As we do every week to get you ready for our upcoming game, we give you our X-factor of the week. Sometimes, it’s a player, unit, concept, or scheme. Here’s our Pittsburgh Steelers X-factor of the game against the New York Jets.
STEELERS VS JETS X FACTOR: RB JAYLEN WARREN
Football is finally back, which means Arthur Smith is foaming at the mouth to start running the football. That’s exactly what the Steelers are going to try to do with Jaylen Warren, and that’s why he’s this week’s X-factor. Warren is a player yinzers have wanted in the lead-back role for a while, and he gets his first chance on Sunday.
The clamoring for Warren does make sense. Despite being the second back in the rotation, Warren put together a solid season in 2024. He carried the ball 120 times for 511 yards, an average of 4.3 yards per carry, while scoring once. He was also strong catching the ball, with 38 receptions for 310 yards. That was enough for the Steelers to hand him an extension before ever getting a glimpse of him in a lead-back role.
While Jaylen Warren is now locked up for multiple years, the Steelers’ backfield should transcend into a committee as the season progresses. In Week 1, though, that’s not going to be the case. Kaleb Johnson isn’t quite up to NFL speed yet, which is understandable. And out of the three, Kenneth Gainwell is more of a pass-catching option.
Making things more complicated is the lack of reps between Aaron Rodgers and his receiving corps. Keeping Rodgers and Metcalf out of preseason action does make sense, and each of the two are veterans who don’t need those snaps as much as younger players. However, they still haven’t thrown to each other in a game before. Additionally, Rodgers’ second receiver, Calvin Austin III, missed the entire preseason with an injury. There’s a decent chance the passing game gets off to a slow start.
That makes Warren’s job much more important, especially in a game where the tempo matters as much as anything else. The Jets want to control the clock with their own run game. While the Steelers’ defense needs to stand up to that test, Warren can shift that aspect of the game in the Steelers’ favor with a strong performance.
Jaylen Warren has a young, promising offensive line in front of him. He’s playing with a legendary quarterback and a front office that believed in him enough to hand him an extension. Sunday represents his chance to prove them right and take a firm hold on his spot as the RB1. Pittsburgh needs him to take advantage of that opportunity.
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