There hasn't been a lot of love for Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren (pictured) in early drafts I've seen. There's some uncertainty about how that committee will shake out, I suppose. I understand the hesitation -- we all want workhorse running backs -- but both guys might also be pretty good this year.
As noted in the magazine, the Steelers last year were the only team that put two running backs over 1,150 total yards. And the full season rushing numbers don't tell the whole story -- this team got a lot better as the year wore on.
Pittsburgh used its first-round pick last year on tackle Broderick Jones. He started out on the bench, with Dan Moore and Chukwuma Okorafor starting, but halfway through the season they benched Okorafor and moved Jones into the starting lineup. The running game really took off from that point forward.
It can be tricky to split a 17-game season in half, but we've gone with Weeks 1-9 and 10-18 (so depending on when teams had their byes, they played either one more or one less game in one of the two halves). But no team's ground game improved more from the first half of the season to the second, which in the Steelers case coincided with Jones' promotion.
In the first half of the season, Pittsburgh averaged 91 rushing yards and 3.7 yards per attempt, with 4 TDs. In the second half, that jumped to 143 yards per game, 4.4 per attempt, and 12 TDs. That improvement of 52 rushing yards per game was tops in the NFL.
| TEAM RUSHING, 2023 (1ST HALF VERSUS 2ND HALF) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Yds(1st) | Avg(1st) | TD(1st) | Yds(2nd) | Avg(2nd) | TD(2nd) | Yds(+/-) |
| Pittsburgh | 91 | 3.7 | 4 | 143 | 4.4 | 12 | 52.4 |
| Buffalo | 108 | 4.3 | 10 | 155 | 4.4 | 12 | 46.8 |
| LA Rams | 105 | 4.0 | 9 | 138 | 4.5 | 9 | 32.7 |
| Las Vegas | 76 | 3.2 | 7 | 107 | 4.3 | 4 | 31.0 |
| Cincinnati | 76 | 3.6 | 3 | 102 | 4.3 | 9 | 26.3 |
| Arizona | 127 | 4.8 | 7 | 153 | 5.3 | 10 | 25.8 |
| Green Bay | 100 | 4.0 | 5 | 122 | 4.6 | 5 | 22.1 |
| Minnesota | 81 | 3.7 | 2 | 103 | 4.2 | 5 | 21.3 |
| Tampa Bay | 78 | 3.1 | 3 | 98 | 3.7 | 5 | 19.9 |
| New England | 87 | 3.7 | 5 | 106 | 4.1 | 4 | 18.7 |
| Houston | 87 | 3.3 | 3 | 106 | 4.1 | 7 | 18.7 |
| Carolina | 96 | 3.9 | 2 | 111 | 4.0 | 5 | 14.8 |
| San Francisco | 134 | 4.4 | 14 | 147 | 5.2 | 13 | 13.3 |
| Chicago | 135 | 4.6 | 7 | 148 | 4.4 | 9 | 12.3 |
| Detroit | 131 | 4.3 | 11 | 140 | 4.9 | 16 | 8.6 |
| Washington | 90 | 4.3 | 7 | 98 | 4.6 | 7 | 7.5 |
| Atlanta | 124 | 4.1 | 7 | 130 | 4.1 | 7 | 5.4 |
| Dallas | 112 | 3.9 | 5 | 114 | 4.3 | 9 | 2.5 |
| Kansas City | 104 | 4.1 | 4 | 106 | 4.5 | 5 | 2.5 |
| Philadelphia | 130 | 4.0 | 12 | 128 | 4.7 | 10 | -1.8 |
| New Orleans | 104 | 3.6 | 7 | 101 | 3.7 | 6 | -3.0 |
| Indianapolis | 123 | 4.3 | 12 | 119 | 4.3 | 7 | -4.7 |
| NY Giants | 114 | 3.8 | 4 | 106 | 4.5 | 6 | -7.8 |
| Baltimore | 160 | 4.8 | 17 | 152 | 5.1 | 9 | -8.1 |
| Seattle | 97 | 4.1 | 7 | 89 | 4.1 | 4 | -8.1 |
| LA Chargers | 101 | 3.9 | 8 | 93 | 3.7 | 3 | -8.6 |
| Tennessee | 115 | 4.4 | 6 | 103 | 3.9 | 10 | -11.2 |
| NY Jets | 103 | 4.7 | 3 | 91 | 3.9 | 4 | -12.3 |
| Denver | 117 | 4.8 | 1 | 97 | 3.4 | 7 | -19.4 |
| Miami | 148 | 5.9 | 17 | 122 | 4.3 | 10 | -25.8 |
| Jacksonville | 113 | 3.8 | 9 | 83 | 3.5 | 8 | -29.6 |
| Cleveland | 144 | 4.1 | 9 | 96 | 3.6 | 6 | -48.1 |
Pittsburgh has a new offensive coordinator, fan favorite Arthur Smith. They've got a new quarterback or two, as well.
But I think this is an improved line and an offense that's still going to favor the run (and be the most effective at it, with Russell Wilson not the player he once was). I think probably both Harris and Warren are a little underrated. Both should be starters in typical leagues, and if one gets hurt, the other would be pretty great.
--Andy Richardson