By Jared Villani
SteelerNation.com
Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner was fantastic last season, but his season was cut short due to a significant, nagging ankle injury. Luckily for the Steelers, rookie Jaylen Samuels stepped up in a big way and showcased his pass-catching skills while taking advantage of the top run-blocking unit in front of him.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Conner's take on the Steelers running back situation from his recent NFL Network appearance. Conner had nothing but high praise for Samuels and rookie Benny Snell and spoke about the role he'll likely play in the offense in 2019:
"I'll have a similar role. I'm healthy, first and foremost; I'm 100 percent healthy now. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. But we have talent in that room. We have Jaylen Samuels, who's a tremendous receiver, a talented runner. We have Benny Snell. We know the work that he did at Kentucky. He's a hard-bodied runner, so all those guys will get touches. It'll be fun this year just seeing those other guys being successful."
As long as Conner is healthy, he'll be the go-to guy for the Steelers after proving to be more than capable of handling a full workload, despite all the adversity he's faced in recent years. Second year back Jaylen Samuels is working on incorporating more speed to his unique skill-set. Conner could benefit greatly from Samuels' and Snell's contributions next season, potentially making the Steelers rushing attack one of the league's best.
Steelers RB Jaylen Samuels said he focused on speed this offseason, which he says will help "be more decisive in and out of my cuts as a pure runner." Did he get faster? "I believe I got faster," he said. "I can get in and out of my cuts a little bit better."
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) June 21, 2019
Who do you think will lead the Steelers in rushing in 2019? Comment below!
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