For the Pittsburgh Steelers, their backfield has quite literally become a hot-hand approach that seems to change every single week.
Granted, the backfield didn’t look great for most of Pittsburgh’s first three games of the season as the running game struggled altogether, but even then, RB Najee Harris was able to throw in an explosive play in each contest. Harris took the forefront after his performance last week against the Houston Texans, topping 100 scrimmage yards while running like a man possessed in the second half.
That led many to believe that Harris would get a heavy workload this past weekend against the Baltimore Ravens, but to our surprise, it was RB Jaylen Warren who stole the show. His recent performance has left many analysts clamoring for him to receive more work in the backfield going forward. That includes CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr, who recently published a piece highlighting the need for more Warren in the offense.
“The Steelers invested a first-round pick in Najee Harris, but Warren is the better running back,” Kerr wrote in his Week Five takeaways. “The offensive line is bad, yet Warren seems to find a way to turn garbage into gold. Warren had nine carries for 40 yards (4.4 yards per carry) for a team that averaged 2.9 yards per carry Sunday. Harris is better at yards after contact per rush (3.24 to 2.53), but Warren is better at yards before contact per rush (1.12 to 0.68). When teams put eight in the box, Warren averages 5.0 yards per carry to Harris’ 1.8. This isn’t a call for Warren to be the featured back, but he deserves at least 10 touches a game.”
Based on the stats that Kerr provided, it looks like a no-brainer to make Warren Pittsburgh’s lead back going forward. He is more explosive and possesses better speed, hitting the line of scrimmage hard to pick up more yardage before seeing contact, which he showed on Sunday that he can run through contact well thanks to his compact frame. Warren averaged 4.4 YPC against the Ravens on nine carries while Harris averaged 2.6 YPC on 14, a similar trend we have seen dating back to last year as Warren just has more juice to maximize his carries.
Still, the likelihood of Warren usurping Harris for the lead back role in the offense is slim to none as we sit here today. The coaches have said numerous times that Harris is their lead back, and he too has a purpose as that back who can shoulder a heavy workload and wear down opposing defenses. That helps Warren when he enters the game be more productive as the opposing defense had to handle Harris, who is a big, physical runner that can be tough to bring down. Harris was also a team captain last year and is seen as one of the leaders of this team as well as is a former first-round pick with the pedigree to demand carries and snaps.
Instead of looking at it like one back needs to have a vast majority of the touches and snaps compared to the other, it’s best to expect Harris and Warren to operate in a capacity where the snaps hover close to 50%. Warren has played 45% of the offensive snaps thus far compared to Harris’ 53%. Both backs should look to trade off successful performances in the coming weeks following the bye week, and should the offensive line start playing better, we could see games where both Harris and Warren shine in the backfield as they bludgeon opposing defenses and establish a presence on the ground.
