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LeVeon Bell got off to a late start in his rookie season due to injuries but then proved he was worthy of his second round draft selection. As the tight end position increasingly becomes more of a focal point in offensive schemes , one can only imagine what this list will look like in years down the road. He has held the all-time rushing yards record since 2002 and is the only player with over 17,000 regular season rushing yards. He made another Pro Bowl in 1993 but only rushed for half as many yards due to injuries. He returned to put . Mendenhall provided the following reason for retiring so young: Football was pretty cool, but I dont want to play anymore. Today we ranked the Pittsburgh Steeler Running Backs throughout their franchise! When a running back like Jerome Bettis, Franco Harris, or John Henry Johnson tramples linebackers and safeties all game, it grinds opponents down and destroys their will to compete. He finished his career in Pittsburgh with 3,115 rushing yards, 241 receptions, and 34 total touchdowns. Today's NFL teams do not use fullbacks as often as they once did, instead favoring spread offenses and dynamic passing attacks featuring three or more wide receivers and multiple tight ends. He led the Steelers in rushing from 1961 to 1964 and made three straight Pro Bowls from 1962 to '64. The next season, he racked up 1,273 yards and 13 touchdowns on the way to an AFC Championship win. Barry Foster first came to the attention of Steeler Nation in 1990 when he treated a kickoff as a punt, stood aside, and watched the ball bounce along the ground until the opposing team recovered it. In many ways, this style of offense is the polar opposite of the methods the Steelers used to win six Super Bowls. Williams didn't post a 1,000-yard season in this decade mostly due to the fact he shared the backfield with another player on our list. During that year, Peterson won league MVP the last running back to do so. CHARLESTON, W.Va. . That's Steelers football. After a slow start (for a seventh overall draft pick from . In 1992, we found out who the heck that guy was: the man who would run for more yards in one season than any Steelers running back in team history. Harris managed to get 691 rushing yards, with an average of five yards. He'll continue to split time with Nick Chubb in the backfield, but the Browns are a run-first team that will use the talents of both. Having gone through a tough contract negotiation in 1995, the Steelers instead of trying to settle traded Foster over to the Carolina Panthers who then cut the running back in training camp due to a failed physical. Those three men will be bypassed for this article despite Johnson ranking third in the all-time rushing yardage for the Black and Gold. The 23-year-old was on his way to two straight special years to begin his NFL career before the Chiefs cut him following his involvement with a woman in a domestic dispute. Insider insists Tom Brady could sign with 49ers in 2023, The 'Most recent first-round NFL quarterbacks' quiz, Seven Cubs pitchers combine for spring no-hitter vs. Padres, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones comments on Tony Pollard rumor, Ben Simmons suffers back injury while rehabilitating, Insider: It's Packers, Jets 'or bust' for Aaron Rodgers, QB Anthony Richardson doesn't understand his 'project' label, Vikings HC reveals 'crazy' thoughts about star WR, XFL player released for giving another team plays from own playbook. Lynch was an underrated pass-catcher in his prime too. Meanwhile, at No. He never made a Pro Bowl and never had a 1,000-yard season, but he appeared in 111 games over nine seasons and managed to rack up 3,989 career rushing yards. The mid-'80s were a tough time for Steeler Nation. In fact, no back has even finished top-two in consecutive years, and only Adrian Peterson (second in 2009 and 2015; first in 2012) and Le'Veon Bell (first in 2014; second in 2017) have even had more than one top-two year in a decade. Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Foster timed his career perfectly for this list, breaking out with 1,616 yards, leading the league in rushing, in 2010. Meanwhile, Myles Jack's cap hit grows significantly from $4.75 million last year to $11.25 million in 2023. These quarterbacks have started at least one game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thornton was also a member of the Super Bowl winning teams for Pittsburgh in 1979 and 1980. Let's take a look back at the rest of the Steelers picks since the 2000 season. Barry Foster: Unfortunately for Barry Foster, his career was short in the Burgh. Harris played 980 offensive snaps during the regular season . The next ingredient is a tough, hard-nosed rushing attack that controls the ball and methodically plows through opposing defenses. March 1, 2023 2:19 pm PT. Starters per season [ edit] These quarterbacks have started at least one game for the Pittsburgh Steelers . By Ross Kelly and Tony Adame, updated on October 18, 2022. They will be joined by this year's selection, making six for the 2022 season. But it was his story of injury during the war that gave him notoriety at the start of his career. In Super Bowl XXX when the Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys that many thought that Pittsburgh could have won if not for Neil ODonnells errant interceptions, Morris rushed for 73 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown. Harris is one of the main reasons the Steelers won four Super Bowls in the 1970s. The fullback might get the ball once or twice a game in short-yardage situations, but for the most part, he was turned into a blocking specialist. Teams run RPOs, or run-pass option plays, where the quarterback decides after the snap whether he will hand the ball off or throw a pass. As a Steeler, Famous Amos ran the ball 434 times for 1,698 yards and was a powerful running back at 205 pounds on a 58 frame. 4M; . Nick Chubb finished first the AFC North in 2021 with 1,259 rushing yards, despite finishing third with 228 carries. A bruising Hall of Famer running back, Franco Harris was the perfect embodiment of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense during their championship runs in the 1970s. It worked perfectly with the maulers he had in front of him in Pittsburgh as he has some Xbox like highlight reels to show for it. He also posted many of his best seasons in the previous decade, which robbed him of a chance at the top 10 on this list. From '61 to '64, he was part of a powerful rushing attack along with Hall of Famer John Henry Johnson. He'll likely end up with a good chunk of dough in free agency, but it's hard to believe . The 30-year-old has failed to rush for 500 yards in four of his seven seasons in the NFL. Overall, Charles recorded 8,110 yards from scrimmage during the decade with the Chiefs, Broncos and Jaguars from 2010-18. Prior to being drafted by the Army for service, Bleier was a University of Notre Dame product graduating in 1968 earning a degree in Business Management. In 2005, speedy Willie Parker took advantage of paths cleared by Kreider, and the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Some readers are probably going to argue this is too high for Forte. Charles also ran for 1,509 yards in 2012 and 1,033 yards in 2014. Wanting the jersey number 26 which he wore at Notre Dame, Preston Pearson held those digits so Rocky settled for No. Sep 20, 1992; San Diego, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Barry Foster (29) in action against San Diego Chargers defenders Junior Seau (55) and George Thornton (93) at Jack . Harris was a part of four championship team and would be named to the Pro Bowl nine times. In 1999 the Chiefs cut him and his life spiraled out of control with drug problems and jail time. I want to travel the world and write. If that wasnt strange enough, Mendenhall got himself into hot water in 2011 as a Steeler when he tweeted a controversial reaction to the United States elimination of Osama bin Laden. His performance in the 1989 playoffs, when he turned in back-to-back 100-yard games against Houston and Denver, is the stuff of Steelers' legend. Parker set the record for longest rushing touchdown from scrimmage in a Super Bowl (XL) with a romp of 75 yards which still stands today. Who should be on top of the Steelers NFL Free Agency board? However, from 2010-14 he was the best all-purpose back in the league. He spent his first year in the NFL with the Giants before coming to the Steelers in 1970. TODAY: Running backs Since the merger in 1970, the Pittsburgh Steelers have rushed for more yards than any other team in the National Football League, and this commitment got two of their running backs elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The intent is to lean the offensive game plan toward the passing game and open up the defense with complex formations and plays. 1. Jerome Bettis (1996-2005). On a better team, Jones-Drew may have been able to flourish for longer than three seasons, but from 2009-11, he was one of the best backs in the league. During his career, he's averaged 128.9 yards from scrimmage per game. Preston Pearson: Pearson wore Rocky Bleiers college number of 26 and was a solid football player who was a member of the Steelers first Super Bowl winning team in 1975 when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 in Super Bowl IX. But Jackson was still one of the best runners of the 2010s. As a rookie, on a terrible offense, he finished as a top 24 running back in 93% of his games last year. Reportedly, a local sportswriter told Rooney that Kiesling purposely made his lineman jump offsides so they could run their bread-and-butter Rogel running play first. All-time Receiving Leader: Hines Ward 1,000 rec, 12,083 yds, 85 TD . Franco Harris is not only the best Steelers running back in franchise history, but one of the greatest Steelers of all time. Dudley also served his country during World War II as a member of the Army and played for that team while away from the NFL. The Steelers had a reputation of big bruising backs but Parker spelled that philosophy with speed and elusiveness. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. Great Pittsburgh Steelers players such as Heath Miller, Bennie Cunningham, and Eric Green, who could count among the best NFL players ever, have gone down as some of the best tight ends in Steelers franchise history. Harris disputed that and said he was 240 pounds as a rookie. Abercrombie played one more season in 1988 with the cross state Philadelphia Eagles before retiring. This means two backs in the backfield, usually lined up side by side. While Gore has never led the league in rushing or made All-Pro, his consistency lands him at No. Jerome Bettis was a 250-pound battering ram with incredible quickness for a man his size. In 2015 he finished second in the league in rushing and earned a spot on the All-Pro Team. He holds the team record for most rushing yards in a career (11,950) as well as most rushing touchdowns (91) and total touchdowns (100). name the pittsburgh steelers running back to the last 10 years. Rob Burns / AP Photo. Each offense makes its own set of demands on running backs, and every back mentioned in this article needed a specific set of attributes to succeed. Trump can be sued by cops United States 11:10 am - 10,090 views; Train crash toll now 57 Greece 9:38 am - 3,746 views; Snow, rain end drought California 9:32 am - 1,290 views; More World News In 1944 he led Army to an undefeated record with 12 victories and was named the teams Most Valuable Player. He'll get the chance to continue his career with the Browns, but he'll miss the first eight games of 2019 because of a suspension. The Senate passed the bill . He is currently a free agent and the third oldest running back in the NFL, as well as the second oldest active running back. Former Tulane Green Wave running back Tyjae Spears made a big splash at the Senior Bowl, but that was hardly the first time he put on a show. Hoak's record as the team's running backs coach was 149-90-1, making him the third-most successful running backs coach in Pittsburgh Steelers history. His 6-foot-2, 230 pound frame made it virtually impossible for one defender to take him down. Winning three Super Bowls helps earn you a spot on this list too. PITTSBURGH (AP) Mike Tomlin wasn't ready to go there, with all due respect.