Losing Najee Harris in free agency was a big blow to the style of play the Pittsburgh Steelers envision offensively, leaning on that ground-and-pound run game with a bruising, physical running back.
But they seem to be changing things up ahead of the 2025 season. Jaylen Warren was tendered a contract, Kenneth Gainwell was signed to a one-year deal, and the 2025 NFL Draft offers quite a few big, powerful running backs that bring some explosive-play elements to the table, too.
The Steelers could still go out in free agency and add another veteran running back, too, just to be safe. One such name that ESPN’s Bill Barnwell believes would be a good fit for the Steelers is veteran running back JK Dobbins, who played for the Los Angeles Chargers during the 2024 season.
Barnwell listed the Steelers, Browns, and Broncos as best fits for Dobbins.
“Since 2020, the list of backs with 300 carries who have averaged more yards per rush than Dobbins’ 5.2 consists of De’Von Achane and Jahmyr Gibbs. After returning from the Achilles injury last season, Dobbins averaged 4.6 yards per tote while racking up a career-high 195 carries,” Barnwell writes of Dobbins and why teams should be interested in the former Ohio State star running back on the open market. “He didn’t fumble for the third consecutive season and generated 115 rush yards over expectation, which ranked 13th among all backs.
“At the same time, Dobbins’ best two games of the season were the initial two, during which he racked up 266 yards. From that point forward, he failed to top 100 yards in a single game, averaged 3.8 yards per carry, and generated minus-25 RYOE. Most of that was an absence of big plays: He had three runs of 40-plus yards over those first two games and none over the ensuing 16 weeks.”
Dobbins had a nice bounce-back year in 2024 with the Chargers. After missing the 2021 season and then most of the 2023 season with injuries, Dobbins left the Baltimore Ravens in free agency and signed with the Chargers and head coach Jim Harbaugh, putting himself in a good offense that leans on the run.
He started the season on a hot streak, rushing for 266 yards in his first two games, but as Barnwell noted, things slowed down for Dobbins after that. He finished the season with 905 yards and nine touchdowns on 195 carries, adding another 32 receptions for 153 yards.
He didn’t fumble, had an explosive element to his game, and was dependable for much of the season. But again, injuries hit late in the year and landed him on Injured Reserve.
Dobbins is entering his age-27 season and theoretically should have plenty of treads left on his tires, considering he has just 429 career carries and 59 career receptions. But the injury history is hard to overlook.
“It’s tough to project Dobbins into a full-time role, and frankly, it’s probably not the best thing for his health. Given eight to 10 carries a game as a situational back, though, he could still be a useful player in the right offense,” Barnwell added regarding Dobbins.
Adding Dobbins to the RB room featuring Warren, Gainwell, and veteran Cordarrelle Patterson, not to mention a likely draft pick at the position, would shore things up for the Steelers in the year after losing Harris. They wouldn’t have that true, bell-cow RB that Mike Tomlin likes to have, but there’s enough talent there to be effective in the run game while spreading the workload out.
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