Steelers RB
Steelers RB
Kenneth Gainwell was a pleasant surprise for the Pittsburgh Steelers last year. They signed him to a one-year deal, and he was excellent, winning the team MVP award. He left the Steelers this offseason, and they didn’t do a bad of a job replacing him, signing Rico Dowdle. He and Jaylen Warren will be the Steelers’ one-two punch at running back. However, former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley isn’t enamored with that pairing.
“I see them as the same guy. That worries me just a little bit,” Haley said recently on the Daily Flock podcast. “I like the quick, fast guy and then the pounder. I don’t know that they have that right now.”
Dowdle is more similar to Warren than Gainwell. Gainwell’s calling card is his ability as a pass catcher. He was so good as a receiver that he led the Steelers in catches last year. Dowdle doesn’t have bad hands, but he’s a better a pure runner than Gainwell.
Warren and Dowdle are both strong, physical runners. Neither has exceptional speed, with both of them running in the mid-4.5s in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. They aren’t slow, but they’re both more likely to run through defenders than around them.
The similarities don’t end there, either. Both Steelers running backs were undrafted. That’s helped them bond, even before they were teammates.
Warren and Dowdle being similar types of players isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. Yes, teams often have two different styles of running backs to rotate, allowing them to do different things on offense and keeping defenses guessing. Haley tried to have something like that in Pittsburgh with Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount, but that didn’t exactly pan out how he thought it would.
However, the Steelers brought Dowdle in for a reason. Not only is he familiar with Mike McCarthy’s offense, but he fits the physical identity that the new head coach wants the Steelers to have. Warren and Dowdle both being tough running backs should help Pittsburgh wear down opponents.
It also shouldn’t be too hard for the Steelers to switch between Warren and Dowdle. That could help give Pittsburgh’s offense some consistency, especially if either of them has to miss time for any reason. Warren and Dowdle have both proven that they’re quality runners, and they should be valuable pieces of the Steelers’ offense.