5 Steelers that need to see more playing time going forward

Anthony McFarland

While he has only seen nine total caries so far on the year, rookie Anthony McFarland has flashed some of that game-breaking speed he had at Maryland. While he has yet to break off a long run, the more usage he gets the more likely it will be that he finds the end zone on a play where he can truly utilize his speed. Given his early successes, he is a player that needs to see more snaps in the backfield going forward.

The first place these snaps should come from is Jaylen Samuels. While he hasn’t been on the field much, it makes little sense to have him play out there than one of the more talented backs. While that alone would earn McFarland a few more snaps, it also makes sense for him to come in over James Conner now and again.

While McFarland shouldn’t replace Conner by any means, supplementing him with the speedy rookie will allow him to take less damage as the season goes on. As well, Conner is more than likely in his final year with the Steelers, meaning that both McFarland and Benny Snell will be in the hunt to be the true starter next year. Given his style, McFarland should be given more carries to both rest Conner and show the team that he could be in contention to start next year.