My thoughts on our roster...... RB's

My view on Warren basically stems from his inability in pass pro. A feature back needs to be able to pick up a blitz. Warren has not shown he can do that. At least not consistently.
Add to that he is often leaving games due to injury. Najee has not missed.

 

What I expect is absolutely that. Warren to get extended and a draft pick used at RB. WE could just see the same role for Warren with a rookie taking the lions share of snaps. Or a 50/50.

 

Exactly. He's not the ideal guy to run behind a bad offensive line, and that's what the Steelers have had through most of his four seasons with the team. Harris isn't Henry, but he would have been a good fit for the type of offense Smith ran in Tennessee. Unfortunately, the Steelers don't have the line to pull that off and they don't have a fullback. How many of y'all saw the play with Moore and Jones both pulling, leading to Warren getting tackled in the backfield? Apparently, that happened quite often this year. I can't believe the Steelers haven't already fired Pat Meyer. He has done a horrible job.

 

I like the quote, but if we take it logically then that's saying our offensive line is blocking for a 2000 yard RB., no?

 

Warren makes some great blocks in pass protection. He isn't always great at identifying the rusher who will come free. I think that's why you see the questions about him in pass protection.

 

Which shows just how little Greenie knows.

 

We know that's not the case with our line lol.

I think the point is even when the hole was there, he did nothing to maximize it.

 

I know the feeling

 

Fair assessments overall

Najee - Really got to the 1,000 yard mark because of volume and not because of merit. For most of his time here, there were short stretches of really good play and long stretches of very poor play. His lack of vision and burst being his biggest downfalls. He was very healthy and didn't fumble a lot, which was a good thing, but brought very little to the table aside from his ability to take volume and holding onto the ball. His time in Pittsburgh is probably seen as a pretty big disappointment. Drafting a back in the first round is high capital to give up, and to get an average to below average player in that spot definitely hurts.

Warren - Has a great skillset for today's NFL. Even if he has to be in a true timeshare, I still believe he is the right type of player to focus on. He should get an increased role in Harris' absence and our offense will be better off for it. Tough runner, good vision and burst, and a really nice 3rd down back. Him and Treyveon Henderson would be a dynamic duo and I hope we prioritize getting an explosive playmaker to split time with Warren. Similar skillsets too, so the offense will hum regardless of who is in.

 

I heard today on the Fan that Harris had 68 career starts and only had seven 100 yard games. He was dependable and could slug out around 55-60 yards a game but that was about it.

 

I was a big proponent for picking up Harris' option last year, but made peace with it as this season wore on. Financially speaking I'd still be okay with it (OTC valued him at $7.1M for 2024, e.g.) and it would still give the them one less position to fill, but I've also given up on him looking like anything above an average back on this team.

Some of that is on Harris - he lacks the vision and quickness to navigate cluttered lanes - but some of it is on the organization. The lack of addressing the line for too long, poor selections (Green), poor development (Dotson, Jones), poor schemes, etc. They're not putting themselves in a position to make the best use of what they have. Then add some bad luck with injuries (something everyone has to deal with) and you get the inconsistent hot mess we've seen the past four years.

So they're going to have to upgrade the talent and hope it's enough to overcome the shortcomings in approach. Something that's become too familiar of a refrain with this coaching staff.

 

How many times did Najee get 20-25 carries a game?

 

17 times in 4 years he had at least 20 carries in a game.

 

Do you want to run the wheels off of him

 

So we have to rebuild the WR, RB, and QB rooms and re-do the OL room to some extent. Oh boy.

 

Other than that the offense is ok

 

That's not many considering he's a power back and is probably at his best wearing down a defense.

 

Yes

 

I don't think it will be much of a rebuild if they keep Pickens, they can sign a WR in free agency and draft one. The same with the RB room sign one in free agency cut Patterson and draft an RB.

 

For free agent running back I like Jordan Mason from 49ers. I know he is a restricted free agent. I do not see 49ers putting a second round tender offer for him. That mean it will be a original round/right of first refusal offer. He was a undrafted free agent signing for 49ers. If he gets this tender if would come in at about 3.2 million. The 49ers already have players to replace him.

 

Mason did look pretty good while he was filling in for McCaffrey.