With NFL training camps on the horizon, we've reached the time of year when player rankings control the news cycle. ESPN surveyed coaches and league executives to rank the top ten players at eleven positions. Insider Jeremy Fowler just released the running back rankings, but no Pittsburgh Steelers running back cracked the list.
Unsurprisingly, Saquon Barkley ranked atop the list, followed by players like Derrick Henry, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Bijan Robinson. ESPN left room for an honorable mention section with five running backs who narrowly missed the mark. This included former Steelers running back James Conner.
"He's a load to bring down," one NFL personnel evaluator said of Conner. "Short strider with quick feet to slip tacklers, find slices of daylight. Good second-level burst. Runs behind his pads. Finisher. Underrated player. "
And just like that, we're reminded of the painful mistake the Pittsburgh Steelers made during the 2021 offseason.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could have avoided a critical draft mistake by extending James Conner
During the 2020 offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a choice to make: should they sign James Conner to a contract extension or let him play out the final year of his deal and hit free agency? They chose the latter, and after Conner recorded 721 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 13 games, they had a chance to sign him on the cheap. They did not.
Instead, former general manager Kevin Colbert let Conner sign with the Cardinals on a one-year, $1.75 million deal during the 2021 offseason—an offer that could have easily been exceeded by the Steelers' front office.
But this was only the first mistake.
With a glaring hole at running back after the departure of Conner, Pittsburgh ultimately used its first-round pick on Alabama running back Najee Harris. Despite already having significant mileage during his college career in the SEC (718 touches), turning 23 years old before the 2021 NFL Draft, and never participating in athletic testing during the pre-draft process, the Steelers felt confident enough to select Harris with the 24th overall pick.
Najee wasn't a bad football player, and his best attribute was his innate ability to carry the load without getting injured. However, in terms of efficiency, Harris ranked near the bottom of starting running backs in the NFL during his time in Pittsburgh, finishing his four-year Steelers career averaging 3.9 yards per carry with a 46.4 percent run success rate.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, Conner stole the show. His first season with the Cardinals in 2021 included Pro Bowl honors after punching in 15 rushing touchdowns while catching 37 passes on 39 targets for 375 yards and an additional three touchdowns.
Over the past two years, Conner recorded back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing campaigns while averaging 4.8 yards per carry and recording 18 total touchdowns.
If Colbert and the Pittsburgh Steelers only had believed in James Conner when it came time for a contract extension, they could have kept a borderline top-10 NFL running back on their roster while saving precious draft capital. We can be happy for Conner that he is still going strong, but his latest ranking among NFL coaches and executives shows what the Steelers have been missing out on all this time.