The Pittsburgh Steelers love to run the ball. It’s been a part of their DNA, and they’ve had some phenomenal running backs throughout their history. But where does the room with Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and even Cordarrelle Patterson stack up against the rest of the AFC North?
“I had the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of the Browns just because of Nick Chubb’s health and the concerns there,” Daniel Jeremiah said on Wednesday’s episode of the Move The Sticks podcast. “I think that one-two punch, I actually like Jaylen Warren a bit better than Najee Harris. But I think the combination of those two and then, speaking of veterans, being able to sprinkle in Cordarrelle Patterson. Just get him some touches, be creative with him, someone there in Arthur Smith who knows what he has with Cordarrelle Patterson to be able to use him a little bit. So I had them ahead of the Cleveland Browns and then the Cincinnati Bengals.”
It’s hard to argue with the rankings based on where each of the four AFC North teams are. Jeremiah and co-host Bucky Brooks had the Baltimore Ravens as number one to no surprise. The offseason addition of Derrick Henry would rocket just about any team in the NFL to the top of their respective divisional rankings.
The Steelers still have one of the best running back tandems in the league. Harris had his third-straight 1,000-yard rushing season and averaged 4.1 yards per rush in 2023. Warren continues to prove that he’s a threat on the ground and in the air out of the backfield with over 1,000 yards combined rushing and receiving yardage. That’s a darn good combination that could sit atop a number of divisions in the league.
And as Jeremiah noted, Chubb’s injury clouds the Browns’ outlook. Until Chubb returns to the field fully healthy and proves he can still play at an elite level, the Browns won’t be as strong as the Ravens or Steelers. That’s not to say that the Browns have bad running backs, they just aren’t as good without a healthy Chubb.
And then the Bengals come in fourth thanks to having Zack Moss and no one else with any proven track record in the league.
It will be interesting to see how the Steelers’ running game looks in 2024 with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and a youth-focused offensive line. Could this AFC North ranking look different after the season is over? And will Harris earn himself a new contract after the Steelers declined his fifth-year option this offseason?
