Unpopular Opinion: The Steelers are in great shape at RB for 2025

When the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the dreaded long offseason, there are plenty of ideas to debate. As part of the triumphant trio on the Steelers Preview podcast, I’ve been known to often give a “Dave answer“ to various things as I often like to argue both sides of an issue. With this in mind, a new weekly segment has been born… Unpopular opinion.

There are plenty of arguments both for and against the Pittsburgh Steelers that might not go along with the majority of fans. Oftentimes I believe in these arguments, while other times I simply like to pose a counter argument for ones that are taking it too much to the extreme. For this reason, I’m going to offer some points about the Pittsburgh Steelers that go against the general fan narrative, or at least how I have heard things.

Next up is looking at the running back position ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Steelers are in great shape at RB for 2025

I find it interesting how there was a large portion of Steelers Nation who, over the last couple seasons, have been calling for more Jyalen Warren and less Najee Harris. But now that Najee Harris has moved on to the Los Angeles Chargers and Jaylen Warren is in line to be the primary running back for 2025, there’s been too much panic among some of the fan base.

Personally, I think the Steelers are in good shape for 2025.

I like the addition of Kenneth Gainwell. As I’ve said in the past, I feel that the Steelers need to have more weapons on the field at the same time. There was not enough of this in 2024. Whether it was receivers like MyCole Pruitt, Connor Heyward, Ben Skowronek, Scotty Miller, or even Van Jefferson, having multiple players that weren’t a large threat to the defense was not doing the offense any favors. Believe it or not, I put Najee Harris in this category as well.

Yes, Najee Harris was a decent running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the last four years. After rushing for 1200 yards his rookie season, Harris managed to go over 1000 yards every year after. But with 17 games and Harris never missing a start, his production was more about volume and less about efficiency. His best season in yards per attempt was 2023 at 4.1. Harris was not necessarily a dynamic running back, but he was an effective one whose best ability was his availability.

But availability should not be taken lightly. I know some people are concerned about Jaylen Warren and an increased workload. But Warren has only missed three games in his NFL career, so it’s not like he’s consistently unavailable. As for Kenneth Gainwell, he’s only missed two games in his four seasons in Philadelphia.

So why do I have Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell as players I look at being a threat but would not put that label on Najee Harris? It’s because the Steelers were too predictable when Harrison was in the game.

In 2024, 12% of Najee Harris‘s touches were receptions compared to rushes. When looking at the other two backs now with the Steelers, Kenneth Gainwell was 17.5% of his touches going to receptions while Jaylen Warren was 24% of his touches in 2024. When looking at their careers, Najee Harris only had 14.1% of his career touches coming as receptions while Gainwell was 26.7% and Warren was 26.8%.

The bottom line is I believe that Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell are more of an offensive weapon because when those players come on the field, it should not be assumed that the play is going to be a run. Najee Harris was the only one of these three players who was on the field last season where over half of his plays were rushing plays.

Obviously the question of volume when it comes to Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwelll is not something we can know for sure until the season comes around. But for both of these players, the more carries that they have received in a season, the higher their yards per carry has gone for that season. So even though it’s moving into new territory in terms of volume, it doesn’t mean that the previous trends are indicating a drop off in efficiency.

I am by no means saying the Steelers aren’t going to add another running back. They could do so at any point in the draft, and probably should with it being such a deep class this year. But the Steelers don’t have to feel like they must grab a running back with one of their few premium draft picks. Additionally, there are even some other running backs who could cover the weaknesses of these two players and could be more of a “short yardage“ running back. But even if the Steelers didn’t add another running back to the roster, I believe they would still be in good shape for next season.

To hear the latest Unpopular Opinion podcast, check it out in the player below. Be sure to check back for this podcast every Sunday morning during the Steelers offseason.