Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster prediction, depth chart after NFL Draft

Running backs: Najee Harris, Anthony McFarland, Benny Snell, Derek Watt, Kalen Balage

The top four players on this list are pretty easy to predict. The Steelers didn’t spend a first-round pick on a running back for the first time since 2008 to have him learn from the sidelines. Najee Harris will be their day-one starter and workhorse back. Though we can predict most of the players who will be on the roster behind him, the depth chart gets a little cloudy.

Both Anthony McFarland and Benny Snell are fourth-round picks who have yet to leave much of a mark on this league. However, I have McFarland slotting in as the change-of-pace back for the Steelers with Snell earning an insurance policy role for Harris as the team’s third running back. While Harris will receive a vast majority of the touches from the backfield this year, McFarland remains the only runner on the team with a second gear to go the distance on any given play.

Barring anything unforeseen, Derek Watt will be the Steelers full-back in 2021, as he remains the only one at his position under contract. Watt didn’t come close to living up to his lofty contract in 2020, but now finally healthy, perhaps he will be able to do just that in Matt Canada’s offense. I have Kalen Ballage making the team over Jaylen Samuels as the fourth running back.