With Najee Harris headed to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a clear need at running back. While the draft offers plenty of options, the lack of a second-round pick sent to the Seattle Seahawks as part of the DK Metcalf trade will make it harder for Pittsburgh to fill that need next month. Instead, NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger believes the team should make a run at the Philadelphia Eagles’ Kenneth Gainwell.
“Jaylen Warren is there, he battled a calf injury a year ago,” Baldinger said on NFLN’s Free Agent Frenzy Tuesday afternoon. “They love Jaylen Warren. But I know there’s interest in Kenneth Gainwell and what he has done in Philadelphia. Not so much this year because Saquon [Barkley] just took over everything, but he’s had a real big role in Philadelphia. But I could see Pittsburgh.”
It’s hard to say if Baldinger was implying the Steelers have interest in Gainwell or the league in general will have interest. Given the fact Pittsburgh seemingly never pursued the offensive lineman Baldinger teased pre-free agency, it’s wise to treat this as speculation and analysis, not reporting.
Still, Baldinger makes a fair point. Pittsburgh’s goal this offseason is to add playmakers, and Kenneth Gainwell qualifies. One of several explosive running backs to come out of Memphis in recent years, he ran a 4.47 during the pre-draft process. Pittsburgh showed some measure of pre-draft interest, indicating the Steelers had been in contact with him ahead of the 2021 draft.
A space player often used on third down, Gainwell helped beat the Steelers in Week 15. He caught three passes for 40 yards, including backbreaking third-down conversions.
Gainwell can also boost the Steelers’ lackluster kick-return game. In 2024, he returned 18 kicks for an average of 25.3 yards, far better than anything Cordarrelle Patterson did.
Despite his profile, Gainwell hasn’t been a big-play NFL back. On 382 career touches, his longest play from scrimmage is 32 yards. As a runner, his career average sits at 4.2 yards per carry, a number that’s dropped off in each of the last two years and dipped below 4.0 in 2024 with a long of 20 yards on 75 attempts.
Adding Gainwell for the right price wouldn’t preclude the Steelers from drafting a running back while giving them flexibility if the first two rounds send them in other directions. The running back market is chilly thanks to the impending rookie class, making Gainwell a budget signing that could be made even before Pittsburgh adds a quarterback.
