Jaylen Warren is the new lead back for the Steelers with Najee Harris gone—at least for now, as some believe. Going into his fourth season, he is the experienced veteran in the Steelers’ system. And he is impressing his new teammates, including fellow veteran RB Kenneth Gainwell.
“Man, it’s been exciting”, Gainwell told Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Seeing Jaylen’s power, seeing Jaylen’s work ethic, that’s the same way I attack the game. I feel like we can rely off each other real good”.
Over three NFL seasons, Jaylen Warren has 1,674 rushing yards and six touchdowns. That might now seem like a lot for the period, but he only has 346 rushes. With his 4.8-yard rushing average, he has the sixth-highest average among running backs with at least 300 carries in that time. The only ones who are higher are De’Von Achane, Jahmyr Gibbs, James Cook, Christian McCaffrey, and Derrick Henry. And the list isn’t short—about 50 running backs fit the criteria.
Warren is coming off a down year in which he averaged just 4.3 yards per rush, however. Injuries impacted him for much of the season, even if he only missed two games. On 120 carries, he put up 511 yards with just one touchdown. A year earlier, he rushed for 784 yards on 149 attempts with four touchdowns.
Receiving is also an instrumental part of Warren’s game. Over three seasons, he has 127 receptions for 894 yards, though he has yet to score that way. With Harris gone, he should only take on that role even more, though Gainwell can also contribute there.
But it’s Kaleb Johnson who is the new kid on the block. Many, including reporters, are projecting that Johnson could take over Jaylen Warren’s job by October. Or at least take on the lion’s share of carries, even if Warren plays more.
Still, others have observed that Warren looks ready for a starring role this season. Mark Kaboly, for example, noted how thick he looks at OTAs. He was always described as a bowling ball, but he may be even harder to bring down this year.
While the Steelers are prepared to pay Warren over $5 million this year, his future is not secure. He will hit unrestricted free agency in 2026, and many beat writers believe the Steelers won’t re-sign him. After all, they opted to move on from Najee Harris, their own first-round pick.
But that’s looking too far into the future, to my mind. Mike Tomlin and the Steelers have shifted away from the bell-cow back theory. Even if they fall in love with Kaleb Johnson, they’ll still want a strong number two. And Jaylen Warren has already proven he can thrive in that role. The only question in that scenario, of course, is whether someone would pay him more. Given that they placed a second-round restricted tender on him this offseason, the Steelers obviously worried about that themselves.
