Despite being the last of three picks for the Steelers on the second day of the 2017 NFL draft, James Conner became the biggest name called at the podium.
Conner is a local hero who showed great potential in his sophomore season at Pitt when he rushed for 1,765 yards on 298 carries for 26 touchdowns, but suffered the biggest setbacks one could be dealt when he had a season-ending knee injury in 2015 and then a battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma before returning to the field.
He then gained 1,092 yards on 216 carries while scoring 16 touchdowns in his junior year before declaring for the draft. His determination made him a hero to many and attracted the national spotlight despite not being in the same condition he was when he was one of the best running backs in the country before his injury.
The Steelers needed a running back to fill in the depth chart behind Le'Veon Bell and in front of Knile Davis, which made Conner the perfect pick.
Conner's Combine performance did not wow scouts as his 40 yard dash time was a 4.65 and did not rank in the upper echelon in any of the events which he participated.
But what makes Conner an interesting addition to the Steelers' roster is how he could takeover games as a versatile threat. Despite not having elite breakaway speed, Conner's effort and hard running style made him a star in college and just the right complement to the Steelers' current running back situation.
Let's check out the tape:
GOOD VISION
One thing Conner did not lose in his time in recovery was his vision as a running back. Conner's ability to process the developments of the defensive line along with the scheme of Pitt's offensive line made him a threat to find a crease in the defense at all times.
Watch this play to see how he is able to stick to the counter trap play and squeeze through the B-gap to accelerate down the field:
Conner is adept at using his general awareness to navigate tight spaces and to stick to the scheme assigned. But what also makes him difficult to bring down in this situation is how he's looking to attack the next level beyond the line of scrimmage.
This is a perfect fit for the Steelers' ofensive line, which opens up lanes and opportunities for running backs. His setbacks at Pitt would often come from their offensive front being unable to win enough battles at the line of scrimmage consistently.
While Conner isn't the best at creating plays on his own, he certainly showed that he was capable of doing so from time to time.
MAKES PEOPLE MISS
While Conner was also good at reading the seams in his offensive line, he consistently could make players miss in one-on-one situations when he had space to set them up with a double move.
Watch how he does that here even while in the backfield, as Clemson's defensive front is penetrating and looking to shut down the play for no gain:
Conner recognizes the scheme that calls for Pitt's guard to kick the defensive tackle down, while leaving the defensive end isolated against Conner to make a move against. Conner sets up his double move by sliding to the side in which he trusts his guard to seal, forcing the end to either commit to following the guard tightly down the line or to do his best to keep contain on the play.
When the end doesn't come down and tries to make sure Conner can't cutback to the outside, Conner takes advantage with a little sidestep into the hole. The defensive end also had to consider the possible threat of play action on the part of Nathan Peterman, but Conner's effort still plays off that well.
Conner also finishes with a strong run going through a defensive back, something that's pretty consistent in his film. Rarely will you see arm tackles on him or poorly formed tacklers being able to take him down.
To further exemplify Conner's skills in space, watch this juke move he puts on a safety in space:
The Steelers need a versatile running back with Conner's hard running style that can both run through defenders and make them miss in one-on-one opportunities. While that luxury seems ordinary since the team has added Bell, having a player that can consistently win such battles could amplify the production of the running game.
Despite the addition of Davis through free agency, the Steelers don't have a proven back after Bell that can be a threat to hit the hole hard and make defenders miss. Conner will have to prove that in the NFL, but his college tape shows a player that is always looking to put on a move in order to win when he's isolated against a specific defender.
RUNS HARD
What excites me the most about Conner is how strong of a runner he is when he commits to a target on the field. If Conner picks his spot to attack in a short yardage situation and someone's in the way, he has no problem lowering his shoulder and dealing out punishment with good leg drive to push his way into the end zone.
Watch how he does exactly that in one of his three touchdowns against Virginia Tech last season:
In almost every game, Conner has one of these moments where he fearlessly charged into the defense with the intent to run over whoever is in his way. The Steelers need a solid short yardage back that can take away from the damage that gets done to Bell or can win these battles when Bell is unavailable.
RECEIVING THREAT
While Conner isn't an elite receiver, he certainly has the capability of catching the ball out of the backfield and gaining yards after the catch. The Steelers' offense features a consistent receiving threat in Bell out of the backfield but have lost that in the past when DeAngelo Williams would come into the game.
Conner shows that while he won't be the elite receiver that Bell is, he can provide a check down option for Ben Roethlisberger that can gain yards by applying his shiftiness and hard running skills down the field against the smaller defensive backs that would have to put him down outside of their element.
Watch how smooth he catches this wheel route and scores:
While teams are considering the multiple receiving threats the Steelers have on their roster, running backs out of the backfield could easily get favorable matchups against linebackers in one-on-one situations that benefit Conner and Bell.
Look for Todd Haley to find ways to incorporate Conner's skills into this part of the offense.
STEAL? REACH? OR JUST RIGHT?
Prior to the draft I was confident that Conner would be the right fit for the Steelers, but the question would be where they could afford to select him.
Multiple sources projected Conner to be selected in the fifth or sixth rounds, but were those projections accurate? This is probably the question the Steelers had to ask themselves when grading Conner's talents.
If analyzing the talent on the board and going by the many projections that had him going later was the way of going about picking players, the Steelers probably would have tried to address their backup quarterback situation instead.
But this pick shows that the Steelers had him higher on their draft boards and did not want to risk losing him to teams by waiting another 32 picks.
What may have led to that decision was how Conner's style is the perfect fit for what would work with the team. While Bell is the elite all-around back, Davis is a speedster and a one-cut back that can be relied on in some instances to spell or even play on special teams.
This is a pick that fits their need of a backup running back. Should he be able to produce in the NFL, the Steelers may have just found that young threat that can provide a concrete answer to the offense's struggles when Bell is not on the field.

James Conner. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
Steelers
Carter's Classroom: Conner presents perfect complement to Bell
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