RB Anthony McFarland
Theoretically, Anthony McFarland’s role could have been much bigger this year had the Steelers not taken Najee Harris in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. While Harris was brought on to be the bell cow back, McFarland can still serve an important role as the change-of-pace runner.
Of all the running backs currently on Pittsburgh’s roster, McFarland is certainly the fasted with legitimate 4.4 speed. With a little crease, he could go the distance. We saw this during his time at Maryland with Matt Canada. In 2018, McFarland gained over 1,000 yards on the ground in 12 games and averaged a whopping 7.9 yards per carry. Remarkably, his best contest came against a very good Ohio State defense where he had 21 carries for 298 yards and 2 touchdowns.
In 2019, McFarland was continually banged up, and as a rookie for the Steelers last year, he received just 33 carries. Still, the speedy running back offers homerun speed that nobody else at the position has for the Steelers. He could be the ‘lightning’ to Najee Harris’s ‘thunder’.
Apart from a few big runs off tackle, McFarland has yet to prove anything in the NFL, but with potentially more opportunities coming in his second year, it would be nice to see McFarland leapfrog Benny Snell as the team’s number two back in 2021.