Impact Analysis: Pittsburgh Steelers backfield

August 7, 2009 @ 01:00:01

By John Kotch Jr.
Edited by Cory J. Bonini

There's definitely some uncertainty regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers' running game heading into the 2009 regular season. Featured running back Willie Parker struggled with injuries for the better part of 2008, and rookie running back Rashard Mendenhall, was lost for the season during the team's Week 4 game against the Baltimore Ravens with a shoulder injury.

The Steelers third running back, Mewelde Moore, did a good job stepping into the starting role, averaging 4.2 yards on 140 carries, with 908 total yards and six touchdowns on the year. Moore caught 40 passes and averaged 8.0 yards per catch. Moore has a chance to be Pittsburgh's third-down back for the 2009 season.

Parker, after turning in the best season of his career in 2006, was leading the league in rushing yards in 2007, when he suffered a fractured right fibula during the team's Week 16 game against the St. Louis Rams. Then in 2008, Parker dealt with knee and shoulder injuries that caused him to miss five games. Parker ended the 2008 season averaging only 3.8 yards per carry.

Mendenhall looks to rebound in '09

Mendenhall was taken by the Steelers in the first round of the 2008 draft. Chosen with the 23rd overall pick, Mendenhall's rookie season came to a quick end. After falling behind in the preseason due to a hamstring injury, Mendenhall saw minimal playing time in the team's first three regular season games. Then, the following week, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis fractured Mendenhall's shoulder, thus putting him out for the year.

Now the slate is clean; both backs (Parker, Mendenhall) are currently fully healthy and participating in Steelers training camp. The role each will play in the offense and the distribution of the workload will depend on what they show in camp practices and the preseason games. 

The projection is that Parker will likely remain in the starting role, with Mendenhall coming in as the spell, with Moore in on third down. Of course this depends on whether or not the injuries Parker's dealt with the past two seasons are indeed behind him. 

Mendenhall is starting from scratch. While the team certainly has high expectations for him, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made it abundantly clear that Mendenhall will be given nothing and will have to earn any playing time he gets. The Steelers would most certainly like to see a return on their investment this year, so if Mendenhall does well early on and Parker struggles, Mendenhall could earn a larger share of the workload.

Parker is on the last year of a four-year contract, so he's likely to be motivated to do all he can not to relinquish any playing time to any of the other backs.

Fantasy football outlook

Steelers are planning to implement a multi-back attack, so at this point none of them could be considered top fantasy running backs.

Parker has the most fantasy potential of the three. However, even though Parker has proven that he's capable of racking up plenty of yards, in his five-year career he has only one season where he scored more than 10 touchdowns. Scoring a total of 16 touchdowns in 2006, Parker has only 12 touchdowns in the other four seasons of his career combined.

Although Mendenhall certainly has the pedigree, he is unproven and therefore considered a risk. Right now, Mendenhall is at best a handcuff to Parker, but that could change if he performs well and is able to earn more responsibility in the Steelers' offense.

When evaluating the Steelers running backs, the highest degree of uncertainty comes from not knowing which one of these guys ends up being used as the designated goal line back. That will be an important aspect of the running back competition in Pittsburgh that fantasy owners should keep an eye on, as it will obviously determine who's apt to get the lion's share of the touchdowns. 

View Parker as a No. 3 fantasy back with a fair amount of upside, and Mendenhall is a No. 4 back or a handcuff to Parker. Moore doesn't warrant a draft selection.

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John Kotch Jr.
John Kotch Jr. has been a KFFL contributing writer since 2007.

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