Unlike the previous two seasons, the Steelers finally have some clarity in the Le'Veon Bell situation. They know he won't be showing up at any point in the 2019 season after he signed with the Jets as a free agent.
With that torrid chapter of the franchise's history behind them, they can concentrate on building their backfield around James Conner.
With Bell a holdout in 2018, Conner took the reins and put together a Pro Bowl year in just his second NFL season, rushing for 973 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games.
But Conner missed three games late in the season with an ankle injury, turning things over to Stevan Ridley and rookie Jaylen Samuels. Samuels rushed for 256 yards on 56 carries as a rookie -- including 142 on 19 carries in a win over the Patriots -- but Ridley wasn't retained in free agency.
That leaves the Steelers with a hole at their No. 3 running back position, unless they feel Trey Edmunds -- the older brother of safety Terrell Edmunds -- Ralph Webb or Malik Williams are ready to be that guy. Trey Edmunds spent the 2017 season with the Saints before being signed to the practice squad last season, while Webb and Williams are jouneymen.
That means, for the third consecutive year, the Steelers could be in the hunt for a running back in the middle rounds of the draft after selecting Conner in the third round in 2017, and Samuels in the fifth round in 2018.
And in this year's draft, which begins April 25, that range could be the sweet spot to select another runner to add to the mix.
After seeing several running backs selected high in the first round the past few years, there doesn't appear to be one who will go in the top half of the first round this year. In fact, there might not be a running back selected in the first round at all.
If one does get picked, it will probably be Alabama's Josh Jacobs, who is expected to be picked ahead of teammate Damien Harris, even though Harris got more carries than Jacobs every year they were together with the Crimson Tide.
A 5-foot-10, 220-pound banger, Jacobs is built for the rigors of the pro game and the fact he never got more than 120 carries in a single season at Alabama -- despite averaging 5.9 yards per carry in his career -- is attractive to many teams. They feel his best football remains ahead of him.
Iowa State's David Montgomery and Penn State's Miles Sanders -- a Woodland Hills High School product -- should be the next two running backs selected, probably in the second or early in the third round.
Montgomery has a knack for making defenders miss, despite not being overly fast -- he ran a 4.63-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. But he rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons, while also showing a nice ability to catch the ball.
Sanders spent his first two seasons in State College backing up Saquon Barkley, but emerged last season with Barkley gone to post over 1,400 total yards and nine touchdowns.
Sanders is accustomed to waiting his turn for playing time.
"It was definitely difficult," Sanders said. "I would say that’s the most adversity I faced. Coming out of high school I was a five-star recruit, highly recruited. I was expecting it to be a 1-2 punch type of situation when I got there. It obviously wasn’t that. But just learning from Saquon, picking his brain, how he thinks, how he learns, how he prepares for games, helped me become a better player on and off the field.”
He wouldn't mind doing the same thing in Pittsburgh.
"I would love to play for Mike Tomlin," said Sanders, who has had formal meetings and visits with the Steelers. "I asked certain people on the Steelers staff how he is. They said he’s a cool dude, laid back. I know a lot of Pitt players who run into him at the facility. I’d be honored to play for the Steelers.”
If the Steelers aren't interested in grabbing a running back with one of their first three picks -- they have picks 20, 52 and 66 -- there are some talented guys in the middle rounds who also could help.
Harris could fall to the end of the third round, while Dexter Williams of Notre Dame, Rodney Anderson of Oklahoma and Devin Singletary of Florida Atlantic also could draw some interest late in the third round, or in the fourth.
Stanford's Bryce Love will be an interesting player to watch in this draft. A 2,000-yard rusher in 2017, Love decided to stay in school for his senior season.
But he was banged up throughout his final season and skipped the team's bowl game when it was announced he had suffered a torn ACL.
"There's no regrets. I got the opportunity to play at one of the best universities and with some of my best friends for another year," Love said of his decision to stay in school. "We didn't win as many games as we wanted to, but you're only guaranteed 12 games. And after that, I was blessed. I learned a lot. I feel like I'm a better player for it."
Love has had his ACL surgery and is rehabbing, and he feels he'll be ready to contribute in 2019.
"I'm starting to run in the pool, all that good stuff," Love said in late February. "I'm doing a lot of different balance stuff, of course, single-leg, doing some more dynamic work, as well. As of right now, the timetable is to be ready by mid-training camp, so I'll be ready for the season."
Some other mid- to late-round picks who could be solid contributors include Oklahoma State's Justice Hill, Karon Higdon of Michigan, Travis Homer of Miami (Fla.) and L.J. Scott of Michigan State.
Yes, another Michigan State back. At 6-foot, 227 pounds, Scott is similar in size to Bell and, like the former Steelers' running back, also hails from Ohio. Scott is from Youngstown.
Scott was particularly candid about how he felt about Bell sitting out the 2018 season, passing on the $14.5 million he would have made from the Steelers.
"Le’Veon Bell is a great running back, but we for sure learn from some of the mistakes he’s making or he’s made," Scott said. "You definitely don’t want to go down the same route.
"Personally, I wouldn’t do it, but like I said, it’s his career and I’m sure he has a plan for it.”
