In his second year, Conner became a true hometown hero for the Steelers last season. He was born in Erie, Pa., and matriculated at Pitt, where he ran for 26 touchdowns as a sophomore and then overcame Hodgkin's lymphoma to become a third-round pick in the 2017 draft. Conner got a chance to start for the Steelers when Le'Veon Bell's annual preseason holdout became a slow, season-long divorce between the star running back and the franchise. And his 135-yard, two-TD performance on the ground in Week 1 helped fans forget all about Bell. While the rest of his season was a little more erratic, he still showed enough to solidify his hold on the No. 1 job before an ankle injury cost him three games late in the season. Seen as primarily a power back coming out of college, Conner proved to be adept as a receiver, but it's still his ability to plow through contact that remains his best asset - his 56 total broken tackles tied for fourth in the league, and his 17 carries inside the 5-yard line tied for third as he converted 53 percent. That bulldozer approach may lead to further injuries - he's missed time late in the year twice in two seasons - but with Jaylen Samuels and Benny Snell as capable backups, the Steelers aren't likely to grind him into the dirt with a massive workload the way they did with Bell. Read Past Outlooks