Warren is averaging over 100-yards rushing in last three games
by Bo Marchionte
Published November 21, 2023, 03:37 PM
Pittsburgh, PA – What was obvious since the Steelers first got together on the South Side to begin minicamp earlier this spring was that second year running back Jaylen Warren looked primed for bigger things in the Steelers offense.
Last year Warren entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State and has continued to grow his game in his second season in the Steelers offense, so much so that it appears he is on the verge of unseating first round pick Najee Harris as the top back in the Pittsburgh.
“Rather if that’s five snaps or 30, I know just going in to do my job,” Warren said after practice at the Steelers facility. “I don’t worry about how many touches or plays I get.”
Standing in front of his locker and twirling his hair with his right index finger, Warren is as honest as they come. When Warren suggests his touches aren’t an issue, he is telling the truth. In a society about me, me, me he is a unique commodity. Warren is the outlier in a world when self-gratification reigns supreme.
Gradually, Warren has crept more and more into Harris’s snap count and has proven to provide the Steelers more bang for their buck. Harris has rushed the ball 120 times for 499 yards and three touchdowns with an average per carry of 3.9 which matches his career average since entering the league as the 24th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, Warren has carried the football 48 less times in 10 games this season and has accumulated 493 yards rushing. Just six behind Harris and Warren’s 6.2 yards per carry even outperforms his 4.9 average from his rookie season a year ago.
“It’s a bigger role so a lot more people could be dependent on me,” Warren says softly. “So, I just look at it like that and do my part, so I don’t let anybody down. More of a workload is what it is. I don’t expect to get more of a workload you know. I go in whenever they need me and call my name.”
His impact also resonates into the Steelers passing attack, if that’s plausible to say under its current state, but nonetheless Warren’s 34 catches is second behind receiver George Pickens with 37 receptions. The more Warren immerses himself in the Steelers offensive identity I was curious I was to know if anything is going on behind the scenes that he credits to his rising fame in the city of Pittsburgh.
In 2021, his final college season and first with the Cowboys after two seasons at Utah State and prior to spending 2017-18 at Snow College a community college located in Utah, Warren finished tenth in the FBS with 256 carries.
His increasing role in the offense has led him to the secret healing powers of the age-old ice bath. Its soothing ability to erase the aches and pains that come with the business of carrying the football in the National League, is something Warren used diligently for the first time in his career.
“Oh yeah, 100 percent yeah,” Warren said. “I’ve been feeling a lot better since I started doing that. I’ve done it and it’s not like it’s my first rodeo at it, but it’s just when I was doing it before I was like this is dumb you know. It’s not helping me. So, I like I bought into that process.”
It’s evident as Warren buys into the idea of ice baths the Steelers are buyers in knowing they’ve discovered an undrafted gem from last year. With back-to-back 100-yard games in his last two outings and averaging 106 rushing overall in his last three games, ice baths appear to be a helpful recipe for success.
“In total it’s like 10 minutes,” Warren said. “Ice hot ice hot. Get in the cold tub for seven. Then I got into the hot tub for three. Then the cold tub for two and then the hot tub for three.”
Another thing Warren credits is “sleep” as he aims to heal up quickly and be ready to help the team in any way possible.
Make no mistake about it now, no one is sleeping on Warren’s abilities.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
