Steelers Mock Draft: Pittsburgh finds their future running back

The Steelers need help on the offensive side of the ball. Here’s why I have them going with a running back early in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Steelers enter the 2020 offseason with a handful of needs on the offensive side of the ball. Their offensive line is aging, and there are a lot of question marks surrounding Vance McDonald and the tight end position. In addition, Pittsburgh is very short-handed at receiver outside of their top three players.

While the Steelers could address nearly every area on offense, one direction they may choose to go with the 49th overall pick is running back.

As a former compensatory 3rd round pick back in 2017, James Conner has been an excellent player for the Steelers. With Le’Veon Bell sitting out the entire 2018 season, Conner proved to be a capable runner and a plus receiver. He earned nearly 1,000 yards on the ground to go with his 12 rushing touchdowns. Conner also chipped in nearly 500 receiving yards in 2018 on 9.0 yards per reception. The former Pitt running back earned Pro Bowl honors in his second NFL season.

Conner, however, was much less efficient a season ago without Ben Roethlisberger at the helm. Besides, he has been banged up and has missed time in all three of his NFL seasons so far. Conner is entering a contract year in Pittsburgh, and his inconsistent play and health concerns are hard to warrant giving him a big, new deal.

Though Benny Snell was added in the 4th round of last year’s draft, Pittsburgh could really use a feature runner who could give this team a boost in the final years of Ben Roethlisberger’s career. In my latest mock draft, I have the Steelers going with Ohio State star, J.K. Dobbins.

It’s still too early in the draft process to know if Dobbins will fall into Pittsburgh’s range in the second round, and with good testing numbers, he could boost himself out of the Steelers range.

However, Dobbins fits the bill of everything Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert look for in a feature back. Dobbins was extremely productive in college – earning 4,459 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns over three seasons for the Buckeyes. Pittsburgh has drafted a few Ohio State players (Ryan Shazier and Cameron Heyward) under Tomlin in the past, and Dobbins projects as an every-down back at the next level.

As of now, I think Georgia’s D’Andre Swift will be drafted too high for Pittsburgh to have a shot at him, and Wisconsin’s Jonothan Taylor is also a possibility here as well.

It’s becoming increasingly more likely that J.K. Dobbins is off the board when pick 49 rolls around, but he is a player who could step in from day one and help improve the league’s 30th ranked offense from a season ago. Dobbins would be impossible for Pittsburgh to pass on if he fell this far in the draft.