Peterson missed all but one game in 2014 because of a child abuse case, but he returned to lead the NFL in rushing during 2015. Jerome Bettis is the latest Steelers running back to become a member in Canton, Ohio. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. He ranks 23rd all-time among Pittsburgh rushers having gained 1,504 yards as a Steeler. I predict that sometime in the next decade, an offensive coordinator will go back to power football and line up with a tight end, a fullback, and a tailback in an I-formation for most of the game. In '94, he ran for 851 yards despite missing five games. In Dick Hoak's 10 years as a Steeler, he only saw two winning seasons. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. 9-Rocky Bleier. Is the fullback truly gone, banished into the deep recesses of pro football history? This led to fans chanting Hey Diddle Diddle, Rogel Up the Middle. There was just one occasion that the Steelers failed to use Rogel on the games first play. No matter what happens with the evolution of this position, these Pittsburgh tight ends have left a legacy for this that cant be taken away. Over the past 50 years, the Steelers have tallied 36 winning seasons . Emmitt Smith has held the record since surpassing Walter Payton's long-standing total in 2002. 10 on the Steelers' all-time rushing list with 3,549 yards. During the decade, he has posted 9,187 yards five 1,000-yard seasons and 56 touchdowns. Posted August 12, 2019 If youve followed the Steelers, you've probably heard the term "Steelers Football." His teammate Terry Hanratty, the QB at Notre Dame during that tenure became a Steeler as well. Frank Pollard: In the mid-1980s, a stout Frank Pollard became the Steelers primary running back. While that trio may be the best-best-of-the best to run behind Pittsburghs all-time offensive lines, there have been more than a handful of outstanding running backs for Pittsburgh since they began play in 1933. From 2010-13, Johnson rushed for 4,731 yards and 27 touchdowns. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. 'Top 10, he would not get laughs' Thirty-five picks elapsed before a team drafted a running back last year. The Pittsburgh Steelers are loaded with high-end fantasy talent, and Mike Tomlin's team has been producing every week.The Steelers have scored 30 or more points in six straight games, and they are in a position to earn a spot in the AFC playoffs if they can win their final two games of the season.It's all lining up to be a happy holiday season in Pittsburgh because they close the year with . Cameron Heyward (2011), T.J. Watt (2017), Terrell Edmunds (2018), Devin Bush Jr. (2019), and Najee Harris (2022) are the five remaining first-rounders still on the Steelers roster. He was also an excellent receiver, both out of the backfield and split out as a wide receiver. Former Tulane Green Wave running back Tyjae Spears made a big splash at the Senior Bowl, but that was hardly the first time he put on a show. The concussion was so bad that Hoge had to learn to read again and suffered from memory loss as well as encountering headaches and confusion. By the time the fourth quarter rolls around, it is easy to see why opposing defenses would wish they were somewhere else. Standing 5-foot-11 and 195-pounds, Spears passes the . Williams recorded at least 730 rushing yards in a season four times during the 2010s, and he ended the decade with 4,246 rushing yards. In the I-formation, the fullback lines up behind the quarterback, and the halfback (tailback) lines up behind the fullback. Foster made one attempt to come out of retirement with the Cincinnati Bengals that same year but after just a few days with the club he decided on retirement at the tender age of 26. Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers. His best season was in 1985 when he rushed for 991 yards. does st martin parish have school tomorrow. The move closes the latest chapter of Wentz's career after just one season in Washington. LeVeon Bell made his mark with the Steelers running in this kind of offense. In 2012 he was just a mere few yards away from the single-season rushing record with 2,097 yards. He will be called an innovator or maybe even a genius when his team wins a Super Bowl by smashing its way through flimsy NFL defenses that are designed to stop passing attacks. Who the heck is this guy, we all wondered aloud, but in much more colorful language. He would retire with 3,965 yards on the ground, second best in history for the Steelers at that time. Sowhos the greatest tight end in Pittsburgh Steelers history? Damien Harris (New England Patriots) The 2021 season will only be Damien Harris' second full season with the Patriots as a running back, but he's shown his level of skill. MORE: 2023 Dynasty Rookie Rankings. Both men had the unfortunate circumstance of being behind other great players on the roster, Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw. Doctors had told him following the enemy attack that his football days were over. By his second season as a Steeler, he had become the heir apparent to Jerome Bettis. Landry Jones (2015-2017) Tommy Maddox (2002-2005) Terry Bradshaw (1970-1983) The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right of their name: Season. Parker was perhaps the fastest running back ever to play for the Steelers. Charles may have to wait awhile to get into the Hall of Fame because despite an 11-year career, his prime was rather short. Regular season. Everything in the NFL goes in cycles. Hunt offers some stability in the pass-game as he had 44 . Merril Hoge was a versatile fullback who could carry the ball, catch passes, and block. Harris disputed that and said he was 240 pounds as a rookie. 4M; . Bell will pay the price this season with a three-game suspension to start the 2015 season. Even putting a left end at right end can cause a drop. But Hoak is probably best remembered for his ever-so-long tenure as the Running Backs coach with Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. 3 in NFL history. With the Bears and Jets, Forte posted 7,629 rushing yards and 11,353 yards from scrimmage from 2010-17. If it was Fuqua who the ball last touched, it would not be a legal catch by Harris according to the rules in 1972. Who Is The Best Wide Receiver In The NFL Right Now? He's averaged 101.2 rushing yards per game during his career and led the NFL in that category each of the last three years. In later years Bleier helped pen a book about himself and a movie was made about his story titled Fighting Back.. Many argued that when Gore suffered a season-ending injury at the beginning of December in 2010, his best days were behind him. The Steelers have had several players enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame after being a part of the Pittsburghs ground game for most of or all of their entire careers. name the pittsburgh steelers running back to the last 10 years. Jackson never led the league in rushing and never made the All-Pro team. While one is considered a fullback and the other a halfback, they share more commonalities than differences in their duties. Drafted by the Steelers in 1942 and in his rookie season led the NFL in rushing with 696 yards. Nick Chubb finished first the AFC North in 2021 with 1,259 rushing yards, despite finishing third with 228 carries. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Before Franco Harris, there was John Frenchy Fuqua. He'll continue to split time with Nick Chubb in the backfield, but the Browns are a run-first team that will use the talents of both. 2022 AFC North Standings. When running the ball, they often do so out of one-back sets and shotgun and pistol formations. He finished with 585 yards and scored six touchdowns including a 75-yard run. With a 3.5 yards per carry average and zero touchdowns, his rookie season was a major disappointment, but Gordon has answered all his doubters since then. There was a time when almost every NFL offense was predicated on a feature back that got most of the carries and earned a big paycheck. Today, with the explosion of the passing game, a star running back is a helpful asset but no longer a requirement. His entire career was with the Steelers and he would finish those six seasons with 1,512 yards and 18 touchdowns. The only exception in madden 22 was a glitched out ray Lewis that was 97 at mlb but 99 at r/lolb. 1, Pittsburgh didn't have a top-25 running back. Bleier starred in Super Bowl XIII with a touchdown reception and a recovered onside kick to seal Pittsburghs third NFL title. This list of past Steelers tight ends features former greats, current impact players, and even future stars. Copyright 2023 YB Media, LLC. Steeler running backs Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Jerome Bettis, Willie Parker, Sidney Thornton and Rashard Mendenhall all helped bring Lombardi Trophies to Pittsburgh. Emmitt Smith leads with 18,365 yards and is also the postseason leader with 1,586. From the time Fran Rogel became the teams starting running back in 1950 until his retirement in 1957, Pittsburghs first play from scrimmage in every game Rogel was in the backfield began with a handoff to the California State Teachers College and Penn State University product with a rush into the middle of the offensive line. [2] He led the NFL with 576 yards in 1932 and held on to the record throughout his career. He has held the all-time rushing yards record since 2002 and is the only player with over 17,000 regular season rushing yards. Amos Zereoue: Another fan favorite was West Virginia University product, Famous Amos Zereoue. Harris was a part of four championship team and would be named to the Pro Bowl nine times. I enjoy the passing game, and I love that Ben Roethlisberger has matured into an elite quarterback, but it is hard for me to imagine there is a better way to play football than Steelers Football. The running back said that he was only trying to stimulate conversation about the topic but because of it he lost an endorsement deal with Champion Sports. The power running back is a dying breed in football. As the tight end position increasingly becomes more of a focal point in offensive schemes , one can only imagine what this list will look like in years down the road. In 79 games with the Steelers, he carried the ball for 3,343 yards and 22 touchdowns. Who should be on top of the Steelers NFL Free Agency board? Pittsburgh Steelers Draft History. Visit ESPN to view the Pittsburgh Steelers team depth chart for the current season Today's NFL teams do not use fullbacks as often as they once did, instead favoring spread offenses and dynamic passing attacks featuring three or more wide receivers and multiple tight ends. All-time Rushing Leader: Franco Harris 2,881 att, 11,950 yds, 91 TD . Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Pro Football Reference Database. They got a lot of carries in an era when both the fullback and halfback needed to contribute to the running game. James Conner is at the forefront . It was a hard task to actually rank all of the great running backs . Mendenhall provided the following reason for retiring so young: Football was pretty cool, but I dont want to play anymore. Jerome Bettis (1996-2005). The Senate passed the bill . In 2016 he had one of the best seasons for a running back in recent memory, accumulating a league-high 2,118 yards from scrimmage, including at least 100 yards in the first 15 games of the year. The next season, he racked up 1,273 yards and 13 touchdowns on the way to an AFC Championship win. He would play six seasons in Three Rivers Stadium when the Steelers were home and finish with 3,343 yards rushing. He lasted just five seasons but they were filled with success. Many NFL teams used a pro-style offense during the same period, and this was an age when the fullback was a vital ball carrier. It has been said that Rooney responded with the declaration that he would never again attempt to call a play for his team. That one instance came in 1956 when Art Rooney Sr. uncharacteristically was frustrated with a head coach and instructed the then Head Coach Walt Kiesling to negate the opening Rogel rush and throw the ball instead. Dudley also served his country during World War II as a member of the Army and played for that team while away from the NFL. The Steelers had a reputation of big bruising backs but Parker spelled that philosophy with speed and elusiveness. Of course, we all know why. TODAY: Running backs. This decade, Sproles has also led the league in punt return yardage twice. Mendenhall spent five seasons in Pittsburgh and was a member of two Super Bowl teams. Weve reviewed the most popular quarterbacks to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but among those signal callers, who are some of the players they were handing the ball off to when not throwing the rock? Not entirely. Other teams (like the Steelers) have one but rarely use him. In nine seasons all as a Steeler, Pollard scored 20 touchdowns. TEAM SEASON GP REC W% W L T TD PTS PPG OPP PTS OPP PPG 1DWN 3DWN% 4DWN% Pittsburgh Steelers: 2013: 16: 8-8.500: 8: 8: 0: 41: 379 . In an era that de-emphasizes the workhorse back, McCoy has nearly amassed 10,000 rushing yards and more than 13,000 yards from scrimmage this decade. Dickerson was traded mid-season in 1987; he played three games for the Rams and nine for the Colts. 7. 11 because of four straight 1,000-yard seasons to begin the decade. Najee Harris warming to Steelers' running back-by-committee approach. Including last season when Bell sat out because of a contract dispute, the two-time All-Pro has missed 34 games in his six-year career. Tackles. Despite the occurrences of injury, Hoge ran for 3,115 yards as a Steeler and rushed for 21 touchdowns. Tracy ran for 2,717 yards and 15 touchdowns in his time with Pittsburgh and caught 96 passes for 1,322 yards and 14 touchdowns. Starters per season [ edit] These quarterbacks have started at least one game for the Pittsburgh Steelers . The 34-year-old made All-Pro twice, in 2008 and 2009, but he added two more All-Pro nominations during 2012 and 2015. The Steelers haven't shied away from targeting lesser-valued positions by the modern standard early in recent drafts, such as running back, linebacker and maybe to a lesser degree, safety. Still, Bleier became a starter in the backfield with Harris and shined. Still, Johnson's All-Pro 2016 season was enough to land him on the list. Born in the Ivory Coast, Zereoue played his high school football in Long Island, New York and then went on to be a star running back for the Mountaineers. Still, I think he is deserving of the number 16 spot on this list of all-time great Steelers backs. Franco Harris arrives during the 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. [3], List of National Football League career rushing yards leaders, Players with at least 10,000 rushing yards, Players with at least 1,000 postseason rushing yards. Fran Rogel: For Steelers fans who watched the team in the 1950s they would be familiar with a famous nursery rhyme with a Pittsburgh Steelers twist. The Pittsburgh Steelers have had some great tight ends throughout the franchises history. 5. Fuqua led the Steelers in rushing in 1970 and 1971 and totaled 2,942 yards on the ground during his time in Pittsburgh. Franco Harris is not only the best Steelers running back in franchise history, but one of the greatest Steelers of all time. Running backs are not the commodities they once were. Last edited on 19 February 2023, at 18:43, Boston Braves / Boston Redskins / Washington Redskins, List of National Football League records (individual), List of National Football League rushing champions, List of National Football League career rushing touchdowns leaders, List of National Football League annual rushing touchdowns leaders, "NFL Rushing Yards Career Playoffs Leaders", "History of the Career Rushing Yards Record", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_National_Football_League_career_rushing_yards_leaders&oldid=1140354500, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 18:43. We present them here for purely educational purposes. To no ones surprise, Art Rooney Sr. mailed a post card to his running back while in recovery that said, Rock We need you. That was the kind of man The Chief was. While Gore has never led the league in rushing or made All-Pro, his consistency lands him at No. It wasn't too long ago that Freeman was regarded as a top-five back in the league. See the full player roster for the 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers. To prepare, we at Chargers Wire are previewing players from every position. This was the age of the feature back, when one superstar halfback got most of the carries. Unfortunately, his tenure with the Steelers came to a dramatic end with a contract dispute in 2018, but during his time with the team, he was one of the greatest. He already has as many touchdowns rushing as Bam Morris Unfortunately, before the season began last year, Bell was arrested with LeGarrette Blount for a DWI and possession of marijuana. Walter Abercrombie: To this day, Abercrombie is Baylor Universitys all-time leading rusher with 3,674 yards while scoring 22 touchdowns. Williams had his first 1,000-yard season and averaged 13.3 ppg. Here's the final tally of Steelers Now's consensus preseason 2022 power rankings of AFC North running backs. Dudley also found himself on kickoff returns where he fielded 11 of those for 298 yards (27.0 average). Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports. Time to profile some of the outstanding and popular running backs to suit up for the Steelers. There have been some running backs in Steelers history who had one or two good seasons in Pittsburgh, then went on their way. He returned to put . The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more. 1 1. Seasons: 90 (1933 to 2022) Record (W-L-T): 666-585-23 Playoff Record: 36-27 Super Bowls Won: 6 (8 Appearances) Championships Won *: 6 . But following the Super Bowl Morris was arrested for trafficking marijuana and the Steelers wanted nothing to do with his off-the-field problems and released him. In Super Bowl XXX when the Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys that many thought that Pittsburgh could have won if not for Neil ODonnells errant interceptions, Morris rushed for 73 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown. Let us know your thoughts down in the comments!For Business Inquiries: insid. RASHARD MENDENHALL came to the Steelers as a first-round pick in 2008, and after spending the bulk of his rookie season on the injured reserve list, he rushed for 3,309 yards on 812 carries (4.1 average) and 29 touchdowns from 2009-11. February 27, 2023 3 min Watch. Bullet Bill Dudley is also in the record books for the National Football League as the only man to run for a touchdown, catch a touchdown pass, return a punt for a score, run to the end zone on a kickoff return, intercept a pass for a pick-six, pick up a fumble and reach pay dirt, and throw a touchdown pass. Maybe I am just nostalgic for the days when Steelers backs carried the ball 30 times and took total control over a game by the fourth quarter. For his service in the war, Bleier received the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Bettis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. During recent years, he's become somewhat forgotten in Buffalo, but McCoy has both All-Pro seasons and multiple 1,000-yard campaigns to his credit this decade. All rights reserved. As the tight end position increasingly becomes more of a focal point in offensive schemes , one. Really, he will just be doing what teams like the Steelers did for decades. No NFL team has enjoyed the consistent level of success the Pittsburgh Steelers have enjoyed since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970. The last two seasons, with now-departed James Conner the No. He'll likely end up with a good chunk of dough in free agency, but it's hard to believe . A dominant defense and an unstoppable running gamethats Steelers Football. The speedy running backs, the classic old power running back, and the mixed, well-rounded, good running back. Abercrombie played one more season in 1988 with the cross state Philadelphia Eagles before retiring. Morris signed with Baltimore Ravens where he lasted just two seasons before the Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs took a chance on him in 1998. The former Heisman Trophy winner is another example of a highly regarded college back getting off to a slow start in the NFL. He started alongside Franco Harris in four Super Bowl victories and both backs ran for over 1,000 yards in 1976. All Rights Reserved. It's hard to believe, but the second decade of the 21st century is nearly complete. Reports this off-season show he weighed in at 244 pounds from 232 last season. In 2012, the Steelers found themselves with JONATHAN DWYER as their leading rusher, which is what led to the spending of a second-round pick in the following draft on Le'Veon Bell. Vote below for who you think is the best Pittsburgh Steelers tight end of all time, then head over and check out the top Pittsburgh Steelers players ever. Overall, Charles recorded 8,110 yards from scrimmage during the decade with the Chiefs, Broncos and Jaguars from 2010-18.