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

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

STEELERS DEFENSIVE SNAP COUNTS