Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2022 season is over, the team finishing above .500 but failing to make the postseason, we turn our attention to the offseason and everything that means. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on broader contexts, reflecting on a player’s development, either positively or negatively, over the course of the season. Other evaluations will reflect only one immediate event or trend. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: RB Anthony McFarland Jr.
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The veteran running back appears poised to enter training camp as the favorite to be the Steelers’ No. 3 at the position after the team failed to re-sign Benny Snell Jr. and did not add any veteran running backs or draft one. Even former camp favorite Master Teague III was eventually released.
Considering the fact that he had the best offseason of his career in 2022, it may be somewhat fitting that Anthony McFarland Jr. seems poised to regain his spot on the 53-man roster in 2023. He was leapfrogged last year due to the emergence of Jaylen Warren, whose role only continued to expand over the course of the year, and is likely one of the reasons the team didn’t feel the urge to re-sign Benny Snell Jr.
With the latter no longer on the roster, however, the door is as wide open as it has ever been for McFarland, who should be in the best shape of his career, physically and mentally, best capable of performing as the coaches want and expect him to.
And he’ll do so as a clear favorite behind Najee Harris and Warren at the position after the team failed to address the position in free agency or the draft. Yes, rookie college free agent Alfonzo Graham generated just a hint of buzz during spring drills, but he’s a long way off from replicating Warren’s success a year ago.
Of course, we didn’t know that Warren would be Warren at this time last year, which is fair to mention, and we should also point out that it’s even less likely this year that the Steelers will carry four halfbacks, as they occasionally do, due to overall roster depth, especially at tight end—even with fullback Derek Watt gone.
But I will feel as though McFarland is in better position not only to make the team but to potentially be a contributor in 2023. He has talked about maturing as a player and gaining a deeper understanding of the offense.
He now knows what he needs to know, and needs to do to make this team, and missing the cut a year ago only drove that point home more clearly. Unless Graham does something really remarkable, I don’t see him beating out the more veteran back this summer.
