The Steelers don't need the rookie from Erie to start and star in their offense. They need him to blossom behind Le'Veon Bell.

James Conner could have landed elsewhere in the NFL easily enough.

The former McDowell and Pitt running back was selected in the supplemental portion of the third round of April’s NFL draft, so every team had a shot to pick him before the Pittsburgh Steelers did.

For a time, there was buzz he might go to the Cleveland Browns, a perpetually rebuilding franchise with an unclear long-term backfield rotation.

But when the team he rooted for growing up came on the clock with the 105th overall selection, they removed Conner’s name from the draft board.

Now, four months later, it appears to have been a best-case scenario selection — not only given the storybook aspect of a former Panthers star remaining in a city where he enjoys a built-in fan base, but because the Steelers are willing to let him carve out a role organically.

“It was the place I wanted to play,” Conner said at the opening of training camp in Latrobe, an acknowledgement of his comfort level with the organization and the culture of bringing along rookies at a pace that matches their ability to contribute, a concept in short supply in some other NFL cities.

“I just want to win,” he added. “Our goal is a world championship so if we do that, everyone is successful.”

That doesn’t mean he’s not being pushed.

With Le’Veon Bell holding out for the first month of the preseason, Conner carried 20 times for 98 yards in his exhibition debut against the Atlanta Falcons at Heinz Field in mid-August. His workload was lighter the following week, with the Steelers taking a closer look at veteran Knile Davis against the Colts.

Head coach Mike Tomlin noted Conner’s rushing production after the Falcons game, then offered a candid critique of Conner’s overall play.

Conner “played a heck of an offensive football game (against the Falcons),” Tomlin said. “But he was JV as a special teams performer. I’m challenging him in a big way. We expect him to give us quality contributions in the special teams game when he’s not playing running back. It’s reasonable to expect that.”

Coaches tend to make statements like that through the media about players they believe will respond accordingly. And everything unearthed so far about Conner’s football DNA suggests he will do that.

After his preseason debut against the Falcons, he was measured in his self-analysis, acknowledging the good without ducking the bad.

“I have a lot of things to do and get better on,” Conner said. “That’s every game. I’m going to go in there and take a look at the film to see how I did.”

Conner should benefit from Tomlin’s openness, and certainly from Bell’s presence when he becomes a regular presence in the locker room and around the team’s facility.

Early in camp, Conner went to lengths to point out that he considers Bell the best in the league at his craft and would like to try to model his own game after that of a player viewed by many to be the best all-around back in football.

“He set the bar high with his receiving, running ability and pass blocking,” Conner said. “Every category to me he’s the best running back in the game.”

Although Conner was listed fourth on the Steelers’ running back depth chart for much of the preseason, it’s obvious that means little once the regular season begins.

It's not unusual for teams to bury rookies deep in the rotation to see how they’ll respond in the first weeks of their careers — Browns coach Hue Jackson had Myles Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft, listed as third-string coming out of OTAs.

The expectation coming out of the draft was that Conner would quickly become Bell’s backup, and his early work in the running game suggested he might be able to handle that role.

“You know we just want to get to know everybody,” Tomlin said after the Colts game, when Knile Davis took the lion’s share of carries. “It’s not always necessarily even, but it is fair and that everyone will get an opportunity to show what they’re capable of.”

Conner said after the Colts game that he’s “getting real comfortable” with the offensive playbook and eager to get the season underway on Sunday in Cleveland against the Browns.

“I can’t wait,” he said.

During his recovery from Hodgkin lymphoma and during the leadup to the draft, Conner earned the respect and trust of veterans in the Steelers’ locker room.

That’s only grown this summer.

After he dropped two early passes during the Falcons game and sat dejected on the bench, guard Ramon Foster walked over and told Conner to put it behind him and trust his ability to bounce back.

Conner did, and put together a big second half.

“The guys embraced me,” Conner said. “It’s really a special group of guys the Pittsburgh Steelers have.”

John Dudley can be reached at 870-1677 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNdudley.