James Conner: RB · Pittsburgh · #24.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
James Conner
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. The three seasons at Pittsburgh span two head coaches: Paul Chryst and Pat Narduzzi. The first one came in 2014: All-America (AFCA). A game that shows it: 141 rushing yards and 3 rushing TD against Virginia Tech — Week 9, 2016.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
Not actually a closer
41.3% of carries overall (215/521) → 29.5% of Q4-with-lead carries (23/78) — 100.0% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
14 of 18 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (77.8%). 26 of the team's 44 inside-the-5 carries (59.1%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Oct 24Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Pittsburgh | 216 | 1,092 | 5.1 | 16 | 40 |
| 2015 | Pittsburgh | 8 | 77 | 9.6 | 2 | 40 |
| 2014 | Pittsburgh | 298 | 1,765 | 5.9 | 26 | 75 |
| Career | 522 | 2,934 | 5.6 | 44 | 75 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Pittsburgh | 21 | 302 | 14.4 | 4 | 55 |
| 2015 | Pittsburgh | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2014 | Pittsburgh | 5 | 70 | 14.0 | 0 | 40 |
| Career | 27 | 379 | 14.0 | 4 | 55 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2016 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 28-7vs Villanova | 17 | 53 | 3.1 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 2 | W 42-39vs Penn State | 22 | 117 | 5.3 | 1 | 24 | |
| Wk 3 | L 38-45@ Oklahoma State | 24 | 111 | 4.6 | 1 | 32 | |
| Wk 4 | L 36-37@ North Carolina | 16 | 66 | 4.1 | 1 | 27 | |
| Wk 5 | W 43-27vs Marshall | 11 | 34 | 3.1 | 1 | 12 | |
| Wk 6 | W 37-34vs Georgia Tech | 14 | 60 | 4.3 | 0 | 21 | |
| Wk 7 | W 45-31@ Virginia | 20 | 90 | 4.5 | 2 | 20 | |
| Wk 9 | L 36-39vs No. 25 Virginia Tech | 19 | 141 | 7.4 | 3 | 40 | Season-high 141 yds |
| Wk 10 | L 28-51@ Miami | 12 | 40 | 3.3 | 1 | 15 | |
| Wk 11 | W 43-42@ No. 3 Clemson | 20 | 132 | 6.6 | 1 | 27 | |
| Wk 12 | W 56-14vs Duke | 14 | 101 | 7.2 | 2 | 23 | |
| Wk 13 | W 76-61vs Syracuse | 19 | 115 | 6.1 | 2 | 34 | |
 Bowl | L 24-31vs Northwestern | 8 | 32 | 4.0 | 0 | 21 | |
| Total | 216 | 1092 | 5.1 | 16 | 40 |
Week 11 · 2016
W 43-42
at Clemson
132 rush yds (20 car) · 1 TD · 3 rec · 57 yds · 1 TD
Edged out Clemson on the road in a shootout.
With N. Peterman — 308 yds · 5 TD · 0 INT · QBR 76.2 · 18 rush yds (6 car) · R. Winslow — 43.4 yards per punt · 5 punts · 52 long
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
43%208 carriesFumble rate
0.5%1 of 216 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.1 yds/carry on 216 carries · 15% explosive (10+ yds) · 43% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2016 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 88.7 | 5.2 | 1.4 |
| Road5g | 87.8 | 4.6 | 1.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 70.4 | 4.1 | 0.9 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 106 | 6.1 | 1.8 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Pass share
37.7%
320 pass / 528 run
Plays / game
65.2
13 games
Team sack rate
2.9%
348 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2016
216 carries and 21 catches in 13 games, more touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
How it ended
Three seasons at Pittsburgh, 2,934 rushing yards — drafted at #105 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Honored in a first season.
Coaching lineage · 2013–2016
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Paul Chryst → Pat Narduzzi. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Next stop · NFL
Pittsburgh SteelersEntering 10th NFL season
Pittsburgh SteelersEntering 10th NFL season
