The Steelers have selected a running back in the middle rounds of the draft in each of the past four years. So it's no surprise the team's running back room is among the youngest in the NFL.
It's also the lowest-paid running back group in the league.
That's something that wouldn't have happened had Le'Veon Bell accepted any of the offers the Steelers made to him during their two-year-long run of negotiations that ended with him sitting out the entire 2018 season. If he had, they might not have selected running back Anthony McFarland in the fourth round of this year's draft.
It took three games for McFarland to see his first action this season, the Steelers (3-0), who are in a surprise bye this weekend, are excited about what they've seen.
"Anthony McFarland, he’s a great young back," David DeCastro said. "He’s talented. I like the way he moves in space, his cutting ability. He’s just very fluid. And he’s young, too, which is great at that position."
The praise heaped on McFarland after he had 42 yards on six carries in last Sunday's 28-21 win over the Texans didn't end there. Mike Tomlin has seen him evolve and work his way into the equation in what is a crowded running back room thanks to all of the draft picks the team has used on the position.
"He has merited more playing time. He has had some really good practices," Tomlin said this week. "It’s a difficult environment for young guys to establish themselves and get the type of feel that you are willing to play them and play them a lot without preseason games and so forth. The process might be a little more cumbersome for him. And he has continually worked hard and earned the opportunity that he got and I’m sure we are going to continue down that road with he and others."
James Conner is the "bell cow." He'll continue to get the bulk of the carries, so long as he remains healthy. And the Steelers used Benny Snell, who had a 100-yard game subbing for Conner in a season-opening win over the Giants, as a short-yardage back.
That would seem to leave McFarland fighting with Jaylen Samuels for snaps. Against the Texans, McFarland was on the field for 10 snaps, compared to six for Samuels, the team's third-down back.
With no preseason games because of the coronavirus pandemic, the rookie had to wait three weeks to show the coaching staff what he could do with the ball in his hands against an NFL defense. It didn't take long, however, for the rookie to show the 4.4-second 40-yard speed he displayed at Maryland.
"It was exciting to go out there and get my feet wet," said McFarland. "I just really had fun yesterday. I wasn't nervous because I thought about doing it with my teammates, the guys. It's a team game so at the end of the day I just want to win. That is all I care about. It was good to be out there and be a part of something. My adrenaline was pumping because I was excited. I was just ready to go. Just being out there with the team was a dream come true. All I could think about when I got my first carry was be decisive."
He had a 7-yard run on his first career carry. His second rush gained 20 yards.
It was a good start for a player whose selection in the draft was not wholly accepted by Steelers fans. Those who panned the pick did so because they felt the Steelers should have taken a running back earlier in the draft. And some felt McFarland, at 5-foot-8, 193 pounds, wasn't big enough to be a potential every-down runner in the NFL. Visions of past misses on smaller backs such as Dri Archer and Chris Rainey danced in their heads.
But the Steelers saw a smaller runner who, despite his lack of size, is capable of running inside. So, they selected wide receiver Chase Claypool with their second-round pick -- they didn't have a first -- then took outside linebacker Alex Highsmith in the third round, waiting until the 124th selection to take McFarland. Claypool has made a major impact, not just as a receiver, but on special teams, as well. Highsmith, meanwhile, also has played a role, averaging 10 snaps per game in the first three weeks on defense while spelling starters T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree. And the Steelers got a spot start out of guard Kevin Dotson, selected in the fourth round after McFarland, as well, in a win over the Broncos in Week 2.
McFarland had to wait a little longer to make his debut, but it might be hard to get him back out of there now.
With Conner set to be a free agent at the end of the season, the Steelers might choose to stay young and cheap in the running back room. And that might mean an even more prominent role for McFarland, depending on whether or not he can show he deserves that the rest of this season.
"I went through the same thing my whole career, patience and waiting until your number is called," McFarland said. "I went through that in high school and college. I am numb to it. I know to keep my head down and keep going and things will happen. I knew once my number was called, I could do some things."