Will the Steelers have a 1,000-yard rusher at running back this year?
The Steelers came up shy of having a 1,000-yard running back last year, failing to do so for the first time since 2020. After drafting him in the first round in 2021, Najee Harris rushed for at least 1,000 yards four consecutive years. They couldn’t quite continue that pattern in their first year without him, though not necessarily to the room’s detriment.
After all, Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell combined for over 2,300 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns. Gainwell earned team MVP honors from the locker room, though he left in free agency. The Steelers replaced him this offseason with Rico Dowdle, a running back Mike McCarthy knows well.
Dowdle figures to take on more of the carries than did Gainwell, but how will that translate? The Steelers barely managed 400 carries last year, so the running backs could have more opportunities this season. A year earlier, for example, Pittsburgh managed 533 rushing attempts. Even factoring in more quarterback rushes (62 by Justin Fields), that’s still an appreciable difference. And a lot of those were designed quarterback carries, not scrambles.
Now, Jaylen Warren came pretty close to 1,000 yards on the season, setting a new career high. On 211 rushing attempts, he produced 958 rushing yards. And he missed a game. Averaging nearly 60 yards per game, he would have cleared 1,000 yards had he stuck to his season per-game average with that extra game.
While it doesn’t necessarily matter if the Steelers have a 1,000-yard running back, it’s generally a good indicator of a healthy running game. So, too, would two 900-yard rushers, though. And under Mike McCarthy, it seems the Steelers will want a constant supply of fresh legs at running back. If they managed to get others like Kaleb Johnson involved, it might be hard to get enough carries to reach that milestone. But with a few breakaway runs, aided by an improved scheme and blocking, that could make the difference.
The Steelers have a long road ahead of them under Mike McCarthy, along with his cadre of quarterbacks.With seven consecutive postseason losses and no wins in nearly a decade, they are under fire for their repeated playoff failures. While we have seen many changes, none could dream of topping Mike Tomlin’s resignation.
We’re already deep into the offseason, with free agency and the draft already reshaping rosters. The Steelers, of course, are used to early-offseason mode, as a team thatloses by the middle of January all the time. Enjoy the ride, even the turbulence, because it’s the only way we know how to travel anymore.
Recommended for you