Steelers Met with Multiple Day 3 Running Backs at NFL Combine

INDIANAPOLIS — The Steelers have plenty of needs. However, a starting running back is not one of them. Still, that will not deter the Steelers from potentially giving Najee Harris some help. Harris led the NFL in snap share last year among running backs, playing over 85% of the Steelers’ offensive snaps.

As the running backs arrive in Indianapolis, the Steelers are starting to do their homework on them. The Steelers have met with BYU running back Tyler Allgeier. The standout running back said he met informally with the Steelers and running back coach Eddie Faulkner.

“Yes sir, I have met with the Steelers,” Allgeier said. “We talked about protection schemes and some reads on their runs. It was fun.”

Allgeier was not the only one. The Steelers have met with Baylor running back Abram Smith, North Carolina running back Ty Chandler, and South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong. However, that is not the end of it. According to Jonathan Heitritter of Steelers Depot, the Steelers also met with UTSA running back Sincere McCormick and Oklahoma running back Kennedy Brooks.

In addition, the Steelers are hitting some of the players that play nearby. The Steelers have met informally with West Virginia running back Leddie Brown. Brown was a senior that had a COVID year left but skipped the last year of his eligibility to head to the NFL. Throughout his process, Brown has been getting advice from former Steelers running back Wendell Smallwood.

“I was on the phone with Wendell last night,” Brown said. “He was giving me some advice and he is like a big brother and mentor to me. I always call him for advice… I have known him since I was in sixth grade. He said to relax, do not be nervous, treat everyone with respect, and in the interviews with scouts and coaches to be confident.”

For his meeting with the Steelers, Brown felt the meeting went well. More importantly, his meeting with Faulkner was an in-depth one that covered multiple fronts for the former Mountaineer.

“Yes, I have talked to the Steelers since I’ve been here,” Brown said. “I talked with their running back coach. He wanted to get to know me, I told him about my life. He is a real cool guy. We had a real good conversation. Wendell was at the Steelers so we had a conversation about him, too, and how I knew him.”

The Steelers could potentially add a running back if they wish to ease the load off Harris’s back. Considering how expansive that workload is, it would not be a bad idea.

Click for more coverage from Alan Saunders, Nick Farabaugh and Dan Angell, live from Indianapolis at the 2022 NFL Combine.