookie drafted in most re-draft leagues, as well. And in the early rounds, too.
--Andy Richardson