Last season marked another milestone for Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner. Conner took over the starting running back job and despite a limited workload, put together a very good season. Conner rushed for 973 yards and chipped in 497 yards receiving, as well. But there is one big reason fans should be optimistic 2019 will be much better for the young tailback.
The Steelers went into the 2018 offseason preparing for a rushing attack which included Le’Veon Bell. We all watched Bell sit out training camp and the preseason, but everyone assumed he would show up. Bell and Conner are different types of runners and the Steelers built an offense for Bell, not Conner.
This went on for half of the regular season before Bell closed the door on a return and opted to forfeit the season. It was too late to make significant changes, so Conner simply had to ride out the year. He basically operated in an offense built for a different type of runner.
But this time around, Conner doesn’t have to look over his shoulder. And the Steelers’ coaches can put in a scheme and system better suited to Conner’s game. This should give coaches more confidence to bump up Conner’s workload during the season. The ultimate benefit of this is to help balance things out and keep defenses honest.
