5 day-three running backs the Steelers have to draft in 2021

If the Steelers wanted to target a more complete back with more upside as a starter, Jermar Jefferson could be their guy. Coming from Oregon State, Jefferson has great size at the position and has sneaky athleticism for a man his size. On top of this, he can catch passes out of the backfield and do some damage as a third-down back.

His issues are simple. For starters, his long speed and elusiveness aren’t great. While he can make the first guy miss, he seems to struggle to put up a couple of broken tackles in a row. That limits his upside as an elite back, but he still has the skill set to succeed as a runner. The main issue is his inconsistencies in college. His freshman year was huge over 1,500 scrimmage yards. He had roughly the same output combined for his past two years.

A part of this has been the games he has been able to play in. This past year he was hampered with a COVID-19 reduced season and the year before he was wildly inconsistent. That said, if Jefferson gets into a good system and is coached properly, he could develop into a low-end starter. While he will never ascend into the upper echelon of running backs, he should be able to carve out a good career if he lands with the right team.