Let’s take a trip back to the Summer of 2022. The Pittsburgh Steelers were searching for a second running back behind Najee Harris after Harris got driven into the ground in his rookie season. To extend his longevity, someone had to emerge to work as the complement to Harris. The Steelers did end up getting that, though. Jaylen Warren surprised everyone that Summer emerged as the RB2, and at this point in 2024, Warren is now the entrenched RB2 on the team as he continues to take steps forward.
Since entering the NFL, Jaylen Warren has been at the top of the league in multiple vital categories. Football Insights made a graph that showcased how dominant Warren is on a per touch basis at forcing tackles and getting yards from scrimmage per touch.
While that chart goes back to 2021, no one is even in the same stratosphere as Warren. Nick Chubb has a similar amount of scrimmage yards per touch but not the broken tackle rate. Now, something to think about is that Warren does not have nearly the same level of workload as Chubb or most others on the list, but it is impressive nonetheless.
Warren had one of the more impressive tackle-breaking seasons in recent memory a year ago. He can combine moves in succession and force missed tackle after missed tackle in space. It’s one of the reasons that when the Steelers can get Warren to the outside in space, he bounces off defensive backs and earns five extra hidden yards.
To Najee Harris’ credit, he also has a better-than-average broken tackle per carry. So, while Harris and Jaylen Warren are different players, they have a commonality in breaking tackles in one-on-one situations. That explains why they are a potent duo in the backfield, and Arthur Smith will look to extract that once again.