Anthony

McFarland Jr.

The Steelers have 21 days to activate Johnson from injured reserve, but it sounds like there’s a chance he could return for Week 7. We’ll know more about his status once the team starts practicing on Wednesday, but Johnson would have fringe WR2/WR3 upside in his return against the Rams. In addition to Johnson, the Steelers also opened the 21-day window for running back Anthony McFarland.

McFarland was waived by the Steelers near the end of training camp and signed with the practice squad before the start of the season. This was just his third appearance of the year, but he surprisingly took the field to spell Najee Harris in the first quarter. He seemingly replaced Jaylen Warren, who was out with a hamstring injury, in the lineup. After Harris went down with an abdominal issue, Benny Snell took on his role. McFarland doesn’t have a path to fantasy relevancy for Week 13.

McFarland was briefly in the 2020 backup picture but fell back to four total touches last season. Already 24 years old, McFarland won’t be blowing up the workout circuit.

Warren shined in the Steelers’ preseason opener after garnering practice hype since training camp kicked off. Snell missed that exhibition and has been battling a bit of an injury, though he’s practicing Thursday. Warren looks to be Najee Harris’ direct backup, but we’d envision some sort of committee approach should Harris ever miss time. Still, Warren is certainly worthy of at least being rostered in dynasty formats. Lolley believes both Warren and Snell have earned roster spots behind Harris. Anthony McFarland is competing for another one.

The team also worked out Wayne Gallman. The Steelers are likely looking at competition for Anthony McFarland. The former fourth-round pick is reportedly on the roster bubble this summer. Should Najee Harris miss time, Benny Snell would handle much of his rushing work, but the bruising back isn’t much of a pass-catcher. That role would go to McFarland or a potential free agent signing.

Snell saw a career-low 36 carries for 98 yards (2.7 YPC) last season and has never averaged more than 3.9 YPC in any of his three seasons. A fourth-round pick from the 2019 draft class, Snell was always expected to play second fiddle to bell cow Najee Harris, but in an article published by Mike Defabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it sounds like Anthony McFarland may be ahead of Snell on the depth chart. Outside of Harris, drafters have been hesitant to pull the trigger on Steelers running backs. Harris’ backups can be had at virtually no cost in the draft room.

McFarland opened the year on injured reserve and never found his footing after the fact, losing out to Benny Snell and Kalen Ballage for a reserve role on game days and finishing with three carries and one catch in between multiple healthy scratches. With Najee Harris leading all running backs in snap rate (84%) in his rookie year, McFarland, entering the third year of his rookie deal, will not be a factor in 2022 unless Harris is removed from the picture.

McFarland’s absence confirms what we already knew, Najee Harris will have an every-down role against the Lions. Benn Snell will likely operate as a Harris’ backup, but the rookie should approach 90% of snaps this week. Even with Roethlisberger out, Harris shapes up as an elite RB1 play this week.

McFarland has yet to play this season, so his role alongside Najee Harris is a bit of an unknown. To be clear, what is unknown is if McFarland will have a role at all. Harris leads all running backs with an 86% snap share this season, and will remain the unquestioned lead running back. It’s possible that Harris could see his snaps dip into the 75-80% range if McFarland can mix in for an occasional series. Even still, McFarland would lack standalone value. The second-year running back should be in deep leagues as a contingent value play.

Najee Harris leads all NFL running backs in snap share, rush attempt share and target share. McFarland could eat into Harris’ role to an extent, but he’s very unlikely to have standalone fantasy value this season while Harris is healthy. McFarland is a contingent value handcuff, who should be added in deep leagues over next couple weeks. The Steelers have a 21-day window to activate the second year back, or McFarland will revert to season ending IR with a still unknown injury.