If the Steelers’ offense is going to be successful, a lot of that will have to do with their run game. It’s the staple in Arthur Smith’s offense, and it will have to work if Aaron Rodgers wants to move the ball through the air. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gotten off to the greatest start in 2025. While the offensive line has found it hard to create holes, Ben Roethlisberger is more worried about the makeup of the backfield after losing Najee Harris.
Roethlisberger attended the Steelers’ joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. On Tuesday’s episode of his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger shared his thoughts on that, as well as the rest of the preseason action.
“The run game. I’m concerned,” Roethlisberger said. “I didn’t see it in the preseason. I hadn’t seen it in this last game. Without divulging information from Thursday’s practice, the players talked about it. The reporters reported it. There was a lack of running the ball… How can it not be a concern? When you got rid of your 1,000-yard rusher [Najee Harris], Jaylen Warren is your RB1, I think. The young buck out of Iowa [Kaleb Johnson], Gainwell. All very legit running backs. But you don’t have a legit stud.”
The Steelers try to keep their joint practices under wraps, but from what we know, that effort wasn’t the best. It’s not hard to believe, as the Steelers have struggled running the ball in both of their preseason games. Lew Nichols is the only back on the roster playing at a high level in both games, and he’s doing so on just a handful of carries in each.
Even Kaleb Johnson, who’s got a large workload this preseason, hasn’t found it easy. He looked better against Tampa Bay, but ran eight times for just 20 yards in the opener. The blame goes beyond him, though. He’s still adjusting to the league, and the line isn’t giving him much help, especially against Jacksonville, where he was hit several times before reaching the line of scrimmage.
Steelers fans have long wanted Jaylen Warren to get his chance over Harris, and he’ll get it this year. However, this is very much a committee approach that the Steelers are taking. Warren will see plenty of action to begin the year, but Johnson should eventually eat into those carries. Kenneth Gainwell will see more use in the passing game, but will also get his share.
Pittsburgh had a lead-back for several years in Najee Harris. He saw plenty of production, but it didn’t lead the offense to any glory during his time here. The Steelers might not have that “legit stud” yet, but there’s a chance Warren or Johnson could develop into as much. For now, their skill sets mesh into something versatile enough to get the job done until they establish a long-term answer at the position.
