The Pittsburgh Steelers have a solid one-two punch at the running back position once again in 2024, as the team is returning both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
While that's great for Steelers fans, it creates headaches for fantasy football owners who have a share of one of the running backs, and more specifically for those who have Warren because, while his touches increased significantly last year, he has historically gotten less than Harris.
If you were hoping for some clarity on the situation between Warren and Harris ahead of Week 1, don't hold your breath. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin revealed the team will take it week-to-week when it comes to workload.
Mike Tomlin on RB labor load: Said will be week-to-week. He loves demeanor of the RB room though. #steelers #NFL
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) September 3, 2024
Warren went from 105 touches during his rookie campaign in 2022 to 210 in 2023. He also saw an increase in snap percentage, going from 31% to 49%.
Harris had a monster workload during his rookie season in 2021, tallying a whopping 384 touches. But since the emergence of Warren, who has been more effective, Harris has gone from 313 touches in 2022 to 284 in 2023.
If the trend of their touch totals continues, we could see close to a dead-even split between the two running backs this season. However, Harris is better equipped to handle a bigger workload because of his frame, so chances are he'll handle more early-down work than Warren, which will ultimately give him the edge in touches.
The good thing about Warren is that he doesn't need a ton of touches to produce. In 2023, he had 12.3 per contest yet still managed to finish with 1,154 yards from scrimmage and four scores.
The good news for both backs is that the Steelers might run the football even more this year after having the ninth-most carries in the NFL last season. New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith loves to run the football, especially with the goal of setting up play-action, which is a huge part of his offense.
While the touch advantage may go to Harris, Warren has proven to be the more explosive and efficient back. Despite seeing 74 less touches in 2023, Warren still finished ranked ahead of Harris in fantasy scoring, both in total points (RB22 to RB23) and points per game (RB30 to RB32).
You really can't go wrong with either back in the middle rounds of drafts, but Warren definitely offers more upside, even if he doesn't out-touch Harris.
