Two-year extension for Jaylen Warren

The best argument you can come up with for why they would have started Harris every game and given him more snaps and touches is that Harris had been a first-round pick four years earlier with a different general manager. Never mind that the team had given up on the quarterback they took in the first round after only two seasons. It's a terrible argument. The goal is to win. To do that, you put your best players on the field as often as possible. The Steelers did that the last three seasons.

Maybe the coaches are screwing up. Maybe that is why Warren didn't get the ball on that last drive Sunday. Or maybe they realize he simply doesn't hold up as well to the heavy workload, so they are fine going with Gainwell, who has also been very productive.

 

Yet he was among the league leaders in runs of over 20 yards last season with nine. Even after yesterday's game, Warren has only five.

 

He has, but he's not a No. 1 running back. That is why it is so frustrating that the Steelers don't trust Warren to be one with the game on the line. If they did, he would have been the one with the ball on first and second down before Boswell's miss. Gainwell made a terrible cut on the first-down run. That's something Warren usually does better. The cut-back was there.

 

Let's see Warren do it against a strong defense, as Harris did a couple of times in late-season victories over the Ravens. He also had 188 yards in a game as a rookie.

 

Yup. Some folks wanted to ignore the statistics when Warren wasn't on pace to gain 1,000 yards, when he had the same average per carry as Harris last year. Now one great game against a broken defense and suddenly the statistics matter.

 

You think a sample size of one game ends a debate? That's funny.

Also, the game is irrelevant to most of the question of who was the better back last year.

 

I don’t think either of them are true #1 backs. Gainwell has been good as a receiving option and on the ground in the Redzone. I was expecting a bit part player when they signed him so his production is a pleasant surprise.

I think teams will look at his receiving work and that’s what will get him paid rather than what he is doing on the ground. Every team can use a reliable receiving back regardless of scheme

 

% of Run Atts >20yds*:

2024 - N Harris: 7th in the NFL (3%)
2025 - J Warren: 7th in the NFL (3%)

% of Run Atts >30yds*:

2024 - N Harris: 32nd in the NFL (0.8%)
2025 - J Warren: 5th in the NFL (2%)

*RBs with 100 min. atts