Granted, the Pittsburgh Steelers were one of the 32 teams that passed on RB Jaylen Warren when he came out of Oklahoma State. It’s why he became an undrafted free agent, free to sign with any team. He chose Pittsburgh and the Steelers are better off for it.
Before he wore the interim OC hat, Faulkner was (and still is) the team’s running backs coach. Meaning he was studying Warren ahead of the 2022 draft. And while the team didn’t use one of its picks on him, Faulkner says he had a draftable grade on him. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Faulkner outlined his pre-draft thoughts on Warren.
“I’m glad they did, I’ll say that,” Faulkner said of Warren being passed over in the draft via a team-provided transcript. “I don’t know. I can’t answer that question. I’ve said it before in this setting, Jaylen wasn’t — for me in our ratings, in my ratings of backs, Jaylen wasn’t a guy who was not worthy of being [a] drafted-type running back. I can’t speak on what other people said. I can tell you what I saw on tape.”
Warren took a winding journey to the NFL. His college career began at Snow College, a JUCO in Utah with an enrollment of about 6,000 students. From there, he transferred to Utah State before finishing his career at Oklahoma State, rushing for more than 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior. Still, a lack of size and average testing, running a 4.55 40 with a 34-inch vertical, made him a fringe prospect.
The Steelers signed him in the moments after the draft, Warren later admitting he signed with Pittsburgh because it offered the most money, a $12,000 signing bonus. He ran with the opportunity, quickly impressing during training camp, especially in the backs on ‘backers drills. Warren made the team and by Week Five had become the Steelers’ third-down back. Faulkner said Warren’s sturdy pass protection was something he didn’t even discover until he got to the NFL.
“He’s even better than that because the pass-protection element, which you didn’t see a lot of him at Oklahoma State, might be his strongest suit. And that’s saying a lot because he does a lot of things well,” Faulkner said.
Warren has been solid in pass protection throughout his two seasons with Pittsburgh. Few are as fearless and powerful to anchor blitzers. We highlighted his performance two weeks ago against the Cincinnati Bengals, including a rep that allowed QB Mason Rudolph to hit WR George Pickens for a 66-yard touchdown.
Warren is coming off a terrific game against the Seattle Seahawks, showcasing tough run after tough run. He’s become only the second undrafted free agent in team history to have 1,000 yards from scrimmage in a season, joining RB Willie Parker, who did it three times in his career.
Though the list has been sparse in recent years, Pittsburgh has a rich history of undrafted free agents. From Donnie Shell to James Harrison to Willie Parker and now Warren, the Steelers can find players from any background and path to help the team win. As Mike Tomlin loves to say, they don’t care how you got here. Warren is here now. And he figures to stick around for a long time.
