My Favorite Offseason Targets for the Steelers’ RB Room
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Back in 2021, the Steelers had an obvious hole at RB, and they took Najee Harris in the first round of the draft that year. It was a move I was supportive of, and even excited about at the time, but since then, he hasn’t really lived up to that first round value, and now the move is widely criticized among Steelers fans; and understandably so.
Other notable names at running back from that 2021 class have been equally underwhelming like Travis Etienne and Javonte Williams. Najee Harris has been a true workhorse for the Steelers and hasn’t missed time despite 1,097 career carries. His 3.9 ypc career average doesn’t sound all that great, but there is value in a strong, durable, consistent back, and he is nothing if not all three of those things. I’ll maintain the stance I’ve had that he has fallen victim to coaching malpractice and a complete misuse of his skill set by Arthur Smith, and I’ll even double down on that sentiment: he has never had a chance to excel with the Steelers, because he’s never had good play calling from his OC, and he was thrown in as a rookie behind a patchwork offensive line. The Steelers failed Najee Harris more than Najee Harris failed the Steelers in my humble opinion, and a split is probably better for both sides. I truly think he will find success with another organization, and I’ll still be a supporter of his when he does.
Jaylen Warren is a restricted free agent this offseason, and all signs point to him signing back with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one year deal worth somewhere just over $5M. With this batch of impending free agents at RB being pretty weak, I think the best case scenario for the Steelers’ RB room this offseason is to bring back Jaylen Warren, and pair him with a young back in the 2025 NFL draft.
Ashton Jeanty is being touted as a generational-type running back out of Boise State, and figures to be a day one pick, likely to the Cowboys or Broncos, in my opinion. This offseason feels oddly similar to the 2021 offseason when we selected Harris, where we have a painfully obvious hole that needs to be filled…this time at WR. Guys like Tee Higgins and Chris Godwin are seeking new contracts, and the Steelers figure to be heavily involved in those talks. We also figure to be involved in any trade discussions involving every disgruntled receiver that comes out in the next few months. Maybe one of those things materializes for us, but if they don’t, I’d bet a kidney that the Steelers take a receiver in the first round of the draft. I only say all that to say that even if Ashton Jeanty is available to us in the first round, I don’t necessarily think the Steelers would take him, although I’d be thrilled if we did.
For the Steelers, I think day two (rounds 2 and 3) is where they’ll be looking to add a RB, and there’s plenty of talented backs that figure to fall off the board on the second day of the draft. My favorite guy that I think will be available to us on day two is, without a doubt, Kaleb Johnson from Iowa. Johnson fits Arthur Smith’s scheme like a glove. He excelled in Iowa’s zone-heavy offense, and I think he could step in on day one and be a significant contributor for the Steelers on offense immediately. Johnson is a strong, workhorse type back like Najee Harris, except he has the one-cut ability and acceleration to break big runs, which is something that Harris struggled to do consistently. The thing about Johnson is that he has a very patient running style, so the communication breakdowns from the offensive line would need to be fixed next year. We should expect more of the same if the offensive line play isn’t better next season, but Kaleb Johnson is as ideal a prospect that is out there based on what I imagine the Steelers are looking for, and he could step in and be a difference maker instantly.
Dylan Sampson from Tennessee is another guy that I think the Steelers could spend a day two pick on and get an immediate impact. At 190 pounds soaking wet, he’s definitely undersized, and thus could struggle in pass-protection and short-yardage. However, this dude has game-breaking speed, and if you can get him the ball in space with blockers, he’s making house calls. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to get chunk plays from the RB spot, but Sampson would instantly be able to do just that for us. Of course, that is also contingent on the offensive line taking a significant leap next season.
Devin Neal from Kansas is someone that I’m not overly sold on as a prospect (for the Steelers), but also someone I’d prefer to some of the other, bigger names coming out of this 2025 RB class. The reason I’m not sold on him as a prospect is because I feel we’d be pairing Jaylen Warren with a clone of himself. Warren really seems to excel in that change-of-pace role, and we’d really be taking that away from him in my opinion. With that being said, he has the patience and one-cut ability to come in and immediately split carries with Jaylen Warren and be effective.
Two prospects that are ranked highly on everyone’s draft board(s) that I’m not sold on, at least as fits for the Pittsburgh Steelers, are the guys from Ohio State: Quinston Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. Judkins feels like replacing Najee Harris with the great-value Najee Harris, and Henderson just lacks the patience to be immediately impactful in our offense, in my opinion. If we had a proven offensive line, then sure. I love the building blocks we have in place along our offensive line, but they are far from a proven bunch at this juncture.
Omarion Hampton from North Carolina is another example of someone that I just feel like is a poor-man’s version of Najee Harris. I’m not sure how you draft someone with Hampton’s qualities as a runner and expect a different result than you’ve got over the last few years. And, that’s not a shot at Hampton at all. In fact, as I speak it, I’m viewing it in my head as an indictment of Arthur Smith.
It’ll be interesting to see what direction the front office goes when addressing the gaping hole(s) that currently exist for us at RB. I would like to say that my opinions on what I’d like to see are based on the idea that the Steelers would spend a day two pick on a back. It’s probably clear, based on this post, where my loyalties lie. Let’s push this Kaleb-Johnson-to-the-Steelers agenda.
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