The Pittsburgh Steelers' offense is one of the biggest question marks on the team right now. There was a massive amount of turnover from top to bottom, and naturally, this has caused a few questions to arise about the state of the team.
While there is good reason to be skeptical about the upside of this team, there is a secret weapon that no one seems to be talking about.
Typically, a secret weapon is a relatively unknown player. In the case of the Steelers right now, though, their secret weapon is hiding in plain sight. That player is Jaylen Warren.
Warren is a well-known commodity at this point. He has served as the second option in the backfield for the team for a few seasons, and for the most part, he has proven to be the most efficient runner on the offense.
Now, he enters the season as the presumed top dog. While his role will be split with the other backs on the roster, Warren can easily turn in his best performance as a pro and compile a massive season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could get the most out of Jaylen Warren in 2025
While a lot of the hype is on rookie Kaleb Johnson, you can’t look past Warren’s role in this offense. As is customary in an Arthur Smith offense, the goal will be to run the ball a lot, and as the presumed starter, Warren should have his most carries since joining the Steelers.
I love Warren as a runner, and while his numbers were bogged down by a slow start due to injury last year, I think he can get close to or surpass 1,000 total rushing yards.
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That isn’t why Warren is poised to be a secret weapon, though. Aaron Rodgers and Warren are likely to form a quick connection. Rodgers has become quite the checkdown machine as he has gotten older. In his last season with the Packers, running backs caught a whopping 78 passes. The Jets backs caught 75 a year ago.
Warren is a notable receiving threat out of the backfield, and Johnson isn’t. While Kenneth Gainwell can catch passes, he is the third back and will see the fewest snaps. Warren could be in line for the lion’s share of receptions.
Assuming he keeps his average per reception at 7 yards (his career average) and he can record in the ballpark of 55-60 receptions, he should net another 400 yards receiving in addition to his rushing output.
Warren could be in line for over 1400 total yards. Add in a healthy amount of scores, and you could be talking about a Pro Bowl season.
Everyone is talking about Johnson taking over as the primary back, but we really need to be looking at Warren as a potential superstar this season. He could be in line for a massive season in this offense.