The Pittsburgh Steelers have a number of second-year players worth being excited about in terms of what they can contribute this year. Not all of them, however, were draft picks. Running back Jaylen Warren was a college free agent who earned his way onto the 53-man roster and played a prominent role on offense last year.
Coaches actively talked about how they wanted to find ways to get him more involved, and that is evidently a process that remains ongoing. Indeed, we are now to the point of the offseason in which we’re hearing about the pony backfield—two halfbacks on the field at the same time.
“They have said they are planning to find ways to get us both on the field at the same time and just do different things with me”, Warren recently said, according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, which may trigger flashbacks of similar offseason claims over the past decade, which rarely materialized.
“Najee is still the starter and whenever he needs a break is when I will go in, but we might mix things up some”, the second-year back added in reference to his own role. “I just want to help the team any way I can. Whatever that takes I’m willing to do”.
The most essential aspect of successfully executing a formation with two halfbacks is the ability for those backs to complement one another’s skill sets and not be limited to being just a ball carrier. Ideally, both of them would be willing and able to throw a block, depending on who got the ball, something that DeAngelo Williams did for Le’Veon Bell once or twice.
In the case of Harris and Warren, both of them are hard runners with solid hands, and both can pass protect as well. Overall, they have very similarly well-rounded skill sets, so at least in theory, it could work if you put them on the field together. Not that head coach Mike Tomlin would want Harris throwing many blocks.
Warren, whose playing time generally increased throughout the 2022 season, finished his rookie year with over 500 yards from scrimmage. He rushed for 379 yards on 77 rushing attempts with one touchdown and also caught 28 passes for another 214 yards. Around the midpoint of the season, the Steelers began using him as their primary third-down back because they liked his ability to identify blitzers in pass protection and throw his body around.
In the meantime, Harris finished the season with 1,034 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, plus 229 receiving yards and another three touchdowns. His numbers and efficiency improved in the second half of the season as he put more distance between himself and a Lisfranc foot injury suffered early in training camp.
But will we really see the two of them on the field together this season for any more than perhaps a couple of snaps, at most, as a novelty? With the depth that the Steelers have at wide receiver and especially tight end, I wouldn’t exactly bet money on it.
