The Pittsburgh Steelers featured one of the NFL’s best one-two punches at running back during the 2023 season. It took a while for the team’s rushing attack to get going, but once everything came together, the Steelers were one of the top rushing teams in the league. In an interview appearance from both of them ahead of the Super Bowl during media week, Najee Harris was asked how much having Jaylen Warren helped him throughout the season.
“It was good to keep having fresh legs going in the game,” Harris said in the interview posted on USA Today’s For The Win. “It was good though to have a wingman to take hits off of me.”
As the run game took a while to get going in the 2023 season, there were many calls for Warren to overtake Harris on the depth chart. In the limited opportunities he was getting, Warren looked like the more explosive runner. Slowly but surely, their snap count totals started to even out as it became a true committee backfield. The Steelers have long preferred to feature a single back, but the committee approach worked out in a big way.
Harris finished the season with 255 carries for 1,035 yards and eight touchdowns, adding another 29 receptions for 170 yards. It was Harris’ third-straight 1,000-yard rushing season in his first three years in the league, which hadn’t been done since Alfred Morris a decade ago. Warren, meanwhile, had over 1,000 all-purpose yards with 149 carries for 784 yards and another 61 receptions for 370 yards and four total touchdowns. He became the second-ever Steelers undrafted free agent to have a 1,000-yard season.
Harris was leaned on toward the end of 2023 in inclement weather as his between-the-tackles running style was perfect for wearing teams down late in the season. Both backs can do it all, but have distinct skill sets that provide different things to the team. Harris is more of a one-cut, north-and-south runner while Warren possesses a little more burst and ability to break an explosive play.
Harris, along with Christian McCaffrey, are the only two players to play every game in their first NFL three seasons while playing over 60 percent of their team’s snaps. Part of Harris’ ability to stay healthy is aided by the emergence of Warren, allowing them to share the load of hits throughout the season. The two seem to be embracing the benefits of having each other in the Steelers’ backfield.
