With the Pittsburgh Steelers' initial 53-man roster finally a little clearer, it's now been revealed that third-year running back Anthony McFarland Jr. will be the third running back on the roster behind both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. McFarland Jr. was selected out of the University of Maryland in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin Praises Anthony McFarland's "Continual Growth"
"Continual growth, play-making, one on one play-making. He has a distinguishing trait that kind've distinguishes him from his position group. He won more in space than others."
Tomlin would continue to praise McFarland by acknowledging his ability to catch the ball in space and turn a little play into a splash play.
"He's a challenge in the passing game, probably presents more [challenge] than others."
McFarland did exactly that during the 2023 preseason. He used his quick speed and agility to his advantage. We saw his potential during the preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 with a dazzling 14-yard touchdown run. During the play, the middle of the field seemed to be completely filled by the Buccaneers linebackers, so McFarland decided to bounce the run outside and had an easy 14-yard walk-in touchdown. McFarland would also catch a ball out of the backfield for a gain of five yards.
In the Steelers' Week 2 matchup in preseason against the Buffalo Bills, McFarland would be more prevalent in the receiving game. He would have two receptions for 18 yards. It was the preseason finale where he would lead all running backs with the most rushing yards. He would rush the ball 10 times for a total of 55 yards running, as well as finding the endzone one a five-yard rush.
For McFarland, the 2023 preseason would showcase his skills to perfection, and give the Steelers front office hope that he will be able to fulfill the depth of the running back room. Following the 2023 preseason and McFarland's good play, we can expect to see him on the field a lot during special teams, and maybe occasionally receiving the ball out of the backfield to use his shiftiness in the open field.
Steelers' McFarland Jr. Flashed During His Time In College
McFarland played in college from 2018 to 2019. He would flash during the 2018 season and have a total of 1,034 rushing yards along with four rushing touchdowns. He put the country on notice following his freshman season and would be named to the Doak Walker Award watch-list (Nation's best college running back).
Sadly, McFarland wouldn't be able to live up to the high hopes in his sophomore tenure with the Terrapins and would put up just 614 yards running along with eight rushing touchdowns. He brought in a total of 126 receiving yards along with one receiving touchdown. After the 2019-2020 college football season, McFarland would declare for the 2020 NFL Draft. There is where the Steelers would decide to draft him in the fourth round. McFarland has played his whole NFL career with the Steelers so far, and his time with the team looks to be nowhere near the end just yet.
What does Steeler Nation believe? Can McFarland have a bigger impact on the 2023 Steelers? Or will he fall in the backdrop behind Harris and Warren? Leave your thoughts down below in the comments!
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