The Pittsburgh Steelers shook up their operating again room this offseason, transferring on from four-year beginning again Najee Harris, and deciding on Iowa operating 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 an absence of explosiveness at instances the previous few seasons. With a brand new quarterback on the town as properly, the one returning piece that can 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 yr, the Steelers is not going to 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 operating backs significantly poised for a breakout season in 2025, and Jaylen Warren made the lower.
“Head coach Mike Tomlin ‘actually’ believes Warren can deal with extra touches,” wrote Moton. “The fourth-year operating again has ‘little doubt’ that he might do it. At 5’8″ and 215 kilos, Warren doesn’t have the prototypical dimension 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. Until 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 yr.”
Warren will greater than seemingly file 15-20 touches per recreation to start out the season. Arthur Smith and Mike Tomlin are dedicated to revamping the run recreation, and so they’ll lean on Warren early on due to his expertise within the offense and his cross safety expertise. Whether or not he’s capable of really breakout this yr — probably eclipsing 1,000 yards on the bottom and seeing profession highs in dashing and receiving numbers — will rely on 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 large, bodily, with burst, and maybe most significantly, important zone operating expertise. Harris lacked the surface run burst needed for an efficient outdoors zone operating scheme. However Johnson has lots much less wear-and-tear on his legs, and he possesses the mixture of dimension to run between the tackles and velocity across the outdoors — in addition to imaginative and prescient and endurance — to thrive in Smith’s zone-run schemes.
Johnson will almost definitely see increasingly more touches because the season progresses, and there’s a sensible probability he takes over main early-down and objective 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 scorching begin, than Warren might set himself up for a breakout season backed by a extra well-rounded offense and a more healthy, rapidly-improving, younger offensive line.
