With the Steelers’ 2023 regular season underway following a disappointing year that came up just short of reaching the playoffs, it’s time to start finding out whether or not the answers to last year’s questions are on the roster, tested all throughout training camp and the preseason.
Both sides of the ball got key additions through both free agency and the draft, with new starters, including potentially rookies, amounting to half a dozen or more. The offensive line, the linebackers, and the secondary were all key targets since last year. But what will they look like?
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
Topic Statement: The league is catching onto Jaylen Warren.
Explanation: The Steelers limited his workload for most of his career, albeit still a brief one. More recently, Warren has been given more opportunities, and he’s produced more as a result, but his numbers have dipped in recent weeks following a spell in which he was the most productive runner in football. Some, like Chris Hoke, have speculated that it’s because teams are now paying attention to him and gunning for him when he’s in the game.
Buy:
It wouldn’t be the first time in history that a backup running back thrust into the spotlight failed to live up to the higher billing. Sometimes a reduced role is what is most effective for a player. While the Steelers are not asking Warren to be a starter, it’s clear that he drew enough attention to himself to get more respect from defenses.
And they have been able to defend him accordingly. He is hit in the backfield more frequently. He is gang-tackled more frequently, with fewer opportunities to break tackles to gain yards after contact. He is the same player over the past three games as he had been in the four before it. But the way defenses are playing him is not.
Sell:
It’s too early to draw those conclusions, especially off of such a small sample size. All we can say at this point is that he had a strong hot streak followed by a lull. It’s not as though he wasn’t struggling at the beginning of the season, either.
On top of that, they have played some better run defenses, with the offensive line struggling more than they had. The run game is never solely about the running back. There are many other contributing factors that lead to a positive or negative performance. His fumble a couple of weeks ago didn’t help his average either.
Did his hot streak make defenses take him a little bit more seriously? Perhaps. Even Minkah Fitzpatrick admitted they could have taken Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride more seriously. But the implication that his ceiling for success has been lowered because defenses now realize they have to tackle him harder is a false one. He may have more attention on him, but he hasn’t been “figured out”.
