Steelers RB Jaylen Warren exploded in Week 11, logging 129 rushing yards on 9 carries vs. the Browns. To emphasize his impressive performance, consider that Warren recorded a 74-yard TD run early in the third quarter. Even if you remove that play from Warren’s performance, he still would’ve had nearly twice as many total yards (71) on the 11 other touches than his teammate Najee Harris did (36) on 13 touches in the contest. Still, the Steelers held Warren to a 44.8% snap share on Sunday. This is still a frustratingly split backfield. It’s feasible, however, that back-to-back 100-yard efforts from the former UDFA could push Pittsburgh to give Warren more work over Harris moving forward. It’ll be intriguing to see how the workload is distributed in Week 12 against a softer Bengals defense (29th in run-defense DVOA in 2023).
Week 10 provided fantasy managers with a pair of quality performances from Steelers RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. The duo split playing time in the contest (33 snaps apiece), saw a near-identical share of touches (Harris 20, Warren 19) on Sunday, and each scored a rushing TD. Harris’ 96 total yards in Week 10 notch the second-highest sum he’s recorded all season, and Warren’s 101 rushing yards marks his career-high. As exciting as these achievements are, fantasy managers should be wary of the tandem in Week 11 vs. a Browns defense that ranks as the fourth-toughest matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed.
Steelers RB Najee Harris turned in a solid Week 9, totaling 76 yards and a score in Thursday night's win over the Titans. RB Jaylen Warren was the more explosive player (as usual), but Harris ran tough, scored a 10-yard TD, and even broke off a 25-yard run in the third quarter. This was his third straight useful fantasy outing, following RB13 and RB22 PPR finishes the previous two weeks. Harris continues to lose significant work to Warren but has tallied 12+ opportunities in seven straight games, averaging 13.4 carries and 2.7 targets per game over that span. That's enough to at least make Harris a solid RB3 play. Week 10 brings a plus matchup vs. the Packers' 25th-ranked RB defense.
For the first time in 2023, Steelers RB Najee Harris out-scored his teammate Jaylen Warren in PPR scoring. Harris ended Week 7 vs. the Rams with 53 rushing yards and a TD on 14 carries to go along with 3 catches and 15 yards as a receiver. Warren also scored on a 13-yard rush in the contest, though he only saw 2 targets on Sunday. His lack of pass-catching involvement hurt him and was rather surprising considering he’d seen at least 4 targets in four of five games prior to their Week 6 bye. Next Sunday, the Steelers will face off against the Jaguars.
Steelers RB Najee Harris was added to the injury report and limited in Friday's practice with a hamstring. He has no game designation, though, so the Steelers expect him to play vs. the Ravens. Harris can stay penciled into fantasy lineups for now. We'll let you know if something changes with his status.
Steelers RB Najee Harris led the team in rushing yards (71) and receiving yards (32) in Week 4. It was a strong individual effort from Harris, who had to overcome a leaky O-line and a 3rd quarter injury to Kenny Pickett. Harris lost 6 targets to Jaylen Warren but held the carry edge, 14-8. Baltimore arrives in Week 5 to provide a stiffer test.
Steelers RB Najee Harris posted 19 carries for 65 rushing yards vs. the Raiders on Sunday night. Teammate Jaylen Warren logged 29 rushing yards on 8 carries in addition to hauling 3 of 4 targets for 23 yards as a receiver. Even though the duo saw a larger workload divide between them in this contest, Warren outscored Harris in PPR with 8.2 and 6.5 points, respectively. The Raiders’ defense has been a soft matchup so far in 2023. The fact that neither back could capitalize on this opportunity speaks to the deficiencies the Steelers’ offense still has to work through. They’ll have a chance to improve upon this outing next week vs. the Texans.
Steelers RB Jaylen Warren is in for more work in the running game vs. the Raiders on Sunday night, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. RB Najee Harris is "still very much a big part of their plans," Garafolo adds. We'll see exactly how this backfield shakes out tonight. Harris and Warren sit close to each other in RB3 territory in the Week 3 Rankings.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that RB Jaylen Warren deserves more touches going forward. He racked up 86 yards on 10 touches in Monday night's win over the Browns, while Najee Harris totaled 44 yards on his 11 touches. "You know, he's just making plays when given the opportunity," Tomlin said of Warren. "And I think that's a reasonable expectation. There's a guy that did similar things as a young guy a year ago and as a rookie and has done some really good things in the team development process. And so, it's probably a natural maturation process for it to transpire in stadium, and it's probably a natural maturation process for us to give him more opportunities for it to transpire in stadium." You'll find Harris and Warren extremely close in our Rest-of-Season RB Rankings.
Steelers RB Najee Harris ended Week 2 with 10 carries for 43 rushing yards vs. the Browns. Teammate Jaylen Warren logged 20 rushing yards on 6 carries in addition to hauling 4 catches on 6 targets for 66 yards as a receiver. Most of Harris' yardage came on two runs in the third quarter. He was otherwise stuffed at the line throughout the contest. The Steelers are still splitting the workshare between Harris and Warren fairly evenly (13 and 12 touch opportunities, respectively). Still, it isn't easy to justify relying on either for fantasy production. Warren presents a modest upside in half or full-PPR formats in Week 3 vs. the Raiders.
Steelers RB Najee Harris recorded 6 attempts for 31 rushing yards in Week 1 vs. the 49ers. He also added a pair of catches for 2 yards as a receiver in the loss. Teammate Jaylen Warren received 3 carries for 6 yards and caught 5 of 6 targets for 12 yards. The Steelers split the backfield touch opportunities fairly evenly (Harris with 8, Warren with 9) on Sunday, though neither player was particularly strong. It’s also worth mentioning that Harris ran 24 receiving routes to Warren’s 19, so the usage still skews a little bit in the direction of the former first-round NFL draft pick. The duo will have an opportunity to rebound against the Browns in Week 2 on Monday night.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says Steelers RBs Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris "could split carries" vs. the 49ers today. "Najee Harris is going to be the starter, getting the first- and second-down snaps. Jaylen Warren third-down snaps," Rapoport adds. "But Warren is expected to get a little more of the first- and second-down snaps than usual." We've heard conflicting reports on this backfield all summer, so it'll be nice to actually get a look at it today. We'd still try to keep Warren on fantasy benches; Harris is a low-end RB2 in a tough matchup vs. San Francisco.
On Friday, Steelers beat reporter Dave Lolley took to Twitter to help clarify the team's RB situation. Lolley shared that the "narrative that Jaylen Warren is going to 'surpass' Najee Harris ... is simply not true," adding that Harris is the "clear No. 1" and Warren is the third-down back in Pittsburgh. Warren is the more optimal draft pick from an ADP value perspective. Regardless, both Warren and Harris are still favorably slotted in our current RB rankings. This is yet another reminder that one of the pillars of fantasy is to pursue value above all else. Learn more about our draft philosophy here at Draft Sharks.
Steelers OC Matt Canada said Monday that RB Najee Harris remains the team's No. 1 RB. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that," Canada added. It sounds a bit like a coach trying to tamper down any talk of a RB controversy after RB Jaylen Warren's 62-yard TD in Pittsburgh's second preseason game. Canada also said that he'll use Warren "a lot." We don't doubt that Harris will open the season as the Steelers' clear lead back. The question is whether that workload split will shift during the season if Warren continues to run more efficiently than Harris. We recently updated our projections for the Steelers backfield.
Mark Kaboly of The Athletic expects little change to RB Jaylen Warren’s role. “Honestly, I don’t see much more of a role than he had last year if [Najee] Harris stays healthy,” Kaboly wrote. Harris played through a foot injury in 2022 but still appeared in all 17 games. Warren averaged 6.5 touches per game overall; nearly 11 over the final month. The second-year back is an ideal RB5.
The Steelers morphed into a run-heavy offense over the second half of last season, ranking sixth in rush rate. It sounds like the plan is to continue in that direction this year. “I think our identity was pretty clear the last nine games (of 2022),” OC Matt Canada said. “We ran the ball well, we were physical. You see who we drafted, who we acquired (this offseason). I don’t think there is any question about what our identity is going to be. We want to run the ball, we want to be physical, and we want to be a good team that can throw the football down the field. I think our identity is well known, and we’ll stay where we’re at.” The Steelers spent the 14th overall pick of this spring's draft on OT Broderick Jones and signed free-agent G Isaac Seumalo to bolster the offensive line. They return RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, who will presumably be busy this year. Both guys are fine picks at ADP. The run-heavy plan is worrisome for QB Kenny Pickett, WRs Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, and TE Pat Freiermuth.
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