With Jaylen Warren and rookie Kaleb Johnson in the room, it’s hard to envision a large role for anybody else in the running back room. But it sounds like the Pittsburgh Steelers really like their free agent acquisition of former Philadelphia Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell.
“I was just BSing with a guy, I would say a scout, I guess. He said ‘Keep an eye on No. 14. Man, are we glad we got him,'” Mark Kaboly said via Kaboly + Mack on Youtube. “He hasn’t been mentioned much since the signing. It was like, okay, one year [deal]. But they are thrilled to have this guy. They saw something in this guy that they think can help this offense.”
It’s pretty easy to deduce what they saw from Gainwell. The research goes beyond just one game obviously, but Gainwell lit the Steelers up in key moments of their Week 15 game against the Eagles last year.
This is just one example of the damage he did to the Steelers. It was a simple swing route in space on 3rd and 4 and he put Donte Jackson in the spin cycle for a 10-yard gain. His skill set adds one more thing for opposing defenses to contend with and gives Pittsburgh a really well-rounded room between the three main backs.
“I don’t know where that fits in at, third downs whatever. Obviously it’s gonna be kick returns,” Kaboly said. “But that’s a sneaky name that I just keep hearing with ‘Kenny Gainwell, Kenny Gainwell, Kenny Gainwell.’ So that’s another potential—at least they feel—it’s a very important cog of their offense right now.”
The Steelers seem high on all three of their top backs. Kaleb Johnson drew a lot of praise throughout the spring practices and Jeremy Fowler was told by a team source that they expect an “instant impact” from him. Warren is the veteran of the group and has proven himself to be an efficient back with a three-down skill set.
RB coach Eddie Faulkner praised Gainwell’s versatility during minicamp this week and mentioned his receiving ability. It sounds like they are planning to split him outside the formation like they used to do with Le’Veon Bell at times.
Cordarrelle Patterson played 8.4 snaps per game in the games where Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris were both available. Will they incorporate more pony packages with two running backs on the field? Arthur Smith said they didn’t sign Aaron Rodgers and trade for DK Metcalf to run the wishbone. At the very least, they will have a much wider array of options than they did last season, and Kenneth Gainwell should make for an interesting wrinkle.
