With their first pick on the second day of the 2013 NFL Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Michigan State running back Le’Veon Bell. Then on the third day of the draft there were rumors that the Steelers were shopping one of their running backs for a trade and that player was rumored to be Jonathan Dwyer. However, an attempt to trade one of their running backs failed and now the team will have a large group to compete for roster spots during the off-season and training camp.
After signing former-Arizona Cardinals running back Larod Stephens-Howling, who played with Todd Haley from 2009-2011, and signing undrafted rookie free agent running back Curtis McNeal out of USC the Steelers have six running backs on their 90-man roster. Only four of those players are expected to make the final roster. That means cutting two players and one will likely be the undrafted rookie unless he shows very good things during camp.
That leaves one more player to be cut and it won’t be Bell, which means Jonathan Dwyer, Isaac Redman or Baron Batch could all be on the chopping block. Stephens-Howling seems likely to make the roster with his ability to return kicks, play special teams, and catch the ball out of the back-field. He is also the fastest back on the roster making him the only real option for a change of pace back behind a combination of power backs in Dwyer, Redman and Bell.
Batch could be on the chopping block, but the Steelers are very high on him. He is a solid third down running back option and very good pass blocker in the backfield. Batch is also a very good special teams player and even served as the special teams captain at times during the 2012 season. Typically the Steelers want players that can do multiple things for the team as the guys they keep lower on the depth chart which means Batch and Stepehens-Howling have a good shot to make the team.
That also means the Steelers could be looking to cut Redman or Dwyer, both of whom started games for the team at running back last season. Redman is still a good player for short yardage situations and a solid back-up running back, but he doesn’t look to be a future starter. Dwyer, on the other hand, has shown flashes, but work ethic issues have followed him throughout his career and the Steelers may have just drafted a better version of Dwyer in the 2013 NFL Draft when they selected Le’Veon Bell.
When Dwyer was coming into the 2010 NFL Draft he was considered a top prospect and the third best running back in the class. However, questions about his work ethic and conditioning kept coming up and eventually he fell all the way into the sixth round after being considered a potential first round pick. During his three seasons in the NFL those concerns have come up multiple more times and there is still concern about his ability to get himself into better shape to be a solid NFL running back.
One reason Dwyer may have some issues with conditioning could just be as simple as immaturity. He has already played three seasons in the NFL, but he is only a few months older than the Steelers first round pick Jarvis Jones. That shows just how young Dwyer was when he was brought into the NFL as a rookie. Bell is in a similar position as he just turned 21 in late February and like Dwyer will finish his third NFL season before his 24th birthday.
Like Dwyer, Bell is also a powerful running back that can run through tacklers, but also has enough speed to get large gains in the open field. However, unlike Dwyer there are no work ethic or conditioning concerns surrounding Bell as a player. He is expected to challenge for the Steelers starting running back job in training camp and Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes he will be starting for the Steelers next season.
Bell also has better pass catching abilities than Dwyer and is a true three down running back. Basically by drafting Bell in the second round the Steelers have brought in a better version of Jonathan Dwyer. He has all of the skills that Dwyer has, plus more, as well as a better level of conditioning. All of those hopes and dreams we had for Dwyer’s future when the Steelers drafted him in 2010 may come to fruition with Bell in 2013 and beyond.
As far as Dwyer is concerned he will likely be competing with Redman to be Bell’s primary back-up in 2013 and the loser of that battle may be looking for another job come September.
