The Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back room remains mostly the same entering the 2024 season, at least at the top of the group with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren as a two-headed committee backfield. Behind them will be return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson, and then whoever wins the job between La’Mical Perine, Jonathan Ward, Aaron Shampklin, and Daijun Edwards.
Pro Football Focus has been providing unit rankings for each position group in the league over the last few weeks and posted its RB rankings today. PFF wasn’t too kind to the Steelers’ RB room, ranking it No. 17.
“Both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren were top-25 running backs in PFF wins above average in 2023,” wrote PFF’s Trevor Sikkema. “The Steelers ranked 13th in the league in PFF rushing grade from their running backs, and 14th in EPA per rush.
“Warren and Harris each averaged more than 4.0 yards per carry, as well, and the two remain a very solid duo for 2024.”
This is a surprising placement to me, especially after what the group was able to accomplish over the second half of the 2023 season. Harris reached the 1,000-yard mark for his third-straight season and Warren had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage as the two split roughly even on offensive snaps.
That includes the first several weeks of the season in which the Steelers’ offense struggled to do much of anything. Over the final 10 weeks, they turned things around in a big way with Broderick Jones as the full-time right tackle. They had the third-most rushing yards (1,452) over that span, only behind the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions.
Entering 2024, the Steelers have invested heavily in their offensive line with their top two draft picks set to start at center and right tackle, if not in Week 1 then at some point early in the season. They also have an entirely new offensive system that likes to run 12 and 13 personnel with extra tight ends and even fullbacks to out-muscle opponents at the line of scrimmage. Arthur Smith loves to run the ball, and the Steelers’ RB duo should benefit from that in a big way.
If the team can pick up where it left off in 2023, Harris and Warren should both be in for career seasons and the Steelers should finish near the top of the league in rushing offense. To me, the No. 17 ranking on this list is off base.
