One of the few bright spots in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ three-game losing streak has been running back Jaylen Warren. Warren has battled injury throughout the season, but in the past two games, he has regained the juice he is known for and has looked like Pittsburgh’s best running back.
Despite this, Warren and running back Najee Harris have been splitting carries, with Harris getting 22 carries over the last two games while Warren had 23. Over the past two games, Warren ran for 119 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry, while Harris ran for 98 yards and 5.18 yards per carry, but Harris’ numbers came mostly in garbage time. Harris entered the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs with seven carries for 21 yards. On the other hand, Warren had 10 carries for 62 yards by the start of the fourth quarter.
Harris is a good running back. Running backs don’t just happen to have four straight 1,000-yard seasons. But it is very clear that Jaylen Warren is giving the Steelers better snaps right now. Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly joined 93.7 The Fan the other day to say it might be time for head coach Mike Tomlin to step in and ensure Warren gets more snaps.
“He’s [Tomlin] said this in the past—it’s not his choice of who goes in and who’s not,” said Kaboly. “That’s [RB coach] Eddie Faulkner. He doesn’t micromanage. Maybe he needs to start micromanaging them. I always thought Najee [Harris] is the best fit for this offense, and as long as he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing, he should be in there. But the last couple weeks, I don’t know if Najee’s hurt or he’s just tired or whatever it is. But there’s a clear difference between when [Jaylen Warren] gets the ball and when [Harris] gets the ball over the past weeks. And you have to take that into account moving forward, I think.”
Yes, Pittsburgh has already clinched a playoff spot, but they also blew the division. By not winning at least one game in their brutal three-game stretch against the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, and Chiefs, Pittsburgh no longer controls its own destiny, and it seems very unlikely it will win the AFC North. That doesn’t fall on Harris, but entering the playoffs, Pittsburgh needs some momentum, and leaning on Jaylen Warren next week and in the playoffs can help with that.
Jaylen Warren has created explosive plays and has fewer short gains than Harris. While Harris is a workhorse and can wear teams down, Warren will gash teams from his first carry. Right now, that is what the Steelers need. Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner has done a good job with the running back room, but if he refuses to lean on Jaylen Warren, then Kaboly is right; Tomlin needs to step in. There are many positives to not micromanaging, but maybe Harris needs a bit of a rest. Due to injuries, Warren has not played nearly as much as Harris, having only 114 carries this year compared to 251 for Harris. He is just fresher, and Pittsburgh should be leaning on those fresh legs.
Pittsburgh is blessed to have two good running backs. Entering the playoffs, they have to feed the hot hand and not play politics to ensure that both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren get close to an equal number of carries. If that means Tomlin has to micromanage, then so be it.
