Entering Year Four in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, running back Anthony McFarland seems to finally be putting it all together.
Through the first two weeks of training camp, McFarland has turned heads and certainly looked the part as a capable No. 3 option behind star Najee Harris and dependable backup Jaylen Warren at the position.
While he’s still facing competition from Greg Bell, Darius Hagans and John Lovett, McFarland seems to have the No. 3 job in the bag at this point.
Though head coach Mike Tomlin wouldn’t outright state that Wednesday during his press conference leading up to the preseason opener Friday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road, Tomlin did praise the former Maryland star for the growth and development he’s shown over the years.
“You know, I think he was a redshirt sophomore when we drafted him, and so we realized that some development had to take place there. To his credit, he’s continually gotten better over his stay with us and his role has kind of grown continually as well,” Tomlin told reporters, according to video via the Steelers YouTube page. “And so what’s transpiring right now is just probably a continuation of what’s transpired and I’m excited for him and seeing if he can carve out an increased role for himself.”
McFarland has been in the Steelers’ system going on four years now since being drafted in the fourth round in 2020 as an ideal change-of-pace piece in the backfield with familiarity of offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s scheme in college. He spent his entire rookie season on the 53-man roster but only played in 11 games, seeing 39 touches across 89 snaps.
The small, quick running back then 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 Terrapins star was reduced to the practice squad even though he’d had his best offseason yet.
That experience on the practice squad really taught him how to be a professional. He recognized that he couldn’t make it by on his physical talent alone, that he had to put in the work to improve his game in all aspects to stick around in the NFL. Now, entering Year Four in the NFL, the Steelers are seeing that growth and development from McFarland paying off on the field.
He’s had some great practices overall, ripping off long runs, playing really well in 1v1 reps as a pass catcher showing off great hands and great routes, too. McFarland is a different type of running back than Pittsburgh currently has in Harris and Warren. Lacking that ideal size, he makes up for it with speed, quickness, and the pass-catching chops to be an ideal scat back. He’s done well in that facet of the game thus far in training camp, burning the likes of LB Kwon Alexander in one-on-ones while factoring into Pittsburgh’s pony package.
That growth and development is shining through in training camp practices. Now, McFarland needs to show it where it counts: in game settings starting Friday night in Tampa Bay.
