Super Bowl serving as another reminder why the Steelers shouldn’t invest high in running backs

The Pittsburgh Steelers have plenty of needs to address this offseason, but the Super Bowl showed why running back shouldn’t be so high on their list.

Every NFL team seems to have a different way of doing business. Some look to build their team in the trenches, while others like to spend their draft capital on skill players who can immediately provide a boost to their offense. Regardless of the philosophy, the Steelers will choose to roll with this April, the Super Bowl continues to backup claims I have made for years: That running back isn’t something Pittsburgh should invest high in.

The Cheifs and the 49ers – widely considered two of the league’s best teams throughout the season have something in common: They haven’t made big investments into the running back position. Damien Williams and Raheem Mostert were the two leading rushers in the Super Bowl this year. However, both players are former undrafted free agents.

These two players earned an average of just $1.81 million in 2019. This would be good for the 36th highest-paid running back in the league, in terms of yearly value. But the evidence for not investing in running backs high runs far beyond just this season. USA Today’s Marcus Mosher breaks down the Super Bowl running backs over the last 11 seasons and how much money they made:

According to this study, the highest-paid leading rusher of a Super Bowl-winning team over the last decade was a wide receiver, Percy Harvin back in the 2013-2014 season. He made just $2.5 million that year. With names like LeGarrette Blount, C.J. Anderson, Ahmad Bradshaw, and James Starks on this list, there is little evidence to suggest that elite running backs win games in today’s NFL.

So far, the Steelers are doing things the right way. They have just a third, fourth, and fifth-round picks invested into their running backs, and they paid the lowest amount out to the position in 2019. Obviously, this unit consisting of James Conner, Benny Snell, and Jaylen Samuels could stand to be upgraded, but the offensive line and the high-powered passing games are proving to be more important in today’s game.

There has been a lot of discussions about which direction the Steelers may go early in the 2020 NFL Draft. While running back is certainly a possibility with their second-round pick, they may want to think twice before pulling the trigger.

Landing a long-time starter along their interior offensive line or nabbing a speedster wide receiver with the ability to stretch the defense may prove to be more important to their team than upgrading James Conner.

Admittedly, Pittsburgh’s run game didn’t look good at all last season. But their passing attack was even worse. Getting Ben Roethlisberger back on the field will no doubt help out Conner and company on the ground.

At the end of the day, most running backs are only going to get what is blocked for them. Players like Raheem Mostert and Damien Williams aren’t special NFL running backs, but Mostert is running behind a great offensive line and Williams has elite receiving threats on his team that take defenders out of the box.

I’m not saying the Steelers should avoid drafting the running back position altogether. However, the evidence suggests that they may want to explore other avenues to improve their offense this offseason.