If the Pittsburgh Steelers end up playing without George Pickens on Saturday, their offense will have to look different. Without Pickens on the field, there are no elite receiving options on the roster. TE Pat Freiermuth and a conglomerate of wide receivers will have to share the receiving load. With their best receiver gone, running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren will have to be productive on the ground.
Harris and Warren have both been impactful at different times this year. On the ground, Harris has undoubtedly seen the larger workload. Unfortunately, he’s looking lackluster in recent weeks.
While making a change in the starting lineup this late in the season is rare, some are starting to claim that Warren would be a better option for the RB1 role. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo holds the same opinion, as he expressed with 93.7 The Fan’s PM Team on Wednesday.
“At this point in the season, I know they’re [Steelers] probably not gonna start Jaylen Warren,” Fittipaldo said. “But I think Jaylen Warren needs to start seeing the bulk of the carries and the bulk of the snaps here. It just seems like Najee’s lost a step or two, maybe just because of wear and tear. I think it’s time for Jaylen to step up and take over as RB1.”
Harris did have a solid stretch earlier in the year when he ran for at least 100 yards in three straight games. Unfortunately, those are the only three times he hit the century mark this year. Since he picked up 114 yards on the ground in Week 8, Harris has finished just one game with more than 70 yards on the ground. Harris isn’t seeing any differences in his efficiency, though. Harris is running for 3.9 yards per carry, which is on par with his production throughout his career.
Making matters worse, Harris had a brutal fumble during their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. It completely flipped the momentum of the game. With him already being less productive than fans would like, that fumble put even more pressure on him from the fan base.
Jaylen Warren has been decent in his chances on the ground this year. He’s rushing for 4.1 yards per carry. Warren has 91 attempts, which he’s turned into 371 yards. It’s a small sample size, but he’s running the ball well. If Harris continues to struggle, the calls for Warren to start could get louder.
