The Steelers' ground game was only ranked 20th in yards per game, but that does no justice to how Le'Veon Bell impacted their 2017 campaign, along with Roosevelt Nix and the other backs on the team.
James Conner saw limited action, but with the team still considering whether and how Bell will be under contract with them in 2018, that might be more reason why this group gets reinforcements during the offseason.
We get into how the group performed, and why Bell must be the Steelers' priority for keeping in the offseason:
Roosevelt Nix
The Steelers made sure they filled their need at fullback when they re-signed Roosevelt Nix to a four-year deal at a really low price. Nix only saw 181 snaps because of how many single-back and shotgun formations the offense used, but when he was on the field, he made sure the defense knew it with his explosive blocks.
Nix is known for making big blocks at close range and winning in between the tackles, but he also showed his ability to accelerate to the next level and take out defensive backs. While safeties and cornerbacks are smaller and present less of a challenge to overpower Nix, their speed and agility make them difficult targets for fullbacks to chase down.
Nix made sure it wasn't an issue when he crunched George Iloka in the red zone to give Bell the space needed to convert the first down. Notice how he moves quickly to the second level, then is able to set up in a solid stance with a wide base and go low to meet Iloka's pad level and completely neutralize the safety:
Nix is signed through 2021 and won't ever be a $2 million cap hit, which means if the Steelers sign Bell to an extension, those two can continue to be one of the more powerful running combinations in the NFL.
James Conner
The Steelers selected Conner in the third round in last year's draft because they had an obvious need for a backup to Bell on the depth chart and saw Alvin Kamara and Kareem Hunt fly off the board in the same round. Conner shows the potential to be a decent power back in the NFL, but his injury history continued and made him a non-factor for most of the season, eventually sidelining him for the year.
Conner has to improve his work both as a runner in hitting the hole and his work in pass protection if he wants more chances in 2018. But he only saw 68 plays in 2018, a sample size too small to honestly judge a young running back.
Stevan Ridley
Conner's injury made room for Stevan Ridley when the Steelers added him late in the season and put him to use quickly. Despite only playing two games for the Steelers, Ridley saw 39 snaps on the season, more than half of what Conner saw in his span of 14 games.
Ridley showed he was capable of being a temporary backup, but ultimately isn't expected to be back with the team unless they can't find anyone else in free agency or the draft and want to bring an experienced veteran for very cheap.
Le'Veon Bell
The Steelers' biggest question mark of the offseason is once again Bell, as the NFL waits to see whether the Steelers sign him to a long-term deal, choose to franchise him, or allow him to go to free agency and get his huge payday from whatever team wants the best running back in the NFL.
I call him that because he checks off more boxes than any other player when it comes to what a team needs in a running back as a weapon in the offense. His ability to wade through offensive lines and find the smallest gaps to exploit for yards while also making players miss in open space makes him dangerous anytime he touches the ball.
While Bell doesn't have the home run speed of Ezekiel Elliott or Alvin Kamara, he presents so many different possibilities for the Steelers that he more than makes up for it. He can make defenders miss anywhere on the field with a variety of weapons that come from his athleticism.
His quick feet allow him to fake defenders out in space while his core strength allows him to plow through contact and continue to gain yards. No play better exemplifies this than his 43-yard reception against the Bengals in the middle of the season. Bell takes a simple delayed dump route and makes four different defenders miss with his feet before he gets to accelerate down the field.
What put the exclamation point on what was already a great play was his vicious stiff arm of Dre Kirkpatrick, which was one of the best displays of physical dominance at any point in 2017:
But while Bell presents all the threats we know about as a runner, he's made sure to be awesome when the ball isn't in his hands. He's not only elite as a runner, but a pass protector as well; an extremely rare combination that makes him an every-down back.
He's taken on the biggest and baddest defenders in the hole and rarely is the reason for a sack of Roethlisberger. I've seen him completely pancake players such as Saints' Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Jordan, and be extremely aware as to where he needs to be at all times to protect the quarterback.
Take this simple incomplete pass from Roethlisberger as an example when the Steelers called play-action and Dick LeBeau had the perfect A-gap blitz coming up the middle for the Titans. If that's anyone other than Bell, Roethlisberger probably has to take the sack and risk fumbling, but Bell immediately hits the hole and takes on the blitzing player:
Even though he does get run over, his block impeded that blitz just enough for Roethlisberger to sidestep and put up a jump ball for Martavis Bryant. While those plays won't show up on a stat sheet, they're absolutely ones the Steelers look back at in the film room and appreciate.
But Bell's biggest contributions to the passing game obviously don't come in protection, but as an elite receiving threat. Not only does he create plays after the catch, but Bell consistently runs sharp routes and makes the kind of "combat catches" you'd expect from a wide receiver while being covered by defenders.
Take his touchdown reception against the Jaguars in the playoffs as an example when he ran a perfect wheel route against Telvin Smith, then made a spectacular catch as Smith recovered and put his hand between the ball and Bell's hands:
Smith is one of the NFL's premier cover linebackers and shows great effort and brilliant cover skills in this play, but Bell wins out with his ability to catch the ball in traffic.
Bell is the ultimate weapon and the Steelers fed him 321 carries while also targeting him 106 times with passes in 2017 because they know the dynamics he brings to the game.
He's a player whose merits I could talk about for a long time, but simply put, he's an X-factor player the Steelers' offense runs through.
STATE OF THE UNIT
Though the team secured its sturdy and reliable fullback in Nix, the question of Bell's future with the team remains the biggest question mark with the direction of this generation of Steelers. If he takes a big deal to stay with the club, he will be in position to be the most valuable player for the team and maybe the NFL.
While plenty of teams have shown they can succeed without the use of a premier NFL running back, it does not diminish the importance of having a player at that position who can be a game changer and take pressure off a quarterback to make all the right plays for the offense to succeed.
Bell not only protects Roethlisberger physically, but he becomes a security blanket as a receiver who can be the close range dump option who catches short passes when Ben is in trouble and also switches to become a deep receiving threat. A team cannot afford to let a player with that much talent go without having a solidified succession plan at the position.
With Conner as the Steelers' only option behind Bell, it's safe to say no such plan is in place. Look for the Steelers to address the running back position at some point in the offseason regardless of Bell's contract situation, as they still need a viable backup behind the NFL's best back. Because Bell rarely takes himself off the field, the Steelers have felt comfortable without going to get a back who can be a solid 1-2 punch with him, but the team must be ready in case he ever becomes unavailable due to injury, or isn't with the team in the near future.
RUNNING BACKS FINAL GRADE: A
Dale's Stock: Chris laid this out pretty well above. Bell's numbers weren't as eye-popping as they were in 2016, when he was on an historic pace with an average yards per game that ranked in the top three all-time. But he was still pretty darn good. His yards per carry were down, but he also was used a little differently in 2017, serving in a lot of short-yardage situations. Don't discount, either, that the Steelers played a lot of top defenses in 2017, something that doesn't happen every year. But you'd like to see more than three runs of 20 or more yards. He's still one of the most valuable backs in the league, as evidenced by his 85 receptions. This group is all about Bell until further notice.
Carter's Classroom will return this Wednesday to grade the Steelers' tight ends.