The Pittsburgh Steelers shook up their working again room this offseason, transferring on from four-year beginning again Najee Harris, and choosing Iowa working again Kaleb Johnson within the third spherical of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Harris rushed for 1,000 yards every of his 4 seasons in Pittsburgh, however his effectivity wasn’t as much as par and he displayed a scarcity of explosiveness at occasions the previous few seasons. With a brand new quarterback on the town as nicely, the one returning piece that may function within the run recreation subsequent season is Jaylen Warren.
After a stellar season as a secondary again in 2023, highlighted by 784 yards on the bottom and 61 receptions, Warren took a little bit of a step again in 2024. In his protection, he was battling a number of accidents whereas coping with the rising pains of a very new offense.
This 12 months, the Steelers won’t solely want Warren to be wholesome, however they’ll want him to set the tone because the lead again in a run-first offense. Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton listed 5 working backs notably poised for a breakout season in 2025, and Jaylen Warren made the reduce.
“Head coach Mike Tomlin ‘definitely’ believes Warren can deal with extra touches,” wrote Moton. “The fourth-year working again has ‘little question’ that he may do it. At 5’8″ and 215 kilos, Warren doesn’t have the prototypical measurement for a function again, however he’s been environment friendly together with his carries throughout his three NFL seasons. Warren is averaging 4.8 yards per carry by way of 48 provider video games. Except Johnson seems unimaginable in coaching camp and the preseason, Warren figures to get the primary crack at being the Steelers’ lead ball-carrier. He has by no means recorded greater than 15 carries in a recreation, however that might change this 12 months.”
Warren will greater than doubtless document 15-20 touches per recreation to begin the season. Arthur Smith and Mike Tomlin are dedicated to revamping the run recreation, they usually’ll lean on Warren early on due to his expertise within the offense and his go safety abilities. Whether or not he’s in a position to actually breakout this 12 months — probably eclipsing 1,000 yards on the bottom and seeing profession highs in dashing and receiving numbers — will depend upon his manufacturing early within the season, and naturally the event and manufacturing of rookie Kaleb Johnson.
Johnson is “constructed for Arthur Smith’s offense.” He’s massive, bodily, with burst, and maybe most significantly, vital zone working expertise. Harris lacked the skin run burst essential for an efficient exterior zone working scheme. However Johnson has quite a bit much less wear-and-tear on his legs, and he possesses the mixture of measurement to run between the tackles and velocity across the exterior — in addition to imaginative and prescient and persistence — to thrive in Smith’s zone-run schemes.
Johnson will most definitely see increasingly more touches because the season progresses, and there’s a practical likelihood he takes over major early-down and aim line duties from Warren sooner or later in 2025. However as Moton talked about, Warren will get the primary crack. If he will get off to a sizzling begin, than Warren may set himself up for a breakout season backed by a extra well-rounded offense and a more healthy, rapidly-improving, younger offensive line.
