It’s the summer. It’s training camp. You know what that means. Time to talk about the Pony backfield. The greatest personnel grouping you never see on Sundays, 2024 might be the year all the chatter gets put into action. With two capable running backs in Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris and a lack of established wide receivers outside George Pickens, the Steelers could put Warren and Harris on the field at the same time.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Warren confirmed the idea is realistic.
“Yeah. Yeah, it is,” Warren said via the team’s YouTube channel when asked by one reporter if a Pony backfield was “in the cards.”
Warren didn’t detail the potential pairing any further, but it’ll be something to watch throughout the summer. Training camp is the time when two running back sets have been shown the most. Frequently last year, Anthony McFarland was used as a quasi-receiver with a running back in the backfield. Of course, once the season began, McFarland got hurt, the package was shelved, and never really returned.
But this year is different. The Steelers have a run-heavy coordinator in Arthur Smith, with a concentration of talent in the backfield. Warren and Harris are versatile and solid receivers. Harris caught 74 passes as a rookie, while Warren finished second in receptions last year with 61.
“We’re cool. We still help each other out where we can, see what’s up with each other,” Warren said of his relationship with Harris. “Check in.”
Per our Tom Mead’s charting, the Steelers used Pony sets with Warren and Harris 28 times last season, 26 of which were run without penalty. Most of this came after the run game got on track in the latter half of the season. Of those 26 plays, the offense averaged 4 yards. While the run game averaged only 2 yards per pop, it was primarily a short-yardage package and the more important run success rate was an impressive 66.7 percent. Pittsburgh could expand the package to early down and open field work this season.
It’s likely there will be some evidence of Pony groupings in camp. The real question will be what spills over into the regular season. That could depend on whether Pittsburgh finds or acquires a true No.2 receiver. If they do, they’ll have fewer reasons to take receivers off the field for both running backs, though Arthur Smith can be flexible and varied with his formations.
