5 running backs who could replace James Conner for the Steelers in 2021
Travis Etienne
Some NFL mock drafts do not have many running backs going in the first round. One has the Steelers selecting this player, while another has him going to Tampa Bay. Suffice to say, until the NFL occurs, there is always one team that makes on selection no one expects. However, the possibility exists Travis Etienne, the running back from Clemson, could be on the board.
Face it; the Steelers lack an explosive running back. Conner and Snell have not cut the mustard, so to speak. Etienne could be the solution to their rushing game. He is the highest-rated running back in the draft so far. As Etienne’s coach said he’s a blue-collar guy with a blue-collar work ethic. A trait all Pittsburgh fans would love.
He’s 5’10” 200 pounds. He runs a 4.46 forty. Scouts like him not so much for the number of rushing yards he has posted but for what he does when he touches the ball. In his four years at Clemson, he has rushed for 4796 yards. More impressive is that he is averaging 7.2 yards per carry. His longest rush in 2020 was 72 yards. He also has 1079 total reception yards at Clemson, which may not seem like a lot, but he is averaging 11.4 yards per reception. What he does after he catches the ball similar to Le’Veon Bell’s style of play.
He has broken 204 tackles on 648 carries. Though averaging 7.2 yards per carry, he is also averaging 4.5 yards after contact. He also has 43 runs of 20 plus yards in the last two years. Simply put, he sees a hole, and he’s gone. He is also averaging 17 touchdowns a year. Also, he does not go down when defensemen hit him initially, and he makes things happen when he carries the ball. Etienne is the type of back the Steelers need and do not have.
Every player has a weak spot. In Etienne’s case, he has a tendency to fumble on occasions as he did in the Georgia Tech and North Carolina games. He’s not the biggest back in the draft, but he’s not small either. He may not be as powerful say as Jerome Bettis. With his fast speed, he does not need to be.
Whether or not the Steelers would be able to draft Etienne, we won’t know till the draft. Indeed, the Steelers fans would have a lot to be excited about with him in the backfield.