Benny Snell's college profile was that of a power runner who took pride in plowing through defenders. When the Steelers beat the Chargers 24-17 at Dignity Health Sports Park two Sundays ago, he led the team with 75 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Old school Steelers football has always been identified with defense and running the ball. Especially when an early lead has been established and the offense leans on a big back to control the clock and carry them to victory. If Snell becomes that guy for the Steelers, he could cement a role that increases his value on a team with two other young, promising running backs:
Snell impressed during training camp but had a rough preseason. That led to him staying as the third running back on the depth chart behind starter James Conner and backup Jaylen Samuels. But that didn't discourage the Steelers from thinking he could contribute as a rookie, and they saw some of those positives come out against the Chargers.
Last week, our own Hunter Homistek detailed the positive reviews of Snell's performance from offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and his teammates. If nothing else showed from the tape, it was that Snell could push piles and use his strength and momentum even in tight spaces to get yards that other backs can't.
Watch how Snell picks his hole on this stretch play. When he commits to it, he puts his head down and runs through defenders to fall forward and make sure he gets at least a few yards:
It's only a three yard gain, but it's one that might've been no gain with Samuels or Conner. Their strengths show up in different situations that allow them to make people miss in space. But Snell's particular strength is to charge into a hole and carry whomever is trying to tackle him at least a few yards.
Watch how he gets to work between David DeCastro and Matt Feiler on this seven yard gain in the red zone. He has the option to pick which hole on the right side to attack, including bouncing it outside.
When Snell approaches the edge, linebacker Uchenna Nwosu jumps out to protect it. That's exactly when Snell turned it up the six hole:
Snell builds momentum quickly and consistently falls forward once that momentum is established. That can be a handy skill for an offense to employ late in games on tired defenses when it needs short gains to kill time and hold onto a lead.
Bill Cowher saw his Steelers win a lot of games like that with Jerome Bettis doing the running, and although Le'Veon Bell was a dynamic back with many skills, falling forward was always a key part of his repertoire.
It may sound minuscule in the grand scheme of a football game, but it's one weapon that can help a team that's notably struggled in short distances this season, which I noted two weeks ago.
Snell still has plenty of other skills to develop that would make him a player to prefer over Conner or Samuels down the line. He takes what is there, but he rarely creates by forcing missed tackles on defenders, especially in space. His 20-yard run was impressive and he did use a stiff arm that bought him another ten yards.
But he has to find ways to beat defenders, especially defensive backs and keep going. Opportunities like that are golden for running backs to show their skills and turn good gains into huge plays:
That's been the achilles heel for Snell's rookie year so far. But it's also something that can change as he continues to grow. Conner struggled similarly after putting on more weight to start his NFL career, then shedding that weight and being the team's leading rusher in 2018.
Bell also saw improvement when he worked on footwork and speed after his rookie season. It's become a theme for young, bigger backs across the NFL that need to make the adjustment. So there's no reason to suspect Snell wouldn't make that same adjustment moving forward.
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