There is no reason the Steelers should keep 4 RBs in 2021

While the Steelers have kept four running backs in the past, doing so for the 2021 season is entirely unnecessary.

While June and early July are a notably slow time for NFL news as teams are preparing for camp, roster predictions are a way to discuss players with the best shot of making the team. There are countless roster predictions out right now, and while each has its own credibility, one thing sticks out on a lot of them that doesn’t make sense. When looking at the running back position, the Steelers have no real reason to keep four running backs on the active roster.

Now, the team has kept four traditional backs over the past few seasons, indicating that the team would maintain that tradition in 2021. Things have been very different in this room though recently. James Conner was the lead back, and while he was fine in that role, he was a player that suffered through countless injuries. Having an extra player ready and on the roster was almost a necessity to counter an injury that almost seemed automatic for him.

Najee Harris, to this point, hasn’t dealt with those same issues. It is widely expected of him to be the bell-cow back this season and to remain relatively healthy given his track record in college. The Steelers’ other backs will see the field, yes, but it should be the Harris show in Pittsburgh. The backup and third-string back will struggle to see snaps, let alone a fourth-string back.

The Steelers can get by with three running backs

Now, injuries are always a thing to worry about, but with the league’s expanded practice squad, keeping a back there while only rostering three on the roster would do just fine. If an injury were to happen, the Steelers could still get a back that’s been with the team up to the active roster as an injury replacement.

At this point, the only real reason to keep more than three backs is if the team planned on using a committee approach or if each back provided a uniquely different skillset. The Steelers are not planning on the committee approach since they used their top pick on Harris, and the variety on their bench doesn’t warrant the extra roster spot being allocated to a running back.

Anthony McFarland has good speed, making him a potential third-string and change of pace player. Kalen Ballage and Benny Snell are just lesser versions of Harris, and both can take on his snaps if he were to go down injured. As for Jaylen Samuels, he is a player that offers very little to the team. Despite being considered a receiving back, he has no athletic traits, mediocre hands, and bad route running.

There is an element of special teams at play here, as a fourth back could contribute in that phase. The team tried that with Trey Edmunds though, and it never really worked as he wasn’t impactful enough on special teams to warrant being kept long term. Both Snell and Ballage can play special teams well enough, but neither are so elite in it that they should both be kept on the roster. That special team’s spot would be better suited with a linebacker, a defensive back, or even Henry Mondeaux since he can run down kicks.

At this point to me, it seems like a two-dog race between Ballage and Snell for that final roster spot at running back. The Steelers could keep both, but what does that say about your first-round pick if you are keeping an extra back that is simply a worse version of himself? There are plenty of cases when a team would need a fourth back on the roster. With the current state of this roster though, keeping a fourth back isn’t a logical move.