Tag: Benny Snell Jr.

Daily Fantasy: The one Steelers player you need to start in Week 2 on DraftKings

Benny Snell is coming off a great performance in relief of James Conner.

The Pittsburgh Steelers officially got their swagger back on offense and all it took was the return of a future Hall of Famer and the team’s all-time passing leader Ben Roethlisberger.

In Sunday’s season-opening road win over the New York Giants, Benny Snell Jr. played the role of workhorse back in relief of an injured James Conner, rushing for 113 yards on 19 carries in Sunday’s win.

With Connor’s status uncertain going into Week 2 against the Broncos, expect Snell ($4,500 DraftKings salary) to receive plenty of attention on the waiver wire and a healthy number of carries. The Broncos gave up 116 yards on the ground to Derrick Henry on Monday night and once Roethlisberger opens the passing lanes early on, it’ll allow Snell to exploit Denver’s defense.

Snell poses an interesting dynamic as a pass-catcher, as well, making him a must-start on Sunday.

If Connor’s injury lingers, Snell, who’s already owned by 16% percent of DraftKing participants, could see his value and cost rise as the Steelers increase his usage rates.

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Pittsburgh Steelers RB Benny Snell is accentuating the positive

The Pittsburgh Steelers running back is choosing to drown out the negative and stay focused on winning.

Steelers second-year running back Benny Snell learned some valuable lessons as a rookie.

One of them is to shut out the noise and not dwell on the negative.

“The biggest lesson I learned is you have to forget about the negative plays or the negative things that try to affect your play when you are on the field,” said Snell in an interview with Steelers.com Teresa Varley. “I learned really fast in the NFL you have to be a kind of forget guy. It’s always about moving on to the next play and staying focused on winning the game and the long haul of the season.”

Snell, the Steelers 2019 fourth-round draft pick out of Kentucky, was second on the team in rushing yards with 426. “I think I did decent as a rookie, contributing with the chances I had in front of me,” Snell said. “I feel like there is a lot of growth for me, a lot of things I can get better at via offense and special teams.”

It’s unclear whether starting running back James Conner will be with the Steelers after the 2020 season. An increase in production from Snell this season could improve his chances of making a name for himself on the Steelers offense in 2021.

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Can the Steelers go back to 1976, please?

The Pittsburgh Steelers had great success using two running backs in 1976. The team should give it a present-day whirl.

Picture it: Pittsburgh, 1976.

The Steelers had two starting running backs on the roster. You may remember them — Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier.

Bleier was drafted by two teams in 1968 — the Steelers in January and the U.S. Army in December. Once he returned to the team in 1970, he had a tough time earning a roster spot.

When Harris came on the scene in 1972, Bleier was a veteran, but still only had 238 carries to Harris’ 846 by the time 1976 rolled around. History was made that season when head coach Chuck Noll decided to utilize the two of them in the run game.

Bleier had a career season that year with 1,036 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 220 attempts. Harris had 1,128 yards and a career-high 14 touchdowns on 289 attempts. The two also logged 294 and 151 receiving yards, respectively.

The Steelers finished the season at 10-4 and became the second team in NFL history to have multiple 1,000-yard rushers. There have only been four league-wide ever since.

 

Fast-forward to recent history.

The Steelers have not had multiple 1,000-yard rushers, let alone multiple running backs. They’ve strictly been a feature back team. Head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t the only one to overwork his primary running back; Bill Cowher was guilty of it, too.

Although we saw flashes of it in 2018, James Conner was never meant to be a featured back — he was drafted to complement Le’Veon Bell. And since Bell parted ways with Pittsburgh, the Steelers have not found his replacement.

As The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly beautifully illustrated in his recent article, Conner’s yards-per-carry decrease, and injuries and fumblitis increase after 17 touches. Tomlin should take a moment to read it and limit Conner’s playing time this season for optimal results.

In the 2019 offseason, there was chatter about getting two RBs on the field. We’ll never know if the team was just blowing smoke as RB injuries never allowed it to play out.

I genuinely believe it’s time for the Steelers to evolve — not just consider 1976 but to employ its tactics. The NFL has changed dramatically since then, and more and more teams have been using multiple running backs, not only in running-back-by-committee but also in two running back sets.

It would keep defenses on their toes and allow the offensive game plan to open up even more. Not to mention, it would take some pressure off an aging Ben Roethlisberger.

This can be achieved by drafting an RB in the second or third rounds and rotate him with Conner and in tandem with Conner. Sprinkle in Benny Snell, Jr. and a dash of Jaylen Samuels and the Steelers have a recipe for the Super Bowl.

A girl can dream, can’t she?

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Pittsburgh Steelers positional unit preview ahead of free agency: Running backs

A look at the Pittsburgh Steelers RB depth chart prior to the free agency period

On March 18, the new league year starts, and every team will hit the ground running in preparations for the 2020 season. We are going to take a look at where each of the Pittsburgh Steelers positional units stand heading into the offseason.

Running backs

James Conner: In 2018, Conner nearly made the Steelers forget the Le’Veon Bell shenanigans after he gained 1,470 yards from scrimmage and found paydirt 13 times. Except for a 145-yard game versus a Miami Dolphins team ranked last in the NFL, Conner averaged just 35 yards per game in 2019. He also suffered a number of injuries throughout the year that forced him to miss six games. Unfortunately, inconsistency and injury-riddled seasons bring his reliability into question.

Benny Snell, Jr.: As a rookie, Snell showed flashes as he rushed for 426 yards in 13 games after starting the season on special teams (he sat out three matchups last year after arthroscopic surgery). Snell’s youth should help him take a leap forward in 2020.

Jaylen Samuels: In Week 4 of last season, Samuels got to show off his versatility. Running several plays out of the Wildcat formation, he became only the second player since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to have three pass completions, three rushes and three receptions in a game. The following week Samuels sustained a knee injury and missed the next three games. He finished out the season with 125 yards on 48 attempts.

Outlook: Last season, the Steelers proved it’s difficult to have any semblance of a ground game without a passing game. Hopes are that Conner can get back to 2018 form after a subpar 2019 campaign. Mike Tomlin is known to utilize depth sparingly at the RB position, so if Conner can avoid injury, his backups will likely see very little playing time.

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3 Steelers Who Need To Step Up In Week 12

Three Steelers that can give the Steelers offense a boost.

(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

With the Steelers defense shaking out to be one of the best in the NFL, the offense will need to increase it’s production if the Steelers are going to grab an AFC wildcard spot. This week the offense will be down two pro bowlers as JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner will sit out against the lowly Cincinnati Bengals. Here are three Steelers that need to step up and help Mason Rudolph put points on the board this week in Cincinnati:

WR James Washington

It’s well known that Washington and Rudolph were teammates at Oklahoma State University so the lack of a connection between the two has been somewhat surprising in 2019. Washington seems to be on the verge of a breakout performance every week, but a landmark performance hasn’t been in the cards for the second-year wideout. Washington led the team in targets, receptions and yards two weeks ago against the Los Angeles Rams. He also scored the Steelers lone offensive touchdown. But a lost fumble late in that game seemed to stymie Washington’s growth and confidence.

Last week against the Browns he only had three receptions for a team-high 49 receiving yards on five targets. Washington has good game speed and while he isn’t the biggest receiver, he has a knack for making big plays downfield. Look for him to bounce back against a Bengals defense that is 24thin passing yards surrendered.

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Steelers RB Benny Snell Jr. to return to practice this week

The Steelers might get one injured rusher back this week against the Bengals.

The run game for the Pittsburgh Steelers might get a boost this week. As the team prepares to take on the Cincinnati Bengals the team welcomes the return of running back Benny Snell Jr. to practice. Snell has missed the last three games with a knee injury.

Head coach Mike Tomlin offered nothing definitive about Snell’s return for the game this week but it is promising just to get Snell back on the field. Pittsburgh is almost certainly going to be without James Conner yet again and unfortunately, Jaylen Samuels hasn’t much as the team’s primary back.

One thing the Steelers have missed with Conner ailing has been a physical element to the run game. If Snell is healthy he would provide that sort of presence. However, at this point I don’t go into the week with any level of confidence the run game will be ready to go. He not only has to show he’s healthy but Snell has a month of rust to knock off in terms of readiness.

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