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RB Jaylen Warren, PIT (1 Viewer)

ESPN’s Dan Graziano says, “Don’t be surprised...if Jaylen Warren is the [Steelers] lead running by the end of the season.”
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It seems unlikely that Warren would lead the Steelers in touches as long as Najee Harris is healthy, but Harris’ overall lack of efficiency and explosiveness have been well-documented since he entered the league in 2021. On the contrary, Warren’s efficiency since entering the league as a UDFA last season has been just as well-documented, and the second-year back has continued to impress this offseason. Warren ate into Harris’ workload last season, particularly on passing downs, and he’s expected to be utilized heavily on third downs this season. Graziano isn’t the first to speculate Warren overtaking Harris at some point in 2023, but it will likely take either an injury to Harris or a complete decline in his play for that to come to fruition. Warren is still a high-end handcuff who would be a low-end RB1 if Harris ever missed time.
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Hot Sauce Guy said:
Faust said:
32BeatWriters
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“Their roles are pretty clearly defined. (Najee) Harris is the lead back, with (Jaylen) Warren playing a third-down role and getting sprinkled in occasionally on first and second downs, as well.”
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Music to my ears. Those sexy receptions & even some COP/breather back touches?
:wub:
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…..or more. Harris owners are on notice.
 
This could easily turn into a hot-hand situation even without a Najee injury. All dude needs to do is keep cloud dusting after 3 yards while Warren does his honey badger thing and eventually the difference will be too much too tolerate - even for a stubborn goat like Tomlin.
 
Jaylen Warren rushed three times for six yards in the Steelers’ Week 1 loss to the 49ers, adding five receptions for 12 additional yards.

NFL Network’s pre-game report that Warren was going to see more work came true, as he tied Najee Harris with eight touches. The problem is, the Steelers went down two scores just 10 minutes into the game and had to abandon the run. They weren’t having much more success sustaining drives with the pass, either, leaving little upside opportunity for Warren. Harris still won the snaps battle but appeared to be on the field for fewer than 60 percent of the plays. “This is happening,” one might say. Warren will be a wild card FLEX for Week 2 against the Browns.
- Rotoworld
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Pro Football Focus - NFL Week 2 Recap: Immediate fantasy football takeaways from Monday Night Football

Jaylen Warren leads the Steelers backfield in yards: Warren and Najee Harris were the closest to a 50/50 split we’ve seen in a game with a relatively neutral script.

  • Warren had one game where he outsnapped Harris last season, but it was a game the Steelers lost 38-3, so it was understandable that the passing-down back played more.
  • Warren has slowly but surely gained more playing time on early downs, bringing their playing time closer together.
  • Harris was the more successful runner tonight, with 43 yards on 10 carries compared to 20 yards on six carries for Warren. Warren more than made up for it as a receiver, with 66 receiving yards on four receptions compared to 0 receiving yards on Harris’ only catch.
  • It wouldn’t be surprising if this were the new normal for Pittsburgh, with the two running backs seeing close to a 50-50 split depending on the game script.
  • Warren should not be on the waiver wire in any league, as his explosiveness could lead to an increase in opportunities over time.
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Even on the 17 yard run Harris looked slow to me. Warren looks like the better RB, but Tomlin seems loyal to Harris at the moment. He should wake up and smell the coffee.
 
The Steelers have obviously long been an organization based on loyalty, as we know from 3 head coaches in 54 years. For those that remember the mid-2000s, there were calls for Amos Zereoue to take over for a gassed Jerome Bettis, but it never happened. While Najee isn't exactly in that same realm, their 1st round draft capital is likely going to keep him highly involved for the forseeable future. Will probably take a Najee injury for Warren to really shine.
 
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Warren missed a huge block and could have got his QB injured. Harris will keep the primary role, if solely to preserve the health of Pickett.
 
zamboni said:
The Steelers have obviously long been an organization based on loyalty, as we know from 3 head coaches in 54 years. For those that remember the mid-2000s, there were calls for Amos Zereoue to take over for a gassed Jerome Bettis, but it never happened. While Najee isn't exactly in that same realm, their 1st round draft capital is likely going to keep him highly involved for the forseeable future. Will probably take a Najee injury for Warren to really shine.
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or continued ineffectiveness of Harris where they give the ball to Warren to see if he can spark the offense. If the Steelers are behind or struggling to move the ball (which it seems may be a consistent theme this year) they aren't going to be thinking about what round they drafted a player....they are going to put in the player that's going to move the chains and keep the offense on the field.

Most people said that this is Harris's offense and there's nothing to worry about and that Warren is the 3rd down back. It's week 2 and Warren is already getting much more than anticipated. Yesterday the defense won the game as the offense could barely move the ball outside of a couple Pickens passes. They need to find someway / someone to help move the ball and if Warren helps them do that, he will continue to get more and more.
 
This feels like the Zeke/Pollard situation last year.

May take a few weeks, but I think Warren gets a largert piece of the pie and becomes startable if this offense doesn't improve. If the CLE offense didn't hand PIT two TDs last night and they fell to 0-2 there would be more panic I'd think.
 
NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo reports Jaylen Warren is expected to see “more work for the Steelers in the running game.”
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Garafolo also mentioned the Steelers’ expectations of Najee Harris getting better as the season goes on, so this isn’t a full backfield takeover from Warren yet. Still, Warren has looked like the more explosive back in Pittsburgh this year and that was readily apparent during his rookie season as well. With just nine carries through two games, it makes sense for Mike Tomlin to get Warren more involved on the ground. Warren is a high-risk FLEX option heading into Week 3.
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Moving in the right direction and now he needs to have a game to plant his flag. Hoping he can make some things happen today.
 
Jaylen Warren played 28-of-62 snaps in the Steelers’ Week 3 win over the Raiders.

Warren’s 45.2 percent snap share in Sunday’s win marked his highest snap share of the season, as the former UDFA continues to slowly work into Najee Harris’ workload. As runners, both Warren and Harris have struggled through the first three weeks, but Warren has proven to be the better fantasy asset thanks to his receiving upside. In PPR leagues, Warren has outscored Harris in every game this season and has 12 receptions for 101 yards on the season. On a week-to-week basis, both backs are hard to trust for fantasy purposes, but Warren isn’t going away and will continue to be a thorn for those who rostered Harris.
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Warren is earning more and more as the weeks go on. Surprised they didn't use him more in the screen game and out wide. They had one nice designed pass play where they flipped it to him in the middle for a nice gain. Steelers offense seems so vanilla and old school against many other teams. I seems they should make more of a point to get the ball into Warren's hands in space more because when they do good things tend to happen.

Was certainly hoping for more of a statement but he didn't get a bunch of opportunities and the Raiders didn't press them all that much.
 
smcindoe said:
Guys, I don't think they spent the bye week realizing they had to give Warren more work.
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Looks like a traditional script-dependent back. I dropped Harris and picked up Warren who was dropped as well. Looks like I may be silly at this point since I didn't think of Diontae coming in and taking away Warren's touches. And it wasn't like the Steelers were up big or anything.

Trending down but hey he got a explosive TD at least. He's not going away.

I just couldn't stand Najee anymore and his limited upside. Warren might have more theoretical upside at least lol
 
TampaMike19 said:
smcindoe said:
Guys, I don't think they spent the bye week realizing they had to give Warren more work.
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Looks like a traditional script-dependent back. I dropped Harris and picked up Warren who was dropped as well. Looks like I may be silly at this point since I didn't think of Diontae coming in and taking away Warren's touches. And it wasn't like the Steelers were up big or anything.

Trending down but hey he got a explosive TD at least. He's not going away.

I just couldn't stand Najee anymore and his limited upside. Warren might have more theoretical upside at least lol
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I've seen a few 'rumors' or 'speculation' articles that suggest the Steelers should trade Harris before the trade deadline. Most say something to the effect that... the Steelers shouldn't shop Harris, but if someone calls they should answer the phone. What do you think the chances of something like that happening?

Steelers Trade Rumors
 
The idea that they'd be selling high after a 68 total yard, 3.8 ypc game is a pretty laughable claim.

His value is as low as it's ever been. What would they get for him? A 5th? Maybe not even that.

Nobody will be calling the Steelers looking to pay for Najee Harris.
 
It is hard to own this guy because every time you turn on a Steelers game, you have Harris running around 10 yards to gain 2 yards. Game scripts where Steelers are expected to be down are when I would focus on starting him. Would love for the Steelers to trade Harris, but that won't happen.
 
Timmay said:
It is hard to own this guy because every time you turn on a Steelers game, you have Harris running around 10 yards to gain 2 yards. Game scripts where Steelers are expected to be down are when I would focus on starting him. Would love for the Steelers to trade Harris, but that won't happen.
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"Coach, if you need 1 yard I'll get you 2. If you need 4 yards I'll get you 2". - Najee Harris.
 
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Don't see Pitt trading Harris, he seems to be Tomlin's favorite player. He could fumble 4 times in a game and Tomlin would still praise him.
 
This is dated July of this year:

"... two stats that stand out are his yards before contact and his forced missed tackle rate per carry. According to Graham Barfield of FantasyPts, Harris ranks dead last in the NFL in yards before contact among running backs with more than 250 carries since he entered the league. He averaged only 1.12 yards before contact, which certainly showcases some of the poor offensive line play. However, Harris has forced 0.23 missed tackles per carry, the 7th most in the NFL in that time span."

Accordingly, with two weeks to prepare their plan vs LA was to account for Aaron Donald, obviously it worked. The Warren run featured above, he's offset a bit & initially there's some lateral flow. Doesn't appear to me that Donald is even on the field. Either way, the ball carrier couldn't hope for a wider hole than we see on this play. Warren cuts up into it & runs straight to the goal, untouched. He's not confronted with unanticipated penetration, he's not having to create on his own, he's not finding a tiny crease to exploit. Not sure what owners are thinking, that Harris is getting a lot of those same kind of looks? The evidence seems to suggest the exact opposite.
 
Balco said:
FantasyGuru24 said:
Has a little “Ekeler” to his game
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Just an excellent all around player - awesome receiver, excellent pass blocker, great runner. How he is not used more defies logic.
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Outgained Najee 66-44 in the second half, 113-76 on the night. I'm fine with the season long usage, Warren might be more effective in part bc they keep him fresh and he tends to get the more dynamic portion of the playbook. I thought Harris looked good last night but it was still night and day when 30 came into the game.
 
Jaylen Warren contract

BONUS BREAKDOWNCAP DETAILSCASH DETAILS
YEARAGEBASE SALARYSIGNINGCAP HITDEAD CAPYEARLY CASHCASH AAV
2022pit.png24$705,000$4,000$709,000$12,000$717,000($717,000)$717,000
2023pit.png25$870,000$4,000$874,000$8,000$870,000($1,587,000)$793,500
2024pit.png26$985,000$4,000$989,000$4,000$985,000($2,572,000)$857,333
2025pit.png27RFA

Najee Harris Contract

BONUS BREAKDOWNCAP DETAILSCASH DETAILS
YEARAGEBASE SALARYSIGNINGCAP HITDEAD CAPYEARLY CASHCASH AAV
2021pit.png23$660,000$1,712,263$2,372,263$13,047,447$7,509,052($7,509,052)$7,509,052
2022pit.png24$1,253,066$1,712,263$2,965,329$10,675,184$1,253,066($8,762,118)$4,381,059
2023pit.png25$1,846,132$1,712,263$3,558,395$7,709,855$1,846,132($10,608,250)$3,536,083
2024pit.png26$2,439,197$1,712,263$4,151,460$4,151,460$2,439,197($13,047,447)$3,261,862
2025pit.png27-----
2026pit.png28UFA
 
Balco said:
FantasyGuru24 said:
Has a little “Ekeler” to his game
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Just an excellent all around player - awesome receiver, excellent pass blocker, great runner. How he is not used more defies logic.
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He looked really good last night but "great runner" is way over the top. Was averaging 3.9 a carry coming into this game.

Like Tony Pollard in the last couple years, much easier to be the secondary guy than the lead guy. There's a reason Tomlin doesn't use him as the lead back
 
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