The Pittsburgh Steelers have been talked about a ton by the national media leading up to the 2026 season. A lot of that discussion has revolved around star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and whether or not he will get a contract extension before the season begins, and another strong topic has been the quarterback room and how that depth chart is going to turn out. There are also some battles on the offensive line and at wide receiver to pay attention to, but something that has not been mentioned too much has been the split at running back.
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Pittsburgh Steelers running backs Rico Dowdle (13) and Jaylen Warren (30) during 2026 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
The Steelers kept three running backs on the final roster, and they are Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, and Eli Heidenreich. Heidenreich is the only drafted player out of the three, and he was a seventh-round pick in 2026. Warren and Dowdle both have similar paths as former undrafted free agents that have made quite the name for themselves. Dowdle went undrafted in 2020 and was signed by the Dallas Cowboys who were coached by Mike McCarthy at the time, and Warren was signed by the Steelers after going undrafted in 2022.
Both running backs are capable of being bell-bow backs, but it has been made clear that there is going to be some sort of split between the two players. Dowdle is coming off of two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, but Warren is a great back in his own right as he can do a little bit of everything. Dan Graziano of ESPN recently wrote an article making a prediction for each team, and his for Pittsburgh was a third consecutive 1,000 yard season for Dowdle.
"McCarthy knows Dowdle can be his lead back, and my understanding is that Dowdle is more likely to get the early-down work ahead of Jaylen Warren," Graziano wrote. "Dowdle had just 235 carries in 2024 and 236 last season, but he did average 20.3 carries per game over the final seven games of that 2024 season in Dallas. Prorate that over a 17-game season, and it comes out to 345 carries. I don't think McCarthy will be shy in giving him plenty of work."
Graziano is predicting that Dowdle will have a great year, but that is implying that Dowdle will get more work than Warren. The analyst goes on to confirm that Warren will still have a significant role, but Dowdle is going to lead the way. That is due to his existing connection with McCarthy, who loved him enough to give him an average of 20 carries a game at the end of the 2024 season.
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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle (13) during 2026 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Warren has never eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, but he has had over 1,000 scrimmage yards in two of his four seasons with Pittsburgh. He had a career-high in rushing yards in 2025 with 958, so he is more than capable of also carrying the workload if needed. McCarthy may have a sweet spot for Dowdle which could lead to the back getting most of the early-down work earlier on in the season, but Warren has always made big plays and he can certainly change the head coach's thought process once the season gets underway.
Steelers' Jaylen Warren Is Arguably A More Complete Back
If Dowdle gets a lot of early-down work, it means Warren would be coming onto the field on third downs and obvious passing situations. This will be good due to how good of a pass catcher he is, and he is also one of the best running backs in the league when it comes to pass protection. Both backs are going to be extremely important to the offense, and it is going to be an interesting situation to monitor and pay attention to throughout the 2026 season.
What do you expect from the split between the two running backs in Pittsburgh? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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