Steelers HC Mike Tomlin won't commit to Jaylen Warren as the starting RB over Najee Harris
For all the grief that comes his way, it's easy to forget that Najee Harris already owns franchise records, and is about to tie an NFL record. Yet, many believe that Jaylen Warren should be the starting back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And following a game against the Baltimore Ravens where Harris was outsnapped by […]
For all the grief that comes his way, it's easy to forget that Najee Harris already owns franchise records, and is about to tie an NFL record.
Yet, many believe that Jaylen Warren should be the starting back for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And following a game against the Baltimore Ravens where Harris was outsnapped by Warren 40-17, some believe that Warren has overtaken Harris.
Mike Tomlin says not so fast:
Tomlin notes game circumstances as the reason for Harris being out-snapped by Warren
"It probably was just the flow of the game. We had every intention of being inclusive and utilizing all our backs, not only yesterday, but because we're on a short turnaround, and we’ve got another game coming," said Tomlin when asked about the distribution of work on Saturday. "And so we wanted to use all three guys, and really Jaylen [Warren] got a heck of a lot more than the others just based on kind of some game circumstances when he was in the general flow of the game."
Najee Harris currently has 933 rushing yards to pair with five TDs on the ground this season. That means if he can manage to capture a mere 67 yards over the final two weeks of the season, he will reach 1000 yards and 5 yards in each of the first four years of his career.
When is the last time that happened? Oh, it was future first-ballot Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson who accomplished the same feat from 2007-2010.
That's not to say that Harris is Adrian Peterson, but he's no scrub.
When is the last time you heard anyone mention how good the Steelers' offensive line is? How great the holes they open up are, how much space they give their backs? That's right you don't, and that is with a much improved line compared to the start of his career.
Warren is a terrific change-of-pace player who is excellent in his role. But despite dominating the snap share against the Ravens, he only accumulated six more rushing yards than Harris and averaged fewer yards per attempt.
So for all the talk of replacing Harris or benching him, some of which was bright on by the Steelers themselves, it's easy to see who their best back is when you get past the polarization.
Steelers’ Christmas will likely come with a double-edged sword as the hits keep coming
They will have to make due.
