Steelers RB Jaylen Warren proved he should be the team’s feature back

There is a ton to unpack from the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens and lots of questions to be answered. But one question that we believe was answered this week was who should be the Steelers feature back.

That job should belong to Jaylen Warren. But maybe not for the reason you think. We watched Warren get 40 rushing yards on nine carries on Sunday and 39 receiving yards on three catches and were impressed. Meanwhile starting running back Najee Harris had 37 rushing yards on 14 carries and one catch for three yards.

The reason Warren proved himself on Sunday and frankly for much of the season is because the offensive line isn’t very good. Wait, what? Just hear me out. Any running back that is going to be successful behind a line as inconsistent as this one, they have to be able to create on their own. This is something Warren does well and something Harris struggles with. For this reason alone, Warren should be the primary back.

As of now, the Steelers are essentially splitting snaps between the two. When the team returns off the bye week, it would be prudent to give Waren 60 to 70 percent of the snaps, just to see if it can help win on not only possession downs but early downs as well where we often see Harris struggle.