Steelers RB room ranked 17th in NFL by Pro Football Focus

The Pittsburgh Steelers running back room remains essentially the same going into the 2024 season, at least at the top of the group with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren as the two-headed committee backfield. Behind them will be return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson, then whoever wins the job between La’Mical Perine, Jonathan Ward, Aaron Shampklin and Daijun Edwards.

Pro Football Focus has been providing unit rankings for every position group in the league over the past few weeks and released its RB rankings today. PFF hasn’t been very kind to the Steelers’ RB room, ranking it 17th.

“Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren were both top-25 running backs with above-average PFF wins in 2023,” PFF’s Trevor Sikkema wrote. “The Steelers ranked 13th in the league in PFF rushing rating from their running backs and 14th in EPA per carry.

“Warren and Harris each averaged over 4.0 yards per carry as well, and the two remain a very solid duo for 2024.”

It’s a placement that surprises me, especially after what the group was able to accomplish in the second half of the 2023 season. Harris reached the 1,000 yard mark for his third consecutive season and Warren had over 1,000 yards of melee while the two separated more or less evenly on offensive shots.

This includes the first few weeks of the season in which the Steelers offense struggled to do much of anything. Over the last 10 weeks, they’ve turned things around in a big way with Broderick Jones as their full-time right tackle. They had the third most rushing yards (1,452) over that span, only behind the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions.

Heading into 2024, the Steelers have invested heavily in their offensive line, with their top two draft picks expected to start at middle and right tackle, if not in Week 1, then at some point early in the season. They also have a brand new offensive system that likes to run 12 and 13 personnel with very tight ends and even fullbacks facing more muscular opponents at the line of scrimmage. Arthur Smith loves to run the ball, and the Steelers’ RB duo should benefit greatly from that.

If the team can pick up where they left off in 2023, Harris and Warren should both have career seasons and the Steelers should finish near the top of the league in rushing attack. For me, the #17 ranking on this list is irrelevant.