Steelers' Use Of Jaylen Warren Is Likely To Infuriate Fans In 2026

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to look to move the ball on the ground quite a bit during the 2026 season. New head coach Mike McCarthy loves to establish the run on offense, and that is what Pittsburgh will be doing early on in games. The two primary backs that will be involved with that are Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle. Dowdle was signed to a two-year deal in free agency, and he is coming off of back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. He has a history with McCarthy, and many fans have been interested in what the splits at the position might look like.

Dowdle and McCarthy are very familiar with one another from when the two were with the Dallas Cowboys. Their timing in Dallas actually lines up perfectly as each was with the franchise for five seasons from 2020 through 2024. McCarthy took the 2025 season off, while Dowdle spent it with the Carolina Panthers. He had a great season as he ran for over 1,000 yards once again, and now he joins Warren in the backfield in Pittsburgh. McCarthy was certainly a big reason that the Steelers pursued the veteran running back, and beat writer Mark Kaboly joined 93.7 The Fan on Monday when he was asked what the running back split might look like.

"I would think it would be leaning towards Rico Dowdle right now," Kaboly said. "With Warren, maybe a 60-40 split, I would imagine that's the case right now. That could change from game to game. The one thing you don't want to do is just change it from series to series, those guys do need to get in a rhythm. They're very similar. Not much difference between one and the other. That makes it a little more simpler to find both of them playing time."

Warren is entering his fifth season in Pittsburgh, and he has never truly been a bell-cow type of lead back. During his first three seasons with the team, he was a backup of sorts to Najee Harris, but he still was able to produce a good amount. He was supposed to be the main guy in 2025, but Kenneth Gainwell had an emergence due to the fact that the Steelers frequently threw check downs to the running back behind the line of scrimmage.

Gainwell had a great season, and he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during free agency. Many fans in Pittsburgh probably thought that 2026 might be the year that Warren finally gets to be the main guy in the backfield, but that wound up not being the case as Dowdle was signed.

Dowdle has been a really good back over the years, and it would make sense if he led the way when it came to touches out of the backfield. This is especially true when considering the background with him and McCarthy. Pittsburgh needed to sign another back as Warren has had some injury issues throughout his career, and Dowdle was arguably the best name available on the market.

Warren has always been a good sport when it comes to his playing time and his touches, and that trend should continue. Both backs could have great years in Pittsburgh in 2026.

Steelers' Running Back Room Is Going To Be Interesting To Watch In 2026

Another focus of fans' attention is going to be second-year running back Kaleb Johnson. He had a disaster rookie season in 2025 as he was not involved in the offense at all during the second half of the year. Fans would like to see him develop some more and get a few more opportunities in his second season. 

The split between Dowdle and Warren is going to be a topic of conversation, but so is whether or not Johnson can get on the field.

What do you think about Kaboly's prediction for the split at running back? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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