The Steelers are looking for their third running back, and to this point, it seems that job is going to Anthony McFarland on a runaway train. For a job that was supposed to be hotly contested, the team has simply not found much internal push for McFarland from other players. To his credit, McFarland had an excellent training camp and showed out in his first preseason game as well.
But that was before the Steelers brought along a new running back in Xazavian Valladay. Valladay was an undrafted free agent who many thought had a chance at a roster spot in Houston after getting a large sum of guaranteed money, but the Texans cut him following their first preseason game. Now in Pittsburgh, Valladay brings to the table something entirely different from all of those other players McFarland is competing with for that roster spot.
Valladay has some real juice, both laterally and in short area bursts. His long speed stands out as a major plus. There is something about Valladay in that regard that stands out. Given his only one day in pads, his pass protection has been hard to gauge, but he is a tough runner who finishes hard and falls forward. That is something that no one else behind him can really boast. He only had a few days to learn the playbook, but it seemed that they gave him a solid amount of team reps right off the bat. This is a guy who will play against the Bills. He has a chance to make some waves and give the Steelers something to think about before the cut-down day in about two weeks.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Chicago native, Valladay signed with the Texans this spring after going undrafted out of Arizona State. In his one season with the Sun Devils, Valladay played in 10 games, rushing 215 times for 1,192 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and 16 touchdowns. He led the team with 1,481 all-purpose yards.
Before his one season at ASU, Valladay was one of the best running backs in Wyoming history. He played four seasons with the Cowboys, racking up 3,281 yards and 19 touchdowns, leaving Laramie as the second-leading rusher in program history.
In the pre-draft process, Valladay showed elite speed, running a 4.46-second 40-yard dash, and also posted a 40-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-3 broad jump. His overall Relative Athletic Score came in at a 9.46 out of 10.