Despite having been on the team for a while, Jaylen Warren is finally getting his flowers. The former undrafted free agent has been given the chance to be the bell cow for the offense this season following Rico Dowdle’s injury.
Simply put, he is taking advantage.
Through five games, he has amassed 640 yards of total offense. He’s on pace for nearly 2,200 total yards, and the offense is dependent on him to succeed.
It’s rare to see a player his age at his position finally break out like he is. Running back shelf life tends to be short. While 27 isn’t that old for the conventional player, it is in the middle-to-late end of the prime of a typical running back. By most metrics, Warren shouldn’t be excelling like he is.
His later career effectiveness is drawing an eerily similar comparison to another underutilized player who finally got their shot about 20 years ago in Priest Holmes.
Jaylen Warren is hitting his stride for the Pittsburgh Steelers just like Priest Holmes did for the Chiefs
The comparisons between these two are freaky. From their size (both are shorter but built) to their style of play, it isn’t hard to see the similarities.
We know Warren’s story. He had one lone season of good production as a senior at Oklahoma State before signing with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent. Holmes lacked the college success, instead consistently being a committee back.
He joined the Ravens in 1997 and served as the fourth-string running back behind the likes of Bam Morris. He recorded zero offensive snaps.
1998 seemed like it would be the same, as the Ravens added numerous veterans such as Erricht Rhett to take over in the running back room. He failed, so in an act of desperation, the Ravens turned to Holmes. He responded with nearly 1,300 total yards from scrimmage.
An injury in 1999 led to Jamal Lewis being taken in the first round and taking over as the lead back for the Ravens in 2000, and it led to Holmes walking in free agency. Because of those injuries and the fact that he had been replaced by Lewis, he signed for relatively cheap (about $1.7 million per year) with the Chiefs.
The rest, as they say, is history. Holmes compiled one of the most dominant three-year stretches in league history, logging over 6500 total yards and 61 touchdowns.
Warren had a similar arc to this point. He was brought in while Najee Harris was here and never got the chance to shine as a lead back, with the former Alabama product blocking him. Once Harris finally departed, the team still split Warren’s reps with Kennith Gainwell.
Heck, Warren wasn’t even supposed to be the lead back this season. Dowdle was brought in to, at worst, supplement him. Many viewed the former Cowboys and Panthers running back as the favorite to be the lead back this year. That is certainly no longer the case.
While expecting Warren to replicate Holmes' numbers is silly, his style of play and ability to win could lead to him having a similar later career arc. He is playing at a dominant level, and if he keeps up his pace, he will likely end the season as a top-five running back.
While Holmes garnered a lot of accolades over his short stretch, Warren may not reach those highs. However, his best play may still be in front of him, and if the league learned anything from Holmes, Warren could be a feature back for the foreseeable future with the Steelers.
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