As the draft approaches we wanted to take a look at the running back position as many of our subscribers have been worried about the depth at the position behind Le'Veon Bell.
James Conner's season-ending injury might serve as a sign of caution the team needs to add to the position, even with their recent signing of Stevan Ridley, however that's unlikely to come in the early rounds with the team's needs on defense and the early-round talent of this running back class.
But if the Steelers do want to address the position in the middle rounds, there is talent that could be available which would be worth a look. One is the undersized but hard-running John Kelly out of Tennessee:
The first thing many people say when they look at Kelly as an NFL prospect is he's a little small to be an effective NFL running back. He's listed at 5-foot-9, 205 pounds, which drew immediate comparisons to Alvin Kamara, who was drafted by the Saints out of Tennessee in the 2017 draft and exploded for a huge rookie season.
Kelly is coming off a strong junior season where he ran for 778 yards on 189 carries (4.1 average) and 9 touchdowns, as well as 37 receptions for 299 yards.
His field vision immediately stands out for how he not only adjusts to what his offensive line is doing, but how he reacts to that while still processing what defenders are doing at the second level so that he can set up his next move.
Here he is in the season opener against Georgia Tech, when he cut back behind a run designed to go the right. Kelly recognized how Tennessee's line collapsed the weak side of Georgia Tech's defense and quickly accelerated to get to the edge, where he then set up the safety with a brilliant juke move:
Kelly's ability to manipulate defenders with his ever-moving footwork was a consistent trait that could make him dangerous in the NFL.
Here he is against Florida where he took an interior run and probed the interior of the defense until he could bounce to the edge with a wide enough path that the defensive end couldn't put him down. Watch as Kelly approaches the line and starts to attack his assigned hole, then bounces once to find another, and then bounces again outside of the tackle to gain his first down:
That play exemplifies how Kelly is always looking to attack but exhibits patience when he's processing where he can hit the defense. Also worthy of note is the stiff arm he uses at the end of the play, as that was a strong weapon he used in 2017 to fend off tacklers at the second level.
Still, Kelly's size becomes a disadvantage on which bigger players will capitalize.
Here he is against redshirt freshman Jeremiah Moon from Florida who is listed at 6-foot-6, 228 pounds, and is a player I have flagged to be a big name on draft day in a couple years. Moon goes up against Kelly in a one-on-one situation and completely bulldozes him:
Kelly gets credit for not shying away from the block, but that might be a more regular situation in the NFL where players are bigger, stronger and more aggressive than your average NCAA linebacker, even in the SEC. Kelly looked solid in protection and could stop your average blitz, but the question of how he deals with NFL linebackers remains.
Kelly is extremely comfortable running to the flat or shorter routes and dealing with hunting defenders that attack him. Often I saw him catch a ball in traffic and take a big hit or find a way to make opponents miss. Watch how he quickly processes the attacking safety from LSU and spins to get more yards after the catch:
Though Kelly didn't get the first down there, he would when Tennessee gave it to him on fourth down. Kelly is quick to accelerate and attack when he sees he has space. This is where his hard-running style comes in handy as you can see him truck a 6-foot safety in space:
Kelly's athleticism is accentuated by his ability to switch between his shiftiness in space that can make defenders miss while also being able to accelerate quickly and use his strong leg drive to run over hesitating opponents.
In the comparison to Kamara, Kelly is an inch shorter and a few pounds lighter while measuring as less explosive with shorter vertical (35.0 to 39.5 inches) and broad (120.0 to 131.9 inches) jumps. While Kelly didn't run the 40-yard dash at the combine, he registered an unofficial 4.50 time at his pro day, faster than Kamara's 4.56 last year.
He projects as a running back NFL teams will hesitate to select because of his size who could be selected as early as the third round by some and as late as the sixth. I expect Kelly to be around as late as the fifth, which could make an interesting addition to the Steelers' offense with a hard runner who could spell Bell and give the team an option if Conner gets hurt again.
Kelly's combination of vision and hard-running, mixed with agile open field moves, could make him a viable mid-to-late round option for the Steelers if he's available.