We have already digested quite a lot from the first week and a half of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp sessions. We should be acutely aware that we haven’t even gotten to the preseason yet, however. The story will change several times over by the time we reach a preliminary 53-man roster.
Will third-year RB Anthony McFarland Jr. be included in that story, and how big of a part might he have to play? Steelers analyst and former quarterback Charlie Batch believes there’s a “huge opportunity” awaiting him in the preseason.
“With the loss of Benny Snell [Jr.], here you have now an opportunity for Anthony McFarland, who was drafted a couple years ago, to now be more predominant in this offense”, he said on Steelers Training Camp All-Access, from the team’s YouTube channel. “Play-action, draws. But can he continue to do that?”.
“I don’t expect Najee Harris to play much in this preseason, so that’s gonna be a huge opportunity for Anthony McFarland and these other running backs on this roster”, he offered, though those “other running backs” have a lot more ground to make up.
McFarland has been in the Steelers’ system for going on four years now since being drafted in the fourth round in 2020. He spent his entire rookie season on the 53-man roster but only played in 11 games, seeing 39 touches across 89 snaps.
He spent a large portion of his second season on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List and by the time he returned he’d fallen off the proverbial moving train. With the emergence last training camp of Jaylen Warren, the former Maryland product was reduced to the practice squad even though he’d had his best offseason yet.
With Snell no longer on the roster, as Batch mentioned, and nobody of prominence brought in to assume his role, the door is wide open for McFarland, who has been impressing this offseason, including during training camp. He has particularly seemed to make strides in the passing game, seeming unbeatable in coverage drills. Both Harris and Warren have noticed.
It’s been a long road for McFarland, who declared for the draft with three years of eligibility remaining to him, partly because of maturity concerns in the school. He’s had a lot of growing up to do over the past three years, and he’s done it, especially while stewing on the practice squad a year ago.
Now 24 years old, it may finally be time for him to come into his own. He has an excellent shot at making the 53-man roster as we sit here today, but it’s a tougher question to answer whether there will be a role for him in the offense and how big it might be.
Harris logged nearly 1,000 snaps as a rookie in 2021. His snaps last season dipped to 763, and that’s largely because the Steelers were trying to find work for Warren, who merited 342. If those totals hold for the 2023 season, what will be left for McFarland? He can help answer that question by really attacking the preseason and making himself a valuable commodity they’ll want to use.
