The Pittsburgh Steelers are now into the offseason, following a year in which they had high hopes for Super Bowl success, but ultimately fell short of even reaching the postseason at 8-8. It was a tumultuous season, both on the field and within the roster, and the months to follow figure to have some drama as well, especially in light of the team’s failure to improve upon the year before.
The team made some bold moves over the course of the past year, and some areas of the roster look quite a bit different than they did a year ago, or even at the start of the regular season. Whether due to injuries or otherwise, a lot has transpired, and we’re left to wonder how much more will change prior to September.
How will Ben Roethlisberger’s rehab progress as he winds toward recovery from an elbow injury that cost him almost the entire season? What about some of the key young players, some of whom have already impressed, others still needing quite a bit of growth? Will there be changes to the coaching staff? The front office? Who will they not retain in free agency, and whom might they bring in?
These are the sorts of questions among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked, though there is rarely a concrete answer, as I’ve learned in my years of doing this.
Question: Who is the best running back in the AFC North?
Note: for simplicity’s sake, I’m just going to use images of Steelers for the cover photos of these articles. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m arguing they’re the best.
Next up on the list is the running back position. The AFC North has been no stranger to great running backs in NFL history, including several hall of Famers, with the Steelers being big contributors to that with the likes of Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis. But what about James Conner?
The division actually has a lot of talent at this position right now, and it can be argued that Pittsburgh has the weakest starter. Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns has been great for them the past two years, and on top of that, they also have Nick Chubb. Then the Cincinnati Bengals have Joe Mixon, who is due to be paid.
The Baltimore Ravens brought in Mark Ingram last season and he certainly helped out, rushing for over 1000 yards and with 10 touchdowns with another five receiving scores. But their system is geared toward Lamar Jackson, and we’ve better not include him in this conversation.
The Browns have the best one-two punch in the division. The Steelers could possibly make a case for having the deepest. But do they have the best running back in the division? Maybe when Conner is fully healthy he could challenge that. As for me, I think my money is on Chubb.
