Benny Snell a Monday Night Football Star Worth Owning

In a Monday Night Football game that featured both Saquon Barkley and James Conner, Benny Snell was the only running back that mattered. Snell took over after Conner injured his ankle and handled 19 carries for 113 yards (5.9 YPA). While Conner’s injury will be critical to watch, Benny has become one of the top waiver adds with his impressive performance.

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Player Profile

Benny Snell was an absolute bulldozer in his collegiate career at Kentucky. He carried the rock 737 times over his three-year career there (12th most in SEC history) and ran for 3,873 yards and 48 rushing TDs (third-most in SEC history). Snell carried the Kentucky offense, but his poor metrics at the combine aided in sinking his draft stock. The Steelers wound up taking Snell in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

When Conner went down with an injury in 2019, Snell got some run as a rookie. He primarily saw work between Weeks 6-13, where he handled double-digit touches five times over an eight-game span. He was able to amass over 90 rushing yards twice during that span while also rushing for two TDs. Snell’s calling card is the ability to create yards after contact, which he did at the rate of 2.8 yards after contact per attempt as a rookie. That tied for fifth-best amongst all RBs with the likes of Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs per Pro Football Reference.

Benny Snell Football! #Steelers pic.twitter.com/oVymYhSc6f

— BlitzburghVideos (@BlitzVideos) September 15, 2020

State of the Offense

The Steelers started slow on Monday night, but by the end of the game, they put up a vintage Roethlisberger-led Steelers performance. Big Ben threw three TDs in his return to the field after missing virtually the entire 2019 season while Snell convincingly pounded the rock. The only downside with Snell is that he will offer next to nothing in the passing game. He caught just 29 passes in college with no TDs. He also saw only four targets over 13 games last season as well.

Outlook

As long as Ben Roethlisberger stays healthy, this is going to be an offense you want a piece of in fantasy. Before last season, the Steelers were top 10 in the league in offensive points scored and total yards. While that has generally been powered by them having one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the league, a transition to a more balanced approach could be in order with Ben coming off a severe elbow injury. That shift would be even more warranted when they have a young, hungry RB like Snell in their backfield that can carry the pile the way he does.

Two main factors will control Snell’s destiny in fantasy this year. First is the severity of James Conner’s injury. If it’s enough to keep him out a few weeks, Snell would be thrust into RB2 value for fantasy purposes. His lack of involvement in the passing game is the other factor that could be detrimental to his upside. If we start to see someone like Jaylen Samuels mix into a passing-down role in the backfield, which is possible, Snell will become much more game-flow dependent.

Regardless of the potential downside, Snell’s impressive track record in college and improved performance on Monday Night Football warrant enough attention for him to be ranked amongst the top RB waiver adds for the week. His value is still injury dependent for the time being, but you could net a solid RB2 at worst here if he can take over.

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John Ferguson is a featured writer and editor at FantasyPros. For more from John, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyFerguson.

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