22-year old RB Rashard Mendenhall won’t have to look over his shoulder to Willie Parker anymore as he’s off to the Redskins for 2010.  Mendenhall played in 16 games (12 starts) for the Steelers last season in which he carried the ball 242 times for 1,108 yards (4.6 ypc) with 7 TD carries.  He also caught 25 passes for 261 yards (10.4 avg) with 1 TD grab last season.  He has now played in 20 games (13 starts) in his two years with the Steelers carrying the ball 261 times for 1,166 yards (4.5 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  Mendenhall has also caught 27 passes for 278 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab in his career with the Steelers.  The Steelers are confident that Mendenhall can handle carrying the ball 20+ times per game in 2010.

27-year old Mewelde Moore will enter training camp as the Steelers’ #2 RB.  He played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Steelers last season in which he carried the ball 35 times for 118 yards (3.4 ypc).  Moore also caught 21 passes for 153 yards (7.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs last season.  Moore has now played six years in the NFL appearing in 86 games (15 starts) in which he has carried the ball 439 times for 1,991 yards (4.5 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He has also caught 177 passes for 1,566 yards (8.8 avg) with 6 TD receptions in his career.  With his new role on offense Moore will probably play a lot less on special teams in 2010.  Moore has returned 83 punts for 792 yards (9.5 avg) with 2 TD returns and he has also returned 40 kickoffs for 732 yards (18.3 avg) in his career.

Rookie RB Jonathan Dwyer somehow slid to the 6th round.  But he was a excellent inside runner at Georgia Tech and he can handle a heavy workload if pressed into duty for the Steelers.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STEELERS RBs in 2010:  B