Pittsburgh Steelers: Position Breakdown, Depth Chart Analysis at Running Back

The running game has become increasingly important to the Pittsburgh Steelers in recent years, thanks to the team selecting Le'Veon Bell in Round 2 of the 2013 NFL draft. Though Bell's rookie season wasn't incredibly productive in terms of yards, he did contribute eight rushing touchdowns that year.

But in 2014, Bell made his presence known. He had the second-highest rushing yardage total in the league, with 1,361. He also had 854 receiving yards as well as 723 yards after catches—the second-most in the NFL at any position. He finished second overall in yards from scrimmage, with 2,215, had another eight rushing touchdowns, did not fumble once and ended the year a Pro Bowler and a first-team All-Pro.

With that said, the Steelers are fairly settled when it comes to the running back position, except for one nagging thing—Bell's three-game suspension to start the season.

Bell is ready to "grow up and move forward" from the marijuana-related DUI that led to his suspension, according to ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler, but the matter is being appealed. However, there has been no movement in terms of that decision, so for now, the Steelers must be ready with an alternate plan.

That's part of the reasoning behind the Steelers bringing in veteran free agent DeAngelo Williams this offseason. The Steelers need a reliable back to carry the workload in the team's first three games without Bell. But they also needed an experienced player to bring leadership into the locker room at the position, as well as someone they can trust to work as Bell's backup.

Williams is 32 years old, though, and entering his 10th year in the NFL. Though he's still a capable back, averaging 3.5 yards per carry with the Carolina Panthers in 2014 and 4.8 yards per carry over his career, he's not a long-term solution at the backup running back position.

With just 178 career catches—or just 95 more than Bell had in 2014—it's also hard to tell if he'll be able to take over Bell's workload in the first three games of the year.

For what it's worth, that's not something that seems to bother Williams, though questions about it certainly do. In speaking with the media after OTAs last week, Williams (via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler) went on a minute-long rant about his role in Pittsburgh. He said:

"

Let me make sure we get this straight. Because all the Le'Veon questions and me and if I'm able to fill the role or if I'm not and all this. I came from Carolina, where I started for most of my career, OK? So that's not a heavy workload AT ALL. By no means is it a heavy workload. All I have to do is get the playbook down, which I am. Understanding the terminology, which is different than Carolina's, which I am [learning]. There won't be any questions or problems with me answering these questions. Ya’ll just sit back and take a seat and relax and enjoy the show. ...

Just sit back and enjoy the show and you can answer your own questions. If you watch practice, I get out here and work on my hands to get them right. I'm aware he caught 85 balls. I'm aware that Dri [Archer] caught a lot of balls last year. I'm aware that if the ball is thrown in my direction, I'm expected to catch it because the media is going to be on my back. I understand the role that I'm put in right now. I'm behind Le'Veon. I'm Le'Veon's backup. There's going to be a lot of emphasis on me. I get it. But guess what? I'm ready to handle that role. Whatever you guys are ready to throw at me, I'm ready for it. So shoot. Give me everything that you've got. Because it can't get any worse than what you've already given me

"

But if Williams does not prove effective in a pass-catching role, he'll be the primary runner, while someone like Dri Archer, who he mentioned, could be the third-down back in Weeks 1 through 3. Archer, a third-round pick in the 2014 draft, is an undersized back with limited blocking skills. 

Because of that, Archer was rarely on the field as a rookie, and he rushed just 10 times for 40 yards and no scores, while also catching seven passes on 10 targets for 23 yards.

Still, head coach Mike Tomlin has been optimistic about Archer's 2015. Earlier this spring at the NFL's owners meetings, he said:

"

I'm excited about what 2015 can be for him. It's his second lap around the track. I have a reasonable expectation that he's going to grow in all areas and be a productive player for us. Guys like him usually do that. He's a good guy, a smart guy, he's hard working. He has all the variables that usually produce a positive outcome, and we're going to give him an opportunity to do it.

"

Player	Atts.	Yds.	YPC	Rush TD	YPG	Fum.
Bell	290	1,361	4.7	8	85.1	0
Archer	10	40	4.0	0	3.3	1
Harris	9	16	1.8	0	3.2	0
Williams*	62	219	3.5	0	36.5	1

Archer said last week to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac that he "was disappointed" with how his rookie season went and has spent his offseason working hard to improve as a runner, receiver and blocker.

It is anticipated that Archer will again serve as a change-of-pace back behind Bell and Williams and will again try his hand at returning kicks. He returned nine kickoffs last year for a disappointing 161 yards, but this year, there is a lot of optimism around Archer's ability to bounce back from his rookie-year struggles and at least make the kick-returner position his own.

Further down on the depth chart is Josh Harris, who made the Steelers practice squad as an undrafted rookie last year and was promoted to the active roster when LeGarrette Blount walked out on his team and was subsequently released.

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Harris, though, only saw action late in the season and had nine carries for 16 yards in the regular season. He also had nine rushes for 25 yards in the Steelers' Wild Card Round loss to the Baltimore Ravens, serving as one of the team's fill-ins for Bell, who suffered a knee injury in Week 17 that held him out of the postseason. 

Harris is a physical specimen—the NFL has apparently "randomly" tested him twice for steroids in the past three months—and he had an important, albeit marginal role to play last year. This year, he's competing for the No. 3 or No. 4 running back job. And he has competition aside from Archer for it.

The Steelers rounded out their running back corps with a pair of undrafted rookie free agents this year: Lafayette's Ross Scheuerman and Northern Illinois' Cameron Stingily. The two are night-and-day in terms of their size and skill set, and either could be a good fit for the Steelers 53-man roster—or like Harris last year, the practice squad.

Of the two, Scheuerman seems to have the greatest long-term potential in Pittsburgh, given that he has a similar all-around skill set as Bell. Last year, he rushed for 1,191 yards, averaged five yards per carry and had 12 rushing touchdowns, while adding another 521 yards on 57 receptions.

He could spend 2015 on the 53-man roster in order to prevent poaching by another team and become the No. 2 back to Bell in a year's time, when Williams' services will no longer be needed.

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Stingily, in contrast, is more in the mold of Harris, in that he's a larger back—he weighs 240 pounds—and has limited experience as a receiver, having caught only nine passes in college and just two in 2014. He did rush for 971 yards and had 14 rushing scores while also averaging five yards per carry last year, though.

He's more likely to be in direct competition with Harris for a roster spot, but like Harris, he would be a good practice squad candidate for 2015.

The Steelers are set up to have another year of successful running. Though they will likely be without Bell for the first three weeks, Williams, Archer and either Harris or Scheuerman should be able to hold down the fort until Bell returns. And when he does, the Steelers will have the services of the NFL's best running back to boost both their passing and rushing offenses.

Williams, meanwhile, brings much-needed veteran experience to an otherwise young receiving corps. Archer will likely have a greater role on special teams than at running back, but that is an important one for a speedy player like him to master. Meanwhile, Scheuerman, Harris and Stingily give the Steelers options at the position, in 2015 and in the future.

As of now, the Steelers have no worries about their running backs for the 2015 season.