2019 NFL Draft: Pittsburgh Steelers 7-round mock

Round 3 – Darrell Henderson

No one should expect the Steelers to spend a really high draft pick on a running back. Round 3 is probably the earliest that Pittsburgh might be tempted to find a partner for James Conner in the backfield.

Swiping an explosive back like Henderson at this juncture of the draft would be a savvy acquisition for the Steelers. He’s not going to make Pittsburgh fans forget about Le’Veon Bell, but he’s got some real explosion to his game. We’re talking about a running back who averaged 8.9 yards per carry in both of his last to seasons at Memphis.

Pairing him with Conner in the same running back rotation would give opposing defensive coordinators a lot to think about. Conner excels at catching the ball out of the backfield, but he’s not an explosive rusher. Henderson needs some work as a pass-catcher, but he’s a threat to break a big play on every carry. He doesn’t quite have the top-end speed to turn ordinary carries into 80-yard touchdowns, but he can bounce plays outside for 15-20 yard gains with relative ease.

Unlike Giles-Harris, the Steelers might be able to gamble on waiting for Henderson to slip a little bit in the draft. There are a lot of running backs who are going to garner looks from teams in this range. We’d snap him up in the third, but waiting to see if he’ll fall into the fourth might be a gamble worth taking as well.