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The impact of Arthur Smith on Harris, Warren

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The impact of Arthur Smith on Harris, Warren

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The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2024 NFL season expecting big things from their new offense.

The AFC North is arguably the most competitive division in the NFL. Each team understands the philosophy of running the ball well and is backed by an excellent defense, two staples of the Steelers. Last season, all four AFC North teams finished with a winning record. It was the first time in the Super Bowl era that every team in a division finished above .500.

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The Steelers’ strength and toughness embodied by their head coach, Mike Tomlin, is highly respected. Pittsburgh has gone 17 consecutive seasons, finishing at .500 or better. They have done so despite posting a negative point differential in four of the last five seasons.

With the Steelers struggling on offense in recent years, they made significant changes entering 2024. They hired Arthur Smith as their new offensive coordinator. They signed Russell Wilson and traded for Justin Fields. Since becoming offensive coordinator in 2019, Smith has earned a reputation for being scheme-heavy.

With that approach, the Steelers’ running backs have been used heavily to start 2024. Pittsburgh has been looking for its first playoff win since 2016, and their running backs will play a big role in getting there with their style of smashmouth soccer

Steelers RB depth chart

The Steelers have four running backs on their 53-man roster. Below is the estimated pecking order among these four players based on their snap counts so far in 2024:

  1. Najee Harris
  2. Jaylen Warren
  3. Cordarrelle Patterson
  4. Aaron Champlin

And here’s more on each player’s role in Pittsburgh’s offense.

Najee Harris

Pittsburgh has a dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of its running back depth chart, headlined by Harris. He enters Week 7 having played the most snaps of any Steeler running back. Harris broke the second-most tackles in the NFL in 2023 and has rushed for a team-high 376 yards through the first six games this season.

Since his days as the Titans’ offensive coordinator, Smith has held his starting running back to over 825 rushing yards in four of five seasons, with the only failure coming a season with a backfield led by Mike Davis and Cordarrelle Patterson in Atlanta . Harris has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his first three seasons and is on pace for four. The Steelers did not pick up his fifth-year option in the offseason, making him a free agent after 2024.

Harris is coming off his best game of 2024, rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown.

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Jaylen Warren

Warren suffered a hamstring injury in practice before Week 1 and suffered a knee injury in Week 3. Harris has handled a heavy workload to open the season, but Warren will likely start to do more as advance the season. Last season, the Steelers led the NFL in broken tackles, and finished fourth in the league in that category.

Warren went undrafted in 2022, but he has quickly become one of the most explosive running backs in the league. Last season, he recorded over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 5.3 yards per carry. He missed Weeks 4-5 but returned in Week 6. He enters Week 7 against the Jets without an injury designation for the first time in 2024. With Harris pending free agency, the 25-year-old years can assume the title role. in 2025 and beyond.

Cordarrelle Patterson

Patterson entered the league as a promising wide receiver in 2013. However, he did not produce out wide and switched to running back in 2021 with Arthur Smith in Atlanta.

Patterson is similar to Warren in that each is a Swiss Army Knife player. With Harris and Warren ahead of him on the depth chart, the veteran doesn’t have many touches left. He has been out since Week 4 with a sprained ankle and will likely be relegated to special teams duties upon his return.

Aaron Champlin

Shampklin is 24 years old and the youngest running back on the Steelers. He is a former Harvard football standout who spent the past two seasons on the practice squads of the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers.

After being released by the Chargers last year, Shampklin became a substitute teacher at a high school in Long Beach, California. He was eventually signed to the Steelers practice squad in January 2024 and played his first NFL game against the Colts with Warren and Patterson out. Shampklin earned his chance to make his mark and has been active in Weeks 4-6.

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