Steelers Named Best Fit for Top Free Agent RB
Najee Harris won’t be suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers next season. The team’s quarterback situation has been under the microscope, but running back remains a need. Heading into his sixth season as a professional, J.K. Dobbins might make sense as an addition.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell tabbed the Steelers as a fit for Dobbins, along with Cleveland and Denver. Dobbins had a career year with the Los Angeles Chargers last season, rushing for 905 yards and nine touchdowns. Jim Harbaugh replaced him with Harris, who’d gone for over 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons with the Steelers.
J.K. Dobbins is still on the market in large part because he’s been injury-prone. He dealt with significant knee and Achilles injuries that shelved him for more than two full seasons while in Baltimore. A knee sprain sidelined him for four games last season.
“Since 2020, the list of backs with 300 carries who have averaged more yards per rush than Dobbins’ 5.2 consists of De’Von Achane and Jahmyr Gibbs,” Barnwell wrote. “After returning from the Achilles injury last season, Dobbins averaged 4.6 yards per tote while racking up a career-high 195 carries. He didn’t fumble for the third consecutive season and generated 115 rush yards over expectation (RYOE), which ranked 13th among all backs.”
Dobbins went for a combined 266 yards on the ground over the first two weeks of the season. Beginning with the following matchup against the Steelers, he failed to put up another 100-yard showing.
“Most of that was an absence of big plays: He had three runs of 40-plus yards over those first two games and none over the ensuing 16 weeks,” Barnwell said.
The Steelers will likely field fourth-year tailback Jaylen Warren next season, having tendered him an offer as a restricted free agent earlier this month. Adding Dobbins would provide another rusher to supplement Warren, and that might be Dobbins’ best plan of action.
“It’s tough to project Dobbins into a full-time role, and frankly, it’s probably not the best thing for his health,” Barnwell said. “Given eight to 10 carries as a situational back, though, he could still be a useful player in the right offense.”