The Steelers Run Game Is Ranked WHAT??
On my drive to work, I was half-listening to some NFL talk on ESPN when a stat about the Pittsburgh Steelers made me do a double-take. According to Dan Orlovsky, over the past six seasons, the Steelers rank dead last in the NFL in rushing, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry. For a team that prides itself on tough, physical football, that stat is downright embarrassing.
It’s no secret that the Steelers want to run the ball. Before the 2021 draft, owner Art Rooney II made it clear that fixing the run game was priority number one. In response, the Steelers drafted Alabama star running back Najee Harris in the first round, hoping he’d revive the ground-and-pound style that has been their trademark. While Harris has been a solid back, the overall rushing attack has still been a major letdown.
Looking back, the mistake wasn’t picking Harris—it was picking him in the first round without first fixing the offensive line. Even the best running backs can’t do much behind a line that can’t open holes. To be fair, Najee at times did not help the situation either. There have been stretches where the Steelers have had success running the football, but it was more due to the volume of rushes rather than efficiency. The Steelers seemed to realize this a bit too late and have invested heavily in the O-line over the past few seasons, which is a step in the right direction.
Heading into the 2025 season, the offensive line appears to be in a better place than it has been in years—not perfect, but definitely improved. With young players developing and the expected addition of Troy Fautanu, there’s real potential for the line to take a big step forward. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Steelers added one or two more offensive linemen to create more competition at guard and tackle, which would, in turn, make the entire unit better. With the line close to complete, the next move should be finding the right running back to take advantage of it.
Fortunately, this year’s draft is loaded with talented running backs who could fit the bill. A few names that jump out to me and that I would love to see in Black and Gold are Kaleb Johnson from Iowa, DJ Giddens from Kansas State, and Bhayshul Tuten from Virginia Tech. All three have their own unique traits but share one important quality—they can hit the “home run,” something we haven’t seen much of from any Steelers running back in years. Even better, these players will most likely be available on Day 2, making them ideal targets for the Steelers. While these aren’t the only running backs I like for Pittsburgh, they’re the ones I’ve kept a close eye on.
And then there’s the quarterback situation. Bringing back Justin Fields, in my opinion, makes sense for a run-first offense. Fields might not be the long-term answer, but he’s one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league when it comes to running the football and has shown improvement as a passer. Reports suggest that Fields wasn’t 100% healthy in the 2024 season, which led the Steelers to limit his exposure as a runner. Even so, we saw flashes of what he’s capable of. While the stats weren’t eye-popping, the 2024 season may have been Fields’ best as a pro, showing that there’s room for growth and that he’s capable of improving. Pairing a mobile quarterback like Fields with a revamped run game could be the key to unlocking more of his potential.
I also expect the Steelers to add a proven wide receiver through free agency, along with a dynamic rookie, to complete the receiver room. Adding talent to the wide receiver group should help the offense become more efficient and effective. A lack of talent on offense has been an Achilles’ heel for the Steelers over the past few seasons.
As the offseason unfolds and teams fill out their rosters in free agency, we’ll get a clearer picture of what the Steelers might do. But one thing’s for sure—if they want to get back to being a contender, fixing the run game must be at the top of the list. And this time around, it seems like the Steelers are finally addressing it the right way.
I hope to have hope. But there’s a lot of unknowns. To me, the two biggest impediments to a much improved run game are 1) whether Jones can make a leap forward on the left side (I believe he can) and 2)- and the biggest- is Pat Meyer capable? I just remember the immediate difference that a quality OL coach made when Munchak came in. The line was hopeless until he arrived- but had been great in the past when a good coach was leading them previously.
I just can’t help but feel the Steelers are throwing athletes into the meat grinder without an excellent OL coach to lead them. And, particularly, with the clear Dotson resurgence in LA I can’t help but lay a great deal of blame at Meyer’s feet. He’s the position coach- and I think if he emphatically recommended Dotson be shifted to the other side it would have been done. His obvious perspective that side doesn’t matter seems (and I realize I’m not an OL coach)- but it seems really, stupidly wrong based on what players tend to say about the issue.
Therefore, I have a lot of doubt that the things mentioned in the article will ultimately change the 3.9 ypc stat very much this year.
I hear you but if Pat Meyer is going to get dinged for the bad it’s probably fair to praise him for the good too.
Zack Frazier had a great first year and Meyer was his coach. Isaac Seumalo made a Pro Bowl this past year, granted as a replacement, and Meyer was his coach. By all accounts Troy Fautanu had a nice camp and was trending toward starting all year as a first year player, and Meyer was his coach. I get the point with Dotson but that can also be the result of him just being a late bloomer, I don’t know.
Okay- fair point. But let’s contrast history. in 2013 (the year before Munchak arrived)- David Decastro did well, too. Ranked as 5th best guard in the entire league that year. Leveon Bell even rushed for over 1200 yards as a rookie. Pouncey got hurt that year, which could have been used as a blanket excuse. But, in those days, the Steelers recognized when the overall performance wasn’t good enough and seemed less prone to such excuses. Bicknell got replaced. Munchak took 4 of the same 5 players (Gilbert, Decastro, Foster, and Beachum) and turned them into pro-bowl or nearly pro-bowl level performers in a single season.
I just think that specific position coach is extremely important. Without an improvement there, I just struggle to see the effectiveness improving much, save alarmingly better talent at each and every skill position. And, I think we can all agree, there’s not a real clear path to see that happen this year, especially at qb.
The regression of good individuals under Meyer is damning. Even when the line improved in past years it was after 8 games. That’s half a season. Not good enough. The biggest indictment is Dotson performing at a high level elsewhere. He had the talent but Meyer couldn’t bring it out. Of all the Steelers coaches, it is his area that have performed the worst on a consistent basis. There’s got to be someone better out there. I have almost zero confidence that we’ll see any serious improvement until he’s gone.
There was one other underobserved factor in their improvement in those two seasons after 8 games, but reported here by KT Smith – they abandoned the outside zone blocking scheme and went heavily into gap/power blocking in mid-season. What Coach Smith has pointed out here before is that the linemen, the running backs, and the OL coach are all largely skilled and experienced with gap/power blocking schemes, but for the past several years, under both Canada and Artie Smith, they’ve been trying to run outside zone. This is why they’re not the Eagles….once again, quoting KT Smith’s observations….the Eagles align all elements of their team and game, and the Steelers don’t. That’s why we’re getting 3.9 yards/carry and the Eagles ran the football right to the Super Bowl.
Isaac Seumalo, Zack Frazier and Troy Fautano (albeit a small sample size) progressed under Pat Meyer, no? Dan Moore Jr. was ok until the end of the year when the schedule got rough. I don’t think that anyone can say that Broderick Jones regressed as he never progressed to be able to regress to begin with. I suppose some of that’s on Pat Meyer.
I suspect Meyer has an obsession with trying to change things up mid-season, regardless of how things are going.
Season starts well –> dive at mid-season.
Season starts badly –> uptick at mid-season.
It’s been like this EVERY year. Doesn’t matter who’s on the line, or who gets injured, or if there’s no injuries at all. Every. Dang. Year.
I see this as much less a talent problem, and more a scheme issue. Whatever it is the O line is being taught + the utterly predictable offense x the lack of explosive passing game = the worst run game in the NFL. loaded boxes, and head starts for defenses are gonna be hard for any team to execute against.
I don’t see this getting better by only changing the RB.
Yeah if anything Harris did better than what one would expect behind those OLs.
Because fighting through a scrum is definitely his strength.
It’s been said that a good running game will open up the passing game. It’s also been said that having a good passing game will open up the running game. The Steelers have neither of these things.
I have never been a football coach on any level but I would imagine that game planning for the Steelers offense is about as easy at it can be in the NFL. They won’t pass much to begin with, they won’t pass in the middle of the field, they don’t run many intermediate routes. They want to run the ball first and foremost in seemingly the most unimaginative ways possible.
It would seem to me the people most responsible for the Steelers’ pathetic running game are opposing defensive coordinators who are having no issue with devising ways to stop it.