James Conner has all the talent in the world to replace Le’Veon Bell, but Pittsburgh Steelers fans shouldn’t forget what Bell brings to the table.
All that glitters is not gold.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell has quickly turned himself into a villain. Steelers fans who once loved Bell now despise him, for various reasons. Whether it be his high contract demands, off the field issues or the way he portrays himself on social media, Le’Veon now finds himself suiting up for a city, that for the most part, genuinely despises him.
It’s very likely Le’Veon is on his way out-of-town, as the Steelers have failed on multiple occasions to reach a long-term agreement with him and his agent. Bell sees his value differently than the team, and will likely test the open market in the 2019 off-season.
His absence from training camp has opened the door for valuable carries for his back-up James Conner, the team’s third round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. After a year where many fans were quick to write him off, the little we’ve seen from his second season has Steelers fans everywhere juiced about his ability to play.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger may just be as excited about Conner, as he told The Athletic‘s Mark Kaboly “James has earned the right to be on the field more this year.” Many took this comment and ran with it, hoping and wishing that Conner would eat into Bell’s workload, or just take over it entirely.
Conner is well on his way to becoming a stellar back in this league. His improvement is reason for hope he can carry over the running game from Bell seamlessly. It’s reasonable to want to keep Conner and wave goodbye to Bell for financial reasons, yet there are those who exist that insist Conner would be able to replicate Bell’s success.
Le’Veon is a top-two running back in the league at worst, and 9/10 times he’s not second. From his vision to his ball security, his pass catching to his pass blocking, and his power to his agility, Bell is the best all-around back the league has seen in some amount of time.
Steelers OC Randy Fichtner sounds pretty comfortable playing Le'Veon Bell in Week 1. Asked about potential need to scale him back, Fichtner said, "That’s a hard question because that’s Le’Veon Bell...There are things he can do that, quite frankly, most people can't do."
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 28, 2018
Without Bell, it’s fairly arguable the Steelers have a top five offense in the league. With Bell in the lineup, Pittsburgh touts a top-three offense on a bad day. Bell gives the offense versatility in terms of scheming and play-calling, something former offensive coordinator Todd Haley was able to recognize and take advantage of.
The numbers prove it. The accolades prove it. Film proves it.
It remains to be seen on if/when Bell reports to the team in time for the week one opener against the Cleveland Browns. With Bell losing around $850,000 per game missed, it’s hard to imagine Le’Veon will turn down the money, considering the heavy emphasis he put on it over the past two seasons.
Conner has looked phenomenal in the bits of preseason action we’ve seen from him, yet to imagine the offense would function better without Bell is a debatable argument at best. Conner has yet to see a full seasons workload, and has not shown he’s close to as versatile as Le’Veon.
Bell has undoubtedly been painted as a greedy, rapping running back who takes the great privilege of playing football for granted. Yet those same people who paint Bell in this portrait, are the same that paint their faces before entering Heinz Field.