RB Jonathan Dwyer, Pittsburgh Steelers

HT: 5-11, WT: 229, Born: 7-26-1989, College: Georgia Tech, Drafted: Round 6

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of June 11th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: M Floyd (160), M Goodson (161), Jonathan Dwyer (162), H Miller (163), K Hunter (164)
Position: R Turbin (159-RB59), M Goodson (161-RB60), Jonathan Dwyer (162 - RB61), K Hunter (164-RB62), M Reece (172-RB63)
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PPR Average draft position

Current as of June 11th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: D Heyward-Bey (175), K Hunter (176), Jonathan Dwyer (177), M Floyd (178),
Position: M Reece (171-RB61), K Hunter (176-RB62), Jonathan Dwyer (177 - RB63), D Robinson (183-RB64), D Thomas (193-RB65)
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Outlook

Jonathan Dwyer was the leading rusher for the Steelers last year but should see his touches dwindle in 2013. The Steelers selected Le'Veon Bell in the second-round of the 2013 NFL draft to be their lead back. Dwyer has battled weight and motivation issues throughout his entire pro career. He's a big back with the ability to grind down an opponent and get stronger as the game goes on. We'll see how Dwyer responds to the competition in training camp.

Latest News

Steelers | No depth chart for RBs (Wed Jun 12, 03:08 PM) - Pittsburgh Steelers running backs coach Kirby Wilson said the team does not really have a running back depth chart at this point. 'There really is no pecking order other than that's how we ended the season. Guys are jumping in accordingly and rotating themselves. There really is no rhyme or reason to it,' Wilson said. RB Jonathan Dwyer will enter training camp as No. 1 on the depth chart because he finished last season there.

Our View: We'd expect to see rookie Le'Veon Bell (Michigan State) win the starting job at some point this year. Bell is a big runner who can be difficult to bring down when he's at full speed. He's got good footwork and moves in the open field to make people miss.
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Steelers | Two RBs appear to be safe (Wed Jun 12, 03:03 PM) - Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell and Isaac Redman appear to be the only two running backs that are guaranteed a roster spot this season. RBs Jonathan Dwyer, Baron Batch and LaRod Stephens-Howling could compete for two roster spots during camp.

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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - After turning enough heads in the preseason to earn some touches (regardless of whether or not Isaac Redman was hurt), Dwyer continued to build that momentum in this game. Like Redman, he’s not going to be mistaken for a track star, but his lateral movement and ability to go “north-south” sooner in the play than Redman was evident Sunday night. Dwyer also caught two passes on the night. The Pittsburgh running game is going to struggle – particularly with the preseason injury to rookie guard David DeCastro and the in-game injuries Sunday night to right tackle Marcus Gilbert and right guard Ramon Foster. DeCastro will be out for at least 6-8 weeks, and it remains to be seen how sever the injuries to the others are. Regardless, Dwyer’s ceiling appears to be a matchup flex play when Pittsburgh is facing a weak opponent.

Week 2 - After out-performing Isaac Redman in Week 1, Dwyer wasn’t spectacular in this game. Like Redman, his running style isn’t conducive to penetrating defenders. He lacks lateral movement and requires a full head of steam in order to make a “splash” play. Dwyer is more talented than Redman, but the offensive line situation in Pittsburgh is simply not effective enough to allow him (or Redman) to make big plays.

Week 3 - Dwyer began the came as the clear backup to Isaac Redman. He ended the game sitting the bench after losing a fumble in the first half. Just two weeks ago, Dwyer appeared to be the better of the two, but in this game, he got nothing going while Redman – at times – fought hard and gained decent yardage. With the team on a bye next week and Rashard Mendenhall likely returning for Week 5, Dwyer’s playing time might be limited going forward.

Week 7 - Dwyer had a big night Sunday filling in for Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman. He carried the ball 17 times for 122 yards in helping the Steelers control the pace of the game against the Bengals. His best run came on his last carry of the game. On third and seven he broke free after running off guard to the right. Dwyer bounced the run outside and powered through the Bengals linebackers for a 32 yard gain, effectively keeping the Steelers from having to punt the ball back to Cincinatti as the clock wound down. He also carried the ball on four successive downs in the second quarter that netted the Steelers forty yards and two first downs. Most impressive was the fact that Dwyer only lost yardage on two of his seventeen carries, insuring that the Steelers were picking up yardage most every time he touched the ball. Dwyer showed excellent leg power in breaking through the first line of defense and good agility in bouncing off of tacklers and breaking through arm tackles on his way to one of the best games of his career. The Pittsburgh line did a great job opening up holes between the tackles, winning with an initial push that kept defenders off of Dwyer until he had picked up positive yardage.

Week 8 - For the second straight game, Pittsburgh’s rushing offense was a viable weapon thanks to Dwyer. A large back with above average feet quickness for his size, Dwyer has run deliberately and aggressively in back-to-back weeks. Multiple times in the game, he was first touched behind the line of scrimmage. However, he was able to break free and create positive plays more often than not. Dwyer showed a little more diversity to his game than most big backs have as he got some carries out of the shotgun, which creates more of a draw/trap scheme (as opposed to a straight downhill style). The way Dwyer is running has to have this coaching staff thinking long and hard about who the team’s top back will be when all three are healthy. Rashard Mendenhall, an unrestricted free agent at year’s end, may end up having to find another team. While this team is still very much in the playoff race, there may be a look to the future to see if Dwyer can continue to carry the load effectively. This potential “tryout” could impact the team’s decision of whether or not to keep Mendenhall.

Week 10 - Dwyer replaced Redman after he fumbled the football, and promptly ran into his own blocker with his first carry. He didn't get much running room with his first few carries, but broke off a big gain up the middle when his line created a hole on third and three. However, after that play he was mostly bottled up by the Chiefs as the Steelers' offensive line failed to create good holes for him to run through. Without Redman coming back into the game often after the fumble, and Chris Rainey being active but on the sidelines because of rib issues, Dwyer never got many opportunities to rest either. His explosion wasn't there and neither were the holes, so it was no surprise he had a tough day returning from injury.

Week 11 - Jonathan Dwyer was the most impressive Pittsburgh running back. Dwyer, who played 32 snaps, displayed the same level of tough running that we’ve grown accustomed to watching. Despite taking just five carries for 15 yards in the first half, Pittsburgh made it a point to get him heavily involved during the second half. During his team’s tenth drive, Dwyer accumulated 40 total yards through a mix of runs and screen passes. On a 2nd-and-14 play, Dwyer caught a designed screen pass and accelerated up the field for 14 yards. Dwyer generated five of the 14 yards after contact as he launched into Terrell Suggs. Pittsburgh came right back to Dwyer, feeding him two carries that resulted in gains of eleven and seven yards. Dwyer ran with a low pad level and sought out initial contact. With his team in the red zone, Dwyer took a carry up the middle for eight yards.

Over his team’s final three drives, Dwyer continued run hard after contact. On a 3rd-and-8 play at midfield, Byron Leftwich was hit by Paul Krueger and flipped the ball up to Dwyer. Dwyer showed a little wiggle, evading the first defender and a great second effort by lunging for the first down.

Isaac Redman suffered a first half concussion, so Dwyer and Rashard Mendenhall split caries. Both Dwyer and Mendenhall are playing through injuries, but Dwyer’s burst and rugged running style was superior to Mendenhall’s.

Week 12 - Dwyer entered the game on the first play after Rashard Mendenhall fumbled. His first run displayed his strength, as it looked like he was stopped at the line but kept his legs driving and got four yards. The very next play, he caught a screen pass and picked up the remaining six for a first down, further illustrating his versatility. In the second quarter, Dwyer became the third different Pittsburgh back to lose a fumble. He was replaced on the next drive by Chris Rainey as Mike Tomlin and Todd Haley continued to send a message to any runner who loses a fumble. Dwyer returned in the second half but wasn’t able to do anything remarkable as the entire offense either stalled out or turned the ball over for the entire half.

Week 13 - Dwyer was playing well early in the game, as he continually bounced off of defenders and gained forward momentum in the tackles, but the Ravens' defense was daring the Steelers to throw the ball and flying to every run play at the line of scrimmage. After being bottled up for much of the game until the third quarter, Dwyer bounced off a crowd again before sprinting outside. Dwyer used a block downfield from Charlie Batch to run inside the pylon for a touchdown. Dwyer ran the ball very well for most of the day, he doesn't break tackles, but he was repeatedly bouncing off defenders. Pinball, as his nickname should now be, did have one poor decision not in the running game when he tried to rip the ball from Ed Reed at the one yard line after an interception. Instead of tackling Reed and giving his defense great position, Reed was able to sprint out the field for a big return. Dwyer was the team's bell cow as the starter and he earned every single yard he gained as the Ravens focused on shutting him down.

Week 14 - With the Steelers trailing throughout, there wasn’t much opportunity to establish any type of ground game. Even if the Steelers wanted to, though, it didn’t look like the Chargers were going to give them much of an opportunity. He was stuffed on a third and 1 carry on the team’s second drive of the game, and it only went downhill from there. He did have a nice outside run for 14 yards thanks to some excellent downfield blocking early in the second half, and he followed that up with a 6-yard gain up the middle. But aside from those two runs, he gained just 12 yards on his other six carries. That gives an idea of just how inconsistent the Steelers rushing attack was.

Week 15 - Dwyer's first carry went for six yards through a good hole inside left tackle. Dwyer ran again off left guard for a four yard gain. Dwyer's third carry was finally stopped for just one yard as he bounced off the a pile of bodies at the line of scrimmage. Dwyer was shut down before he could get to the line of scrimmage on his next run. Dwyer's next carry came at the beginning of the third quarter when he pushed his way up the middle for four yards. A similar draw play was stopped for little more than one yard on the next play. After the big play to Mike Wallace, Jonathan Dwyer ran the ball in behind David DeCastro for a touchdown. It was the typical run that Isaac Redman normally makes for the Steelers. Dwyer was bottled up with his first carry on the Steelers' drive in the fourth quarter. Dwyer took a draw play over right tackle for four yards.

Week 16 - Dwyer's first run was an aggressive one as he immediately bounced outside on a run designed to go up the middle. Dwyer escaped behind good blocking on the edges for a 12 yard gain. The Steelers made a commitment to Dwyer early on, but the Bengals didn't let him Dwyer loose after the first carry until their fourth drive when he cut through the middle for 10 yards. Dwyer ceded the second quarter to Rashard Mendenhall, before starting the second half. His first carry went untouched up the middle for an eight yard gain. If he didn't trip himself up he could have had a bigger play into the secondary.

Week 17 - Dwyer made little to no impact early on and his biggest run came on third and 24 when the Browns were in prevent defense and he ran off right guard for 12 yards. Dwyer spent much of the first half on the sidelines, before taking the first carry of the third quarter on a counter for 11 yards and a first down. Dwyer took the same play for four yards. On the same drive, Dwyer broke outside right tackle again when he shedded a tackle for another first down and big gain. Dwyer was running much better in the second half, as he spun away from the defense on third and two to get the first down. With six minutes left in the game, the Steelers turned to Dwyer to try and close the game out. After being stopped for a yard on first and 10, he caught a nine yard screen pass to set up third and one. Redman came in to convert that third down. Dwyer came back in on the next play but was stuffed at the line of scrimmage again.