After letting James Conner leave in free agency a number of years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rushing attack suffered greatly. For a team with a history of being physical and winning on the ground, the Steelers lacked that punch that usually made them dangerous. To solve this, they selected Najee Harris in the first round of the 2021 draft, and that decision has resulted in moderate success.
Harris hasn’t been unbelievable, but he’s been good and reliable, often without much support from the pieces around him. Now it seems like he may leave the Steelers after this season, which could leave Jaylen Warren as the feature back. One prominent Steelers reporter isn’t sure if that’s such a good idea.
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said in a recent appearance on Rothman and Ice, that he questions whether Warren could handle the full workload that a true No. 1 running back receives.
“Jaylen Warren has been a guy who’s been on the come up,” Fittipaldo said. “He’s a guy who’s been productive when he’s gotten those opportunities. The thing that you have to ask yourself if you’re Omar Khan and you’re contemplating a deal like that is, can he handle the big workload? He’s a smaller guy, he’s 5-8. He’s put together, but he’s only 5-8. Sometimes those guys get injured more often than the big guys, the 6-2, 230-, 240-pounders like Najee Harris, who has been remarkably durable.”
Warren may be small on paper, but his play certainly doesn’t mirror other smaller running backs. He’s quick, but he’s also extremely powerful. He’s demonstrated multiple times how he doesn’t run away from contact. He may be short, but he played at around 215 pounds last year, so he’s built like a bowling ball. When the Steelers have needed a spark on offense, Warren has been the go-to guy.
Warren also proved durable in college as he didn’t suffer any major injuries throughout his time bouncing around schools. The real problem the Steelers may have with Warren being their No. 1 back is his fumbling problem. This issue first flared up during his first training camp, and while he only fumbled once during his rookie year, in his expanded role in 2023, Warren fumbled four times. Compare that to Harris, who only fumbled twice last year despite having around 70 more touches than Warren. If Harris walks and Warren is given the keys to the car, can he keep it in control?
Warren often gets compared to Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler, who previously spent seven seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers. Ekeler began his career much like Warren, acting as the backup and change-of-pace running back to the Chargers’ bigger, more established starter. After earning the starting job, Ekeler was effective for a few years, but never saw as much success as when he split carries and acted more as the second option. They aren’t the same player, but that could be a good look at what Warren’s future could hold.
Barring injury, these will have to be questions that get answered next year unless the Steelers find Warren another top-tier running mate or Harris stays in Pittsburgh. This year, Harris and Warren should be primed for their most success yet with Arthur Smith’s run-based offense in place alongside a revamped offensive line. With the quarterback situation uncertain, the two of them could be the most important parts of the Steelers’ offense this year,
