Pittsburgh Steelers: Meet the pick, RB Benny Snell
The Pittsburgh Steelers running back room took an obvious hit in 2018 with Le’Veon Bell skipping the season. They got a huge lift from James Conner and Jaylen Samuels but the need for depth was still lingering.
The Pittsburgh Steelers got an incredible season from James Conner after he was expected to under-perform compared to his once teammate Le’Veon Bell. He did not explode on the scene like Bell did and he did not put up huge numbers but he was effective and much improved in his second season.
The Steelers running backs room was a big question mark heading into 2018. They had a rookie day three pick in Jaylen Samuels backing up a second year pro in Conner.
The depth was very clearly lacking but the pair made the most of the opportunities in front of them. They helped stabilize a run game that many thought would turn to dust with Bell out of town.
This year they will still likely have the pair in a prominent role but they also added an additional player to the room. Running back Benny Snell from Kentucky was selected in the fourth round of the draft.
Snell screamed ‘Steeler’ to many fans with his physical style and size at the position. Many still think of Jerome Bettis and the physical and strong run games when they think of Pittsburgh.
Snell had a great college career at Kentucky rushing for just under 3900 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry on 737 carries. He had a nose for the end zone also, reaching pay-dirt 48 times in just three seasons as a Wildcat.
He did not do much in the passing game but then again Bell was nothing spectacular as a receiver at Michigan State and he turned out alright. The Steelers offense seems built to help running backs flourish as receivers since the emergence of Bell.
Like Conner in 2017, Snell needs to improve his pass protection to develop into a back that will see the field. Much of why Conner was not on the field a lot in 2017 was his poor pass protection. He turned that around really quickly in the offseason and displayed a great improvement in 2018 so hopefully he can teach Snell what he learned.
Snell’s size and physical run style will balance well with the styles of Conner and Samuels. The three will form a talented and youthful running back room for the foreseeable future.
He will not be thrust into the fire like Conner in 2017, so he will have plenty of time to develop. I love this guy’s attitude and demeanor and believe he will fit right in as a Pittsburgh Steeler.