Steelers Snap Counts: Harris, Warren Close In on 50-50 Split

Alan Saunders |

Sep 26, 2023

Pittsburgh Steelers Najee Harris (22) runs the ball against the Las Vegas Raiders in an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in Las Vegas, NV. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)

There’s been a continuing debate about how the breakdown of opportunities should happen between Pittsburgh Steelers running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, and it seems like the Steelers themselves are trending toward a 50-50 split.

In the team’s Week 3 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, the two backs came the closest yet this season to an equal share of the running back reps, with Harris playing 31 snaps and Warren 28. Harris played a season-low 50% of the team’s offensive snaps, while Warren played a season-high 45%. Harris had out-snapped Warren, 33-25 in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers and 31-23 against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.

Harris started the game and still dominated the carries, with 19 compared to Warren’s eight. Warren had four targets in the passing game, catching three, while Harris had just one.

Neither back was particularly strong on a yards-per-carry basis on Sunday. Harris ran 19 times for 65 yards (3.4 yards per carry), while Warren rushed eight times for 29 yards (3.6 yards per carry). Warren had 11 total touches for 52 yards (4.7 yards per touch) when factoring in his receiving contributions. Harris did not have a catch.

Harris was banged up in the third quarter and sat one series out as a result, which could have been the cause for narrowing the gap in reps between the players.

On defense, rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. also took advantage of a minor injury to carve out a larger role. Porter filled in for Levi Wallace for a series after Wallace left the game with a knee injury. Wallace eventually returned, but Porter ended up playing 27 snaps, more than he had in the first two games combined. He was targeted three times and allowed one catch for 12 yards, per Pro Football Focus.

STEELERS OFFENSIVE SNAP COUNTS

Pos	Player	SF	CLE	LV	HOU
QB	Kenny Pickett	63	54	62
RB	Najee Harris	33	31	31
RB	Jaylen Warren	25	23	28
RB	Anthony McFarland	5	IR	IR
RB	Qadree Ollison	—	0	1
WR	George Pickens	56	46	55
WR	Allen Robinson II	56	47	50
WR	Calvin Austin III	35	41	45
WR	Diontae Johnson	27	IR	IR
WR	Miles Boykin	5	4	8
WR	Gunner Olszewski		1	INJ
TE	Pat Freiermuth	32	41	49
TE	Darnell Washingon	24	26	29
TE	Connor Heyward	17	10	13
LT	Dan Moore Jr.	63	54	62
RT	Chukwuma Okorafor	59	54	62
LG	Issac Seumalo	63	54	62
RG	James Daniels	63	54	62
C	Mason Cole	63	54	62
OT	Broderick Jones	4	0	0
OT	Dylan Cook
C/G	Nate Herbig	0	0	0
OL	Spencer Anderson	0	0	0

STEELERS DEFENSIVE SNAP COUNTS

Pos	Player	SF	CLE	LV
DT	Larry Ogunjobi	43	51	49
DT	Montravius Adams	34	52	47
DE	DeMarvin Leal	26	39	33
NT	Keeanu Benton	29	28	21
DT	Armon Watts		22	18
DT	Isaiahh Loudermilk	31	14	9
DT	Cam Heyward	14	IR	IR
NT	Breiden Fehoko
OLB	T.J. Watt	48	70	59
OLB	Alex Highsmith	49	68	52
OLB	Markus Golden	25	19	20
OLB	Nick Herbig	16	17	13
ILB	Cole Holcomb	53	78	53
ILB	Kwon Alexander	47	52	47
ILB	Elandon Roberts	29	27	17
ILB	Mark Robinson	0	0	4
CB	Patrick Peterson	67	85	71
CB	Levi Wallace	67	78	67
CB	Joey Porter Jr.	7	14	27
CB	James Pierre	0	0	0
CB	Chandon Sullivan	13	47	18
CB	Desmond King			0
FS	Minkah Fitzpatrick	68	46	72
S	Damontae Kazee	49	77	53
SS	Keanu Neal	33	61	41
SS	Miles Killebrew	0	2	1
DB	Elijah Riley	0	10	0