Player: RB Jaylen Warren
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The second-year running back reached the national spotlight in spurts during the 2023 season. He outshined Najee Harris in many weeks, though they worked best in tandem. He became just the second undrafted free agent in team history to record 1,000 or more yards from scrimmage.
I don’t know that it’s legally permitted to like football and not be a fan of Pittsburgh Steelers RB Jaylen Warren. He is football. His love of the game is obvious in the way that he plays. His perseverance going back to the string of colleges at which he played is a testament to that.
And all he’s done since getting his foot in the door is continuing to wedge it open more and more. His role has steadily increased over the past two seasons, though still not fast enough for some. He doubled his carries and touches from his rookie season in 2023, nearly doing so for yards from scrimmage too. He quadrupled from one to four as well—unfortunately, he did that for his fumbles, too.
But his fumbles remain a relatively minor concern, even if not one that should be ignored. The fact is he is a very talented and committed football player. He rushed for 774 yards in 2023 on just 149 carries, for example, averaging 5.3 yards per attempt. He remained a staple in the passing game with 61 receptions for 370 yards.
And he remained the third-down back in most situations. It was actually funny how often they targeted him on 3rd and long. He caught 19 passes on 3rd and 5 or longer. That he managed to pick up a first down on five of those plays is a success. Some of them were 3rd and 15, 3rd and 20. Granted, the longest he converted was 3rd and 13.
According to Pro Football Focus, Warren ranked third in the NFL in yards after contact per attempt among backs with 100 or more attempts. He averaged 3.68 yards after contact, behind only Miami’s De’Von Achane and Arizona’s James Conner. Najee Harris ranked 16th at 3.03.
He also ranked second only to Achane in Elusive Rating. Pro Football Focus’ Elusive Rating factors in total missed tackles forced divided by total touches while adjusting for yards after contact per attempt. Warren is, shall we say, not a willing participant in his being tackled. He was the only player with at least 50 missed tackles forced as a runner and at least 25 as a receiver.
On top of everything else, Warren also showed this past season that he does have some burst. He only had six explosive runs on the season, but one of those he took for 74 yards. It’s evident even on plays where he’s just getting to the sideline, however, to turn upfield.
Other than fumbling, the biggest question with Warren has been if he can be a workhorse. Somebody who can withstand 300-plus touches in a season for several years. He recorded 210 touches last year, but never hit 20 touches in a single game. He had only four games of 15-plus touches and not all of them were his best.
