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This is an important season for Pittsburgh Steelers RB1 James Conner, a pending unrestricted free agent in 2021. And some NFL observers have high hopes that rookie fourth-round draft pick Anthony McFarland Jr. can make an immediate impact with his breakaway speed.
Both have overshadowed the development of second-year running back Benny Snell Jr., who has impressed coaches and teammates alike in training camp. Among other things, they have noticed that Snell looks much thinner and faster than he did as a rookie, a notable development because he dropped to the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft because of concerns about his 4.66 speed.
James Conner on Benny Snell
Conner was one of the first to notice—or at least publicly comment on—how much effort Snell put into improving since the end of last year.
“You can tell he put in a lot of work in the offseason,” Conner said. “He looks slim, fast, eager to learn. He looks ready, you know? I’m excited for him. He looks fast. He’s in shape. There will be big things coming from him.”
Coach Eddie Faulkner on Snell
More importantly, Snell has attracted the attention of running backs coach Eddie Faulkner, who recently said, “It is true, Benny looks better. He has done a lot of running. You can see the work he has put in. The exciting part about it is he did it while being away from us, so you know he had a focus on getting right and getting in the best shape he can.
“So I am excited with Benny. [He’s] a guy that is passionate and loves the game. He will pick things up and he will hit the ground running this year.”
As such, Snell—a great-nephew of former New York Jets running back Matt Snell—would seem to have the inside track on becoming the primary backup to Conner. But if he hopes to become a future three-down back, Faulkner says he’ll need to become a more complete player.
“As far as his development, that is his next step,” Faulkner staid. “He is a willing and very capable pass protector. But I want him to understand it like I do. When he makes that next step, he is heading down the direction of being complete because he has the good hands and he can protect and obviously we have seen him as a runner.”
For his part, Snell has said he’s committed to becoming better at ‘everything,’ which might enable him to take over the RB1 job should Conner leave the Steelers in free agency after the season.
For the moment, though, he’s competing for playing time with McFarland, Kerrith Whyte, free agent addition Wendell Smallwood and third-year back Jaylen Samuels, the latter recently activated from the COVID-19 list.
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