The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into a critical season with their backfield under the microscope, and Sharp Football Analytics isn’t handing out much comfort.
Warren Sharp’s latest running back rankings slot Pittsburgh’s group 20th in projections, a number that lands even harder for a franchise long associated with physical, between-the-tackles football. The Steelers’ trio of Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, and Kaleb Johnson earned a 42 out of 100, which says plenty about how the group is being viewed before the games start to count.
That skepticism comes after a 2025 season in which Pittsburgh’s run game sat squarely in the middle of the pack. When the offense got stuffed at the line, Aaron Rodgers was often left to manufacture something out of nothing. He did enough to keep things moving, but the veteran quarterback could only carry so much of the load before the limitations showed up.
By season’s end, the Steelers had piled up 1,756 rushing yards, a number that reflected effort more than dominance. The organization clearly tried to rebuild a once-feared identity, but the results showed that hope alone wasn’t enough.
Omar Khan’s front office responded quickly. Pittsburgh agreed to a two-year, $12.25 million deal with Rico Dowdle, and the roster also added Brock Hoffman, Gennings Dunker, and Riley Nowakowski in an effort to open more space up front.
Even with those changes, Sharp still isn’t sold on the backfield’s ceiling.
“The Steelers have depth in the backfield, but do they have enough juice to scare anybody?” Sharp questioned. “ When avoiding contact in the backfield, Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle only rank 23rd and 25th out of 49 qualifiers in the rate of gaining 10 or more yards.”
The numbers back up the doubt, at least for now. Pittsburgh hasn’t shown a truly explosive rushing attack in a long time, and the recent production has done little to silence the criticism.
Still, there are reasons to watch this group closely. Dowdle has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, while Warren came close last year with 958. That kind of production gives Pittsburgh a base to build on, especially with a motivated tailback room and a new direction under Mike McCarthy.
The challenge is clear: the Steelers need the ground game to work. If they’re going to change the conversation around this offense, it starts with running the ball effectively.
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