How will the Steelers handle Jaylen Warren’s snap distribution with Kenneth Gainwell and Kaleb Johnson?
The Steelers like what Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, and eventually, Kaleb Johnson can bring to the running back room. The question is, how will they handle the workload coming out of the bye week? In Week 3, the pendulum swung toward Warren. A week later, with Warren nursing an injury, Gainwell took advantage.
In Warren’s absence, Gainwell had a career game, and even Johnson showed he had a pulse. But Warren is back now and ready to resume his position as the lead back—if that is the role the Steelers wish for him to have—game circumstances allowing.
The Steelers signed Jaylen Warren to a two-year extension before the regular season began, even if a fairly modest one. If nothing else, that indicates he is preliminarily in their long-term plans. Even with Kenneth Gainwell’s career game, though, I don’t know that he has shown “bell cow” potential. Despite teammates’ boasts about his strength, he may not fare well with 20 touches per week.
Of course, the Steelers prefer not to have to make such decisions. And they may not have to. They have, in theory, three running backs that they like, even if Johnson isn’t yet up to speed. They could game-plan to feature one or another based on the opponent, and then ride the hot hand. If Warren is playing well, keep playing him. If it’s Gainwell, play Gainwell. And don’t leave out Johnson—if he is on a roll, keep it rolling. Why not?
At the end of the day, it comes down more to the offensive line than the running backs. In fairness to Jaylen Warren, the offensive line had by far its best game blocking for Kenneth Gainwell in Week 4. If he had that kind of blocking in the first three games, he might have three 100-yard games already.
After another disappointing season and months of retooling, the Steelers are set to try it all again in 2025. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is the quarterback question. They settled in on Aaron Rodgers, but we still have a lot to learn about him. The 2025 NFL Draft class could play a big role, but veteran additions like Jalen Ramsey will be paramount.
Now we are in the regular season. From Rodgers to George Pickens to Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ramsey, we’ve seen the Steelers make some big changes. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and figuring out how it all works out.
