One of the biggest surprise contributors to the 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers was undrafted free agent running back Jaylen Warren. Warren signed with the team out of Oklahoma State and emerged as the team’s No. 2 running back, toting the rock 77 times for 379 yards and also catching 28 passes, and taking over as the team’s third-down back. Speaking to reporters today before Pittsburgh’s second minicamp practice, running backs coach Eddie Faulkner said finding a player like Warren is rare.
“I don’t think that happens a whole lot. What I didn’t know about Jaylen was his ability as a pass protector, and from game one he was doing that at a very high level and he’s been that way the whole time. I think that’s rare,” Faulkner said via the Steelers’ PR Department. “A lot of times guys take more development than that case. And so just to say that, as a broad sweeping statement, it’s hard. I think he is an outlier. But it definitely did show you that there’s diamonds in the rough like that.”
The Steelers have a long history of successful finds in undrafted free agency, with guys like Donnie Shell, James Harrison and Willie Parker becoming stars for the team. But in recent years, the hit rate has been a lot lower for a variety of reasons, notably Pittsburgh paying less in bonuses than most teams. But every now and then a productive player comes along, and Warren was that guy in 2022.
Overlooked coming out of college, Warren was productive at three different schools and ended up taking over Oklahoma State’s starting running back job early in 2021 despite opening the season as a backup. While he’s small in stature, he plays with a lot of power, and as Faulkner noted, he’s really talented when it comes to pass blocking. In Week 5, Warren took over as Pittsburgh’s third-down back due to his prowess as a pass blocker and ability to make catches out of the backfield.
Warren averaged 7.6 yards per reception last year and outpaced starting running back Najee Harris in yards per carry, with Warren picking up 4.9 yards per carry, a full yard more than Harris’ 3.8 in 2022. His burst and power made him the perfect complement to Harris, and coupled with his blocking ability he certainly was a diamond-in-the-rough sort of find for Pittsburgh.
Entering his second NFL season, Warren could take on a larger role. I’d expect him to remain as the team’s primary third-down back, and he could see more touches as the Steelers look to run the ball more and win games on the ground, much as they did in the second half of the season last year.
Prior to the team’s bye week last season, Warren averaged 3.8 carries per game, but post-bye when the Steelers’ run game really took off, he averaged six carries per game. I would expect that to be around the number he gets throughout the 2023 season.
I’m excited to see how Warren looks in his second season. He was probably the team’s biggest surprise as a rookie. Now that he’s established, it’ll be interesting to watch to see if he can build off the momentum from his rookie season and take that next step to become an even bigger contributor for Pittsburgh.
