Every NFL team’s most underrated offensive weapon entering 2020

Pittsburgh Steelers: Benny Snell

After Ben Roethlisberger went down and the Pittsburgh Steelers were forced to rely on Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges, the offense became a nightmare to watch. While the defense was spectacular and almost got them into the playoffs, the Steelers’ offensive inefficiencies doomed the team.

To make matters worse, they suffered a cluster of injuries at other skill positions, as James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster missed multiple games with nagging injuries. However, one rookie running back performed well in relief of Conner and deserves some recognition.

Benny Snell, drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, wasn’t given much opportunity outside of the games Conner missed. However, when he played, he was a solid downhill runner that brought a physical aspect to the Steelers run game. He averaged 3.9 yards per carry despite seeing the highest rate of eight-man fronts in the NFL, facing a stacked box on 49 percent of his carries, per Player Profiler.

While Snell doesn’t have much receiving upside, he’s a bruising back that could be a solid complement to Conner and grow into the lead back role if Pittsburgh decides to cut ties with Conner after next season. Snell should see greater success once Roethlisberger returns and the defense can’t stack the box against him.