The quick-footed big guy ran over, through and around defenders for nine years with the Steelers. Franco Harris is the Pittsburgh Steelers career leader in rushing yards with 11,950. 6:02; See All. Last year's offensive rookie of the year award winner, Barkley was close to perfect for fantasy owners. Injuries hurt Foster later in his career, but he did record 1,246 rushing yards in 2014. Foster's 1,690 yards set a team record that season and earned him Pro Bowl and All-Pro nominations. Harris played 980 offensive snaps during the regular season . And that's with missing the 2016 season because of retirement. Pittsburgh Steelers Career Rushing Leaders. The controversy arose when the ball deflected off of Tatum or Frenchy. Emailed daily. [2] He led the NFL with 576 yards in 1932 and held on to the record throughout his career. It's a smaller sample size, but Elliott has also posted 131.2 yards from scrimmage per game in his three seasons. As a Steeler running back, Hoak would spend his entire career with Pittsburgh that began in 1961 as a seventh round draft pick after running for the Penn State Nittany Lions. Over the past 50 years, the Steelers have had three coaches, and each has used a different style of offense. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Current team members are listed in bold. That couldn't have been further from the truth. Harris was a part of four championship team and would be named to the Pro Bowl nine times. The running back said that he was only trying to stimulate conversation about the topic but because of it he lost an endorsement deal with Champion Sports. He had the highest usage rate among running backs at 35.8% and was third in red-zone touches with 61. In an era that de-emphasizes the workhorse back, McCoy has nearly amassed 10,000 rushing yards and more than 13,000 yards from scrimmage this decade. As a rookie, on a terrible offense, he finished as a top 24 running back in 93% of his games last year. In addition, he got 52 receiving yards, with an average of 10.4. Some readers are probably going to argue this is too high for Forte. He joins Franco Harris and John Henry Johnson. Rashard Mendenhall: Like Barry Foster before him, Rashard Mendenhall was done with professional football by the age of 26. In 2015 he finished second in the league in rushing and earned a spot on the All-Pro Team. All of that, plus the fact Bettis averaged over 1,000 yards per season with the Steelers (10,571) and scored 78 touchdowns, puts him on the All-Modern Era team, and his partner in the backfield is Le'Veon Bell. Who should be on top of the Steelers NFL Free Agency board? He's rushed for only 2,599 yards this decade, but everyone knows he's far more than just a running back. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Bell will pay the price this season with a three-game suspension to start the 2015 season. Franco Harris arrives during the 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. . Bill Dudley: Bullet Bill was his nickname and a great running back he was. There was a time when almost every NFL offense was predicated on a feature back that got most of the carries and earned a big paycheck. Let us know your thoughts down in the comments!For Business Inquiries: insid. Hunt offers some stability in the pass-game as he had 44 . Myles Jack 61 Minkah Fitzpatrick . 'Top 10, he would not get laughs' Thirty-five picks elapsed before a team drafted a running back last year. A good scoring drive based on running plays eats up the clock and keeps the ball out of the hands of the other team's offense. They will be joined by this year's selection, making six for the 2022 season. 'We'll probably move a little slower than most of our peers, but we don't worry about the Jonses', 28-14 victory caps 7-2 finish, but season ends because Miami's win claims final playoff spot, 'He drinks the Kool-Aid that is Pittsburgh, Pa., he's a Steeler, he teaches it to the young guys', His 111 yards rushing, 10-yard catch for a TD, and physical presence throughout keyed 16-13 win, 'His versatility, his experience allows us to move him and Minkah to diversify our attack', 'The most challenging component of the weather, man, are the poor fans sitting in the stands', Dan Rooney: 'One of the finest, most thoughtful human beings I have ever known', 'I wanted to see Mitch's ability to bounce back from the last game relative to taking care of the ball', Three interceptions, blocked FG prove to be insurmountable mistakes in 16-14 defeat, 'You can take the energy out of an arena on the road when you do some of the things he does', The 19-16 victory represents first winning streak of season and is the third in last four games, The defense made some plays, such as Heyward's sack, but also allowed two 90-yard TD drives, 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers. Chances are it is an announcer who remembers some of the great backs in Steelers history and how they dominated the game. name the pittsburgh steelers running back to the last 10 years. Tackles. He would end up moving to the Dallas Cowboys where he would get a chance to face off against his former team in two more Super Bowls (X and XIII). He stepped in for a banged-up Willie Parker in 2009 and ran for 1,108 yards and seven touchdowns. The Steelers have always had great defensive playersand that hasn't changedbut the Steelers of today have fallen into the trendy traps of modern offenses with little use for a fullback. All-time Scoring Leader: Gary Anderson 1,343 points Of course, we all know why. He amassed an incredible 449 touches in 2014 on his way to 1,845 rushing yards and 2,261 yards from scrimmage. Eight players have been recognized as having held the career rushing yards record in the NFL. He would eventually become the feature back, but in 2009 he suffered Jack Lamberts injury, turf toe and was replaced by Rashard Mendenhall in the process. Matte took over for another fantastic white running back, former Heisman Trophy winner and 1958 NFL Championship Game hero Alan Ameche. I predict that sometime in the next decade, an offensive coordinator will go back to power football and line up with a tight end, a fullback, and a tailback in an I-formation for most of the game. Since the merger in 1970, the Pittsburgh Steelers have rushed for more yards than any other team in the National Football League, and this commitment got two of their running backs elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Time to profile some of the outstanding and popular running backs to suit up for the Steelers. Franco Harris was a fullback, as was Merril Hoge and John Henry Johnson. He never made a Pro Bowl and never had a 1,000-yard season, but he appeared in 111 games over nine seasons and managed to rack up 3,989 career rushing yards. 2023 ABG-SI LLC. In the previous nine years, however, the Steelers had a top-15 player seven times. Dudley also found himself on kickoff returns where he fielded 11 of those for 298 yards (27.0 average). Fullback Franco Harris came to the Steelers in the 1972 draft and made an immediate impact. The speedy running backs, the classic old power running back, and the mixed, well-rounded, good running back. Other teams (like the Steelers) have one but rarely use him. Landry Jones (2015-2017) Tommy Maddox (2002-2005) Terry Bradshaw (1970-1983) The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right of their name: Season. When it comes to this room, the Steelers are indeed looking for them to step up. Gurley led the NFL in yards from scrimmage and won the Offensive Player of the Year award. The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right of their name: These quarterbacks have the most starts for the Steelers in regular season games. Merril Hoge was a versatile fullback who could carry the ball, catch passes, and block. While the team continued to utilize the same rushing attack that had earned them four Lombardi Trophies in the '70s, the cast of characters and the results were not the same. In fact, no back has even finished top-two in consecutive years, and only Adrian Peterson (second in 2009 and 2015; first in 2012) and Le'Veon Bell (first in 2014; second in 2017) have even had more than one top-two year in a decade. John Fuqua: How could any Steelers fan in the Nation of Black and Gold not smile when speaking of John Frenchy Fuqua. Yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach understands the symmetry between Saturday night's 13-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders and a playoff victory over the same franchise 50 years ago, the one that ended with Steelers running back Franco Harris snagging a deflected . The Steelers have had some incredibly talented players over the years . Since reliable yardage statistics were not recorded prior to 1932, the first NFL player recognized as the career leader in rushing yards was Cliff Battles, who played from 1932 to 1937 for the Boston Braves / Boston Redskins / Washington Redskins. Parker never regained his starting job and was released only to make on attempt at staying in the NFL with the Washington Redskins in 2010 where he spent his time on the practice squad before retiring. Do you have a blog? Peterson missed all but one game in 2014 because of a child abuse case, but he returned to lead the NFL in rushing during 2015. 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His career ended on a sad note in Minnesota, but Peterson regained his form with another 1,000-yard season with Washington in 2018. Bettis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. Visit ESPN to view the Pittsburgh Steelers team depth chart for the current season Ibrahim, who . Former Steelers running back Willie Parker (39) acknowledges the crowd during a 2018 against the Chargers at Heinz Field. A fullback is not required in this type of offensive game plan. He holds the team record for most rushing yards in a career (11,950) as well as most rushing touchdowns (91) and total touchdowns (100). In Super Bowl XXX when the Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys that many thought that Pittsburgh could have won if not for Neil ODonnells errant interceptions, Morris rushed for 73 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown. Vote below for who you think is the best Pittsburgh Steelers tight end of all time, then head over and check out the top Pittsburgh Steelers players ever. Drafted by the Steelers in the first round with the 23rd pick in 2008, Mendenhall replaced Willie Parker and had successive years of 1,000 or more yards rushing in 2009 and 2010 with a high of 1,273 in 10. At 244 pounds, Morris was a load running behind the offensive line and his numbers backed up his train rushing efforts. Christian McCaffrey (2019) This past season, McCaffrey became the third running back in NFL history to generate over 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in a single season. He'll likely end up with a good chunk of dough in free agency, but it's hard to believe . From '61 to '64, he was part of a powerful rushing attack along with Hall of Famer John Henry Johnson. His 6-foot-2, 230 pound frame made it virtually impossible for one defender to take him down. He scored seven touchdowns and caught the ball 22 times for an additional 204 yards and a 9.3 yards-per-reception mark. Weve reviewed the most popular quarterbacks to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but among those signal callers, who are some of the players they were handing the ball off to when not throwing the rock? Others were blocking fullbacks who spent their careers opening holes for star backs. Only stats for Regular Season Games have been included. He's another back who never led the league in rushing and never made All-Pro. But during the Super Bowl seasons of 1978 and 1979, Sidney Thornton played a significant role in the Steelers' rushing attack. Charles also ran for 1,509 yards in 2012 and 1,033 yards in 2014. Last season he was in the top five among running backs in several categories. He is currently the third leading rusher in Steelers history. As a punter, he kicked the ball 18 times during his career and averaged 32 yards per punt. In his rookie season, Morris rushed for 836 yards and a 4.2 yards-per-carry average. He will be called an innovator or maybe even a genius when his team wins a Super Bowl by smashing its way through flimsy NFL defenses that are designed to stop passing attacks. These honorable mentions may not have a place on this list of all-time best Steelers running backs, but if you are a Steelers fan, there is a good chance you'll remember them fondly. That changed over the last decade or so, due to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's emergence as an elite . In the I-formation, the fullback lines up behind the quarterback, and the halfback (tailback) lines up behind the fullback. Pittsburgh Steelers player information and depth chart order. Lucrative opportunities to leave. Over the entire decade, he posted 6,417 rushing yards and 7,909 yards from scrimmage with the Titans, Jets and Cardinals from 2010-17. If I were to ask you to name the sixth-leading rusher in Steelers history, I bet youd say a lot of names before you got to Frank Pollard. Allain died on February 21, 2023, following a . Murray rushed for 7,174 yards and 49 touchdowns with the Cowboys, Eagles and Titans in the 2010s. Fuqua was not an original Steelers having been drafted by the New York Giants and then traded to Pittsburgh. He would play six seasons in Three Rivers Stadium when the Steelers were home and finish with 3,343 yards rushing. A bullet pierced his left thigh in Vietnam and further injuries occurred when a grenade exploded near him putting shrapnel in his lower right leg. The running back ran for 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns on 307 carries, and caught 74 passes for 467 yards and three touchdowns. As a Steelers, he was occasionally brilliant but more often disappointing. Over the past six years, he has covered the NFL, NHL, MLB, fantasy sports, college football and basketball, and New Jersey high school sports for numerous print and online publications. Hoak's record as the team's running backs coach was 149-90-1, making him the third-most successful running backs coach in Pittsburgh Steelers history. Harris is my fourth-ranked running back for the 2022 season. The 23-year-old was on his way to two straight special years to begin his NFL career before the Chiefs cut him following his involvement with a woman in a domestic dispute. Mendenhall spent five seasons in Pittsburgh and was a member of two Super Bowl teams. Both backs had to run well with the ball and have the skills to block for the other. All-time Receiving Leader: Hines Ward 1,000 rec, 12,083 yds, 85 TD . The Steelers went 6-10 in his first season, but along with players like Hines Ward, Jerome Bettis, and Alan Faneca . Bettis will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2015 in August, and the accomplishments to be praised that day are only part of why he was the man during his 10 seasons with the Steelers. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Still, Bleier became a starter in the backfield with Harris and shined. By 1995, Foster was out of Pittsburgh and out of the NFL, thus ending his short, dramatic, and bizarre pro football career. Rocky Bleier: For some Steelers fans it might be hard to believe that Robert Patrick Bleier, known best in Steelers Nation as Rocky turned 69 years of age this year. All rights reserved. Pittsburgh Steelers Draft History. He ran for over 1,000 yards in his first season and scored 10 rushing touchdowns on his way to winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Charles may have to wait awhile to get into the Hall of Fame because despite an 11-year career, his prime was rather short. All-time Rushing Leader: Franco Harris 2,881 att, 11,950 yds, 91 TD . Winning three Super Bowls helps earn you a spot on this list too. 2022 AFC North Standings. Keep in mind that accomplishments made only during this decade were considered for these rankings. Unfortunately, injuries have slowed him over the last couple of years and prevented him from running for more than 865 yards in a season. He's posted 2,987 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns over the last three years. The last two seasons, with now-departed James Conner the No. He came to the Steelers after three seasons with the Rams which had earned him a reputation as a problem player. The following is another in a series that picks a Steelers All-Modern Era Team. Twenty-three slots went by before the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Najee Harris in 2021. In two seasons, he is already 18th among all Steelers backs in rushing. In the following AFC title game against Miami, Pollard was held to just 48 yards rushing. That's Steelers football. Lynch was an underrated pass-catcher in his prime too. The Tigers picked up their sixth commitment for the 2024 recruiting cycle - and their first running back - Wednesday with the public . Sidney Thornton: Another stout running back for Pittsburgh was the bullish Thornton who weighed in at 230 pounds during his play days in Pittsburgh from 1977 to 1982. Took pay cuts, and continued to stay. His professional career started in 2007 when he decided to skip the last year of college and enter the NFL Draft. 5. Franco Harris was the man during The Renaissance, and Jerome Bettis was the man in The Modern Era. Dick Hoak: The running backs coach for the Steelers for an incredible 35 years, Hoak was also an excellent player at the position he would spend so many years coaching up. Mendenhall is currently No. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. In later years Bleier helped pen a book about himself and a movie was made about his story titled Fighting Back.. Since there are only 11 players on offense, the running backs have to be able to function as a unit, and Le'Veon Bell could play halfback to Bettis' fullback. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, injured during his tour of duty and told he would never play football again. I want to travel the world and write. If that wasnt strange enough, Mendenhall got himself into hot water in 2011 as a Steeler when he tweeted a controversial reaction to the United States elimination of Osama bin Laden. All-time Rushing Leader: Franco Harris 2,881 att, 11,950 yds, 91 TD . Rashard Mendenhall only played five seasons with the Steelers but rushed for a respectable 3,549 yards in 57 games. It's Le'Veon Bell because there is thought given to picking players who could function as a unit if the position require that. Overall, he ran for 4,731 yards and 28 touchdowns playing for the Rams, Falcons and Patriots from 2010-15. Ingram's best season came in 2017 when he posted 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns. The move closes the latest chapter of Wentz's career after just one season in Washington. Amos Zereoue: Another fan favorite was West Virginia University product, Famous Amos Zereoue. Born Byron Morris, drafted in the third round of the 1994 draft, Morris immediately made an impact with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to them from Texas Tech University. In 27 games Hunt has 2,151 rushing yards, 2,984 yards from scrimmage and 25 touchdowns. In 2012, he made the All-Pro team with 1,590 rushing yards and 1,786 yards from scrimmage. But there were bright spots, and Walter Abercrombie was one of them. During the 2021 offseason, Pittsburgh declined to re-sign Conner, making him a free agent and creating an opportunity for the Arizona Cardinals to scoop him up. His entire career was with the Steelers and he would finish those six seasons with 1,512 yards and 18 touchdowns. 12. For the Steelers he would rush for 2,243 yards five seasons. To no ones surprise, Art Rooney Sr. mailed a post card to his running back while in recovery that said, Rock We need you. That was the kind of man The Chief was. First running back gets drafted in the seventh round. In his first three seasons, Ingram ran for more than 600 yards in a season just once. Foster timed his career perfectly for this list, breaking out with 1,616 yards, leading the league in rushing, in 2010. See the full player roster for the 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers. Frank Pollard: In the mid-1980s, a stout Frank Pollard became the Steelers primary running back. Buffalo 2007-10; Seattle 2010-15, '19; Oakland 2017-18. James Conner was thrust into the spotlight in 2018 when halfback LeVeon Bell held out for the entire season. The Steelers have had several players enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame after being a part of the Pittsburghs ground game for most of or all of their entire careers. As a Steeler running back, Hoak would spend his entire career with Pittsburgh that began in 1961 as a seventh round draft pick after running for the Penn State Nittany Lions. For years, the Pittsburgh Steelers were considered a team that dominated with the run. Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. His performance in the 1989 playoffs, when he turned in back-to-back 100-yard games against Houston and Denver, is the stuff of Steelers' legend. DeAngelo Williams Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images.