You get what you pay for.
Sure, there might be such a thing as a bargain, but typically when you pay bargain-basement prices, you get basement results. See the Steelers' running game as proof of that.
For the past three years, the Steelers' running backs room has been one of the cheapest in the NFL. When Le'Veon Bell declined to play on the franchise tag in 2018, the Steelers went into a cycle where they had a discount lead runner in James Conner, a former third-round compensatory pick playing on his rookie deal, and a bunch of young, cheap players backing him up.
The results have been remarkably consistent. And not in a good way.
Despite Conner earning Pro Bowl status in 2018 -- remember when some claimed Conner was better than Bell? -- the Steelers have ranked 31st, 29th and 32nd running the ball the past three seasons.
They were 20th in 2017, Bell's last season with the team. That's not great, but in a league with so many running quarterbacks adding to their respective team totals, the Steelers, with a pocket passer in Ben Roethlisberger, aren't going to be a top-10 running team. They probably can't even get to 15 without having a quarterback chipping in some yardage.
That brings us to this year's draft. There are those who believe you shouldn't use premium draft picks on running backs. After all, 1,000-yard rushers can be found anywhere in a draft.
But as pointed out here a few weeks ago, of the 311 1,000-yard seasons posted by a running back in the past 20 years, 207 have been by players taken in the first or second rounds. That's 66.6 percent. Add in the third-round picks, and 80 percent of those 1,000-yard seasons have come from players taken on the first two days of the draft.
With Conner -- who never had a 1,000-yard rushing season -- a free agent, the Steelers don't have a lead running back on their roster. And every draft analyst is on record as saying this year's draft has just three runners in Alabama's Najee Harris, North Carolina's Javonte Williams and Clemson's Travis Etienne, who are capable of being that for an NFL team.
That doesn't mean there won't be one later-round player who emerges, but figuring out which one is anyone's best guess. The players beyond the top three all have flaws in their games.
With the exception of running back, the Steelers have players at every other position with regular starting experience. And outside of re-signing Conner, who has proven that he's not a true No. 1 running back, there's nobody on the free agent market to fill that role.
That's why the Steelers need to do whatever is necessary to acquire Harris, Williams or Etienne in the upcoming draft, whether that be taking one in the first round or moving up in the second round to ensure that.
YOUR TURN: Should the Steelers do whatever is necessary to get one of the top 3 running backs?
