The topic of the backfield spilt in Pittsburgh between RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren has been a heated discussion since the midpoint of last season. Harris wasn’t healthy and you saw it on the field as a foot injury hampered him to begin 2022, looking slow and lacking elusiveness and that power we have known him for since coming out of Alabama. Undrafted free agent RB Jaylen Warren, on the other hand, looked explosive in his first time seeing game action, hitting the hole hard with speed and burst, showcasing more juice than what Harris had at that point.
Juice is a term that NFL analyst Greg Cosell used to describe Warren and his game, appearing as a guest on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast. The two talked about the Pittsburgh Steelers and the current state of the AFC North, and Cosell made his case for Warren to become a more integral part of the offense moving forward.
“Jaylen Warren gives them a lot more juice at the running back position than Najee Harris and I don’t think you’re going to see Harris this year get 270-280 carries,” Cosell said on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast with aired on Ross Tucker’s YouTube Channel. “I don’t think he’ll be a ‘feature back or foundation back.’ He’s obviously going to play. He’s obviously going to be a significant part of what they do, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Jaylen Warren get a lot more snaps and a lot more carries in the context of their offense.”
Cosell hasn’t been a fan of Harris for some time now, previously calling him a pedestrian running back last fall and questioned whether he can be the guy as a feature back in Pittsburgh’s offense. While Harris is a good athlete in his own right regarding his size, power, shiftiness relative to his size, and his pass catching prowess, he does lack that juice and speed that other feature backs have in the league, being a workhorse back that doesn’t have the second gear to run away from defenders when he gets to the second level.
“He’s just a juicier runner,” Cosell said about Warren. “Obviously every offense wants big, explosive plays however they can get them, and I think Warren gives you a little bit more of that.”
Warren has proven that he can rip off big runs during his short time in Pittsburgh. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry as a rookie, having a long of 31 yards on the season last year. He showcased that juice this preseason, ripping off a 62-yard TD against the Buffalo Bills where he got into the open field and didn’t look back, outrunning the angle the safety had on him in pursuit and finished in the end zone for the house call.
Harris will remain Pittsburgh’s starting running back this season, but Warren has made his case to eat into Harris’ workload in 2023. He has been more efficient and explosive as a runner than the former first-round pick, bringing an element to the backfield that Pittsburgh hasn’t had in some time. While Harris has his role as a short yardage back that can carry the load and wear down defenses in the second half, Warren deserves more opportunities to show what he can do given what he has done in the limited sample size as a rookie and in preseason play.
