Anthony McFarland Jr. has had a good camp. And if any internal Pittsburgh Steeler is going to become the team’s third-string running back, it’s him. The competition we thought would play out this summer never materialized. Still, McFarland’s spot to the 53-man roster isn’t written in pen. If he returns a kick back for a long run tonight, that could obviously change. Even he admitted how much this final game means to his roster chances.
Still, the team may look for someone who fits the team’s more traditional mold of the third stringer. Bigger. Special teams value. And a player the team liked coming out of college.
One name checks all those boxes: Philadelphia Eagles’ Trey Sermon. An emailer to the podcast mentioned his name a few weeks ago and the more I looked into it, the more it made sense. If McFarland is replaced before Week One, watch out for Sermon. He’s a name to watch for a couple reasons. Here’s why.
1. Sermon Has Size
The Steelers like their backs big. They have a type. They want bigger, bruising types instead of smaller, space guys. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren are powerful runners, Warren short but not small, Harris as chiseled as they come. In the past, whether it’s James Conner or last year’s third-stringer Benny Snell Jr. (225 pounds coming out of Kentucky), the Steelers like size at the position.
Sermon is built right. For Pittsburgh, at least. Coming out of Ohio State in the 2021 draft, he checked in at 6003, 215 pounds. That fits the mold of what the Steelers look for, far bigger than McFarland, who checked in at 5081, 208 pounds coming out of Maryland. On tape, Sermon comes off as a powerful and downhill runner with a second gear and some shiftiness in the open field. He broke an arm tackle, made a cut, and took it to the house against the Cleveland Browns earlier in the preseason.
That size also helps in pass protection. Pass pro isn’t McFarland’s strong suit, and he doesn’t fit the team’s mold of a third-down back. Sermon may not be perfect but has the size to take on linebackers and has looked pretty good there, too. Watch him stone the Ravens’ linebacker on this play.
2. Special Teams Ability
The big issue with McFarland is his limited value on special teams, a one-unit man. Behind Harris and Warren, there’s little chance to see time offensively unless one of those guys get hurt. Pittsburgh knows it. Danny Smith said as much last year, before Warren even emerged.
“I used the example; ‘Men, Najee Harris isn’t coming out of a game,” Smith said he told the RB room last summer. “‘Where are you getting your carries?’”
Snell, last year’s third-string running back, saw a 42 offense snaps in 2022. He created his value by being a multi-phase, core special teamer playing on four units: kick coverage, kick return, punt coverage and punt return. He logged 284 special teams snaps last year, two-thirds of the Steelers’ total, and that justified his spot on the team and on the active gameday roster.
McFarland? He doesn’t have that. His best bet is acting as the team’s starting kick returner, where he’s arguably the frontrunner, but it’ll be limited snaps and even fewer impactful plays, especially after the NFL’s fair catch rule will reduce kick returns by about 10 percent. It’s not offering much.
In 2021, Sermon played 51 special teams snaps, 23 percent, across the nine games he appeared in for the San Francisco 49ers. There, he made a pair of tackles. It’s not a ton of snaps but it’s way more than the eight special teams snaps McFarland has for his NFL career. And Sermon has the size and build to cover kicks and punts. In fairness, he has no kick return background and replacing Sermon for McFarland would leave an open question to who would return Pittsburgh’s kicks. But it’s a solvable problem, probably with Calvin Austin III being next-man-up.
3. Pittsburgh Liked Sermon Coming Out
And by some accounts, they loved him. Transferring from Oklahoma to Ohio State, the Steelers had their eye on Sermon in 2021 as they looked for their next lead back to replace the departing James Conner. Following his Buckeyes Pro Day in March 2021, Sermon noted that he spoke with the Steelers, who thought highly of his game.
“Sermon said Tuesday during his post-Pro Day media session that he has had meetings with the Steelers during the pre-draft process and that he feels those really went well. He added he feels like the Steelers like his game because they told him as much during the meetings.”
Right before the NFL draft that April, top draft analyst Tony Pauline said the Steelers “loved” him.
“If the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t select Najee Harris in the first round and go offensive line instead, who’s the next running back on their list? I’m told the team loves Ohio State’s Trey Sermon, as he’s a perfect fit for their system. Some in the organization feel his playing style is similar to a young Le’Veon Bell.”
Of course, the Steelers did draft Harris in the first round, making their interest in Sermon moot. They found their running back. Sermon was selected in the third round by the 49ers and, after battling injuries, released the following season in Kyle Shanahan’s muddy backfield system.
But as much as any team, Pittsburgh loves circling back to prospects it liked coming out of the draft. In part due to their front office continuity, they just dust off old files of these players once they appear in free agency or on the waiver wire. There has been a general manager change and fairly decent scouting shakeup since 2021, Omar Khan replacing Kevin Colbert, but Tomlin is still there.
Sermon is fighting for a roster spot in Philadelphia right now. Some think he could sneak his way onto their 53 or narrowly lose out his spot. This Fox Sports prediction leaves Sermon off the 53. Philly Sports Network does the same. Ditto Philly Voice, though I’ve seen at least one outlet project that Sermon will make the team. Still, it’s clear his odds of making their roster are shaky at best, meaning he could come available on Aug. 29 when teams must trim their rosters from 90 to 53.
Obviously, there’s no guarantee any of this will happen. This is a speculation post, something we’re careful to do since we don’t want to link everyone to the Steelers. But this makes a ton of sense based on what Pittsburgh looks for in the position, Sermon’s resume, and the pre-draft connections.
