Jaylen Warren Beating Steelers Legend in Key Statistic

The Pittsburgh Steelers runner is matching one of the team's greats.

Michael France | Jun 28, 2024

Dec 3, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) against the Arizona Cardinals during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports / Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

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Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most enviable teams in the NFL when it comes to the running back position heading into 2024. The Steelers have both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, both considered top backs in the league. Some of the most potent offenses in the league have strong tandems in the backfield -- the Detroit Lions have David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs and the Miami Dolphins have Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane.

Interestingly, all three tandems have a similar dynamic when it comes to running style. Montgomery, Warren, and Mostert are the most physical backs of their respective duos, while Gibbs, Harris, and Achane rely on a more explosive style.

Warren is quickly overtaking his counterpart as the perceived ball carrier of the future. A Pro Football Focus list of the Top 32 running backs put Warren at No. 19, while Harris was ranked No. 22.

"Warren has carved out a significant role for himself in the Steelers' offense ... Warren earned a 78.6 grade in 2023, rushing 149 times for 784 yards and four touchdowns at a clip of 5.3 yards per carry -- fourth in the NFL," PFF wrote. "Warren forced 0.35 missed tackles per attempt, the highest rate in the NFL, and his 56 total missed tackles forced ranked seventh."

If there is any metric that could point to Warren's potential as a feature back for the Steelers, it could be rushing success rate. In 2023, Warren averaged 8.76 carries per game, which tops Pro Football Reference's minimum requirement of 6.25 carries per game to qualify as a per game leader.

Pro Football Reference defines a successful rush as one that "gains [at least] 40 percent of yards required on 1st down, 60 percent of yards required on 2nd down, and 100 percent on 3rd or 4th down."

Warren's 2023 success rate was 49.7, which is higher than former Steelers All-Pro Le'Veon Bell's 2014 season (of which he rushed for 1,361 yards and earned first-team honors) of 49.3. It is also higher than Bell's first-team All-Pro 2017 campaign, in which he had a success rate of 45.5.

This is not to say Warren is near the level of Bell, nor will he be, but it shows a potentially promising future for the third-year running back.

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Published Jun 28, 2024

MICHAEL FRANCE