Pittsburgh Steelers RB Jaylen Warren showed flashes of his potential as an undrafted rookie in 2022. He only carried the ball 77 times, but he averaged 4.9 yards per carry while also catching 28 passes at 7.6 yards per reception. In 2023, he almost doubled his number of carries to 149 yet still increased his yards per carry to 5.3. He also jumped from one rushing touchdown as a rookie to four. His performance led Pro Football Focus to grade him as the 13th-best running back of the 2023 season.
“Warren built on a solid rookie season with the Steelers in 2022 by producing a 2023 campaign in which he handled a larger workload and increased his efficiency,” Gordon McGuiness wrote. “His 3.7 yards after contact per carry was the third-best mark at the position, which helped him average 5.2 yards per carry, tied for second among running backs.”
Warren finished behind only Miami Dolphins RB De’Von Achane (5.12) and Arizona Cardinals (and former Steelers) RB James Conner (3.93) in terms of average yards after contact in 2023. Check out this clip of Warren meeting a Tennessee Titans defensive back in the hole.
Warren’s physicality is a huge part of his game along with his agility, and the number of missed tackles shows that. Per PFF, Warren forced 53 missed tackles in 2023, which tied him for sixth-most in the league with Miami Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert. Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne Jr. led the league with 64.
Warren turned in some spectacular highlights during the 2023 season that showcased both his speed and his physicality. That did not escape the notice of the Good Morning Football crew, especially Kyle Brandt and his Angry Runs segment. After the Steelers’ Week 11 game against the Cleveland Browns, Brandt highlighted Warren and gave him the Angry Runs Award for the week.
While fellow Steelers RB Najee Harris would get the Week 17 Angry Runs Award, Warren was still nominated for two runs, including the incredible one below.
Yes, that’s four Seahawks defenders who attempt to tackle Warren and fail before the fifth defender (with some help from a sixth) brings him to the ground. Plus, can we just marvel at the fact that the play started at the right hash and made it to just inside the left numbers before Warren goes down at the left hash again? Incredible.
What makes this all the crazier is that Warren ranked so highly in a number of categories but still only graded as PFF’s 13th-best running back of 2023. Steelers fans can take solace that he was the highest-graded AFC North running back, though Conner, who played for Pittsburgh from 2017-2020, finished the season ranked fourth in the league. Warren finished just behind David Montgomery of the Detroit Lions in 12th and just ahead of Chicago Bears RB Khalil Herbert.
Achane was the highest-graded running back, even ahead of San Francisco 49ers All-Pro Christian McCaffrey. The Dolphins actually had two top-five running backs by PFF grade with Mostert coming in at five. Titans RB Derrick Henry came in third, rounding out the top five.
Warren was actually the only AFC North running back to finish in the Top 20 while the NFC North had five running backs crack the list.
