The Steelers first pick on Day 3 was getting a highly productive player from the top conference in college football.
Kentucky running back Benny Snell was the teams 4th round pick. Last season for the Wildcats, Snell (5’10”, 225) rushed for 1,449 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The book on Snell is that he’s a physical, hard-nosed, team-first player. Here’s a description of him by NFL Draft analyst Tony Pauline from Draft Analysts:
“Displays outstanding vision, patiently waits for blocks to develop, plays with nasty attitude, breaks multiple tackles to pick up yardage off initial contact and fights hard on every carry, solid pass catcher.”
The negatives on Snell are his speed, quickness and ability to make defenders miss.
Most scouts view him as a potential three down back and will have the opportunity to split carries with James Conner and Jaylen Samuels.
101-year-old US Navy Veteran Charles Wiggins announced our 4th-round pick, RB Benny Snell Jr.#SteelersDraft | @benny_snell pic.twitter.com/ziJbUpUEXW
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 27, 2019
No moment better captures RB Benny Snell's love and passion of the game than the interview he gave with @colecubelic after Kentucky beat Florida for the first time in 31 years. Snell ran for 175 yards that day. Easy dude to root for. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/bbYjgKJGhP
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) April 27, 2019