It takes nothing more than a quick glance through the Steelers’ Super Bowl-winning teams of the past to grasp the importance of the running game, four of the six finishing among the NFL’s top five in rushing yards.
The current product feels a long way from those glory years, and there’s much work ahead this offseason. But as much time as we’ve already spent talking about quarterbacks, wide receivers or the defense, an important component that cannot be overlooked is what happens at running back.
“I still think running the ball is a route to success, particularly when you’re playing in the north and outside,” team president Art Rooney II said during his season-ending news conference this past Monday.
Those words might’ve been taken as archaic, the Steelers once again deviating from recent NFL trends, but I also think there’s a valid point to consider here.
It’s OK to prioritize the running game — so long as it’s not the only thing the Steelers fix.
In what was once a depressed market, we saw things shift in a big way last offseason, with running backs once again an active part of free agency.
While Derrick Henry (two years, $16 million) flattened the Steelers and helped the Ravens enjoy a prolific rushing season, Saquon Barkley was even better, potentially helping teams reimagine how to handle free agent running backs.
Stupidly discarded by the Giants, Barkley signed with the Eagles for three years, $37.75 million. It was a smart, team-friendly contract. Barkley’s 2,005 yards represented just the ninth 2,000-yard season for an NFL running back, and he’s been nothing short of incredible for Philadelphia this postseason.
The easy solution would be for the Steelers to find their Barkley, although I’m well aware that sort of deal — and Barkley’s elite level of performance — is far from common.
Established options
Bottom line: The Steelers must be smart and aggressive when it comes to replacing Najee Harris. And given what we saw out of running backs who signed with new teams via free agency last March, I wouldn’t hate the Steelers doing something similar to the Ravens or Eagles.
Along with Henry and Barkley, the Texans acquired Joe Mixon and signed him for three years, $27 million.
The Packers gave Josh Jacobs a four-year, $48 million contract. Aaron Jones was released by Green Bay and inked a one-year deal worth $7 million with the Vikings.
Among this year’s potential options, which admittedly don’t pack the same punch:
• Jones, 30, isn’t exactly young in running back years, but he rushed for a career-high 1,138 yards and scored seven touchdowns. He was also a threat in the passing game, totaling 1,546 scrimmage yards.
• Javonte Williams was hampered by a knee injury a few years back but has a physical style that could complement Jaylen Warren well. Could he rediscover the form that saw him average 4.4 yards per carry as a rookie in 2021?
• Rico Dowdle was quietly one of just 16 players to eclipse 1,000 yards in Dallas and showed an ability to break tackles late in the season.
• If the Chargers don’t retain J.K. Dobbins — he fit well there — his average of 4.6 yards per carry could make sense. I feel the same way about San Francisco’s Jordan Mason, though I’d be surprised if the 49ers let him get away.
• One wild card could be Mr. Chubb, or Nick Chubb, who experienced plenty of success in Cleveland before a gruesome injury. Chubb probably wasn’t fully healthy in 2024. If he proves he’s healthy now, we know Mike Tomlin’s affinity for Cleveland’s former feature back.
Those also don’t have to be the only options.
There’s an array of them, and the point is the Steelers should not be afraid to be aggressive at running back. They should spend more than a late-round draft pick on one and cross their fingers said player will immediately contribute.
Spending on running backs was once deemed unnecessary, but the success of Barkley and others should’ve changed the thinking for Steelers general manager Omar Khan and his counterparts.
Of the 14 teams to make the playoffs, half had a running game ranked in the top 10 in yards gained, occupying each of the top six spots on that list. If you split the league in half, 10 of the top 16 rushing teams made it. Twelve of the bottom 16 did not.
The Steelers last season ranked 11th in rushing yards. They also haven’t had a top-10 rushing season (in total yards) since Tomlin’s first year back in 2007.
“I certainly hope we continue to have a running game that’s one of our strengths,” Rooney said. “But bottom line: I hope we have an offense that can take advantage of whatever the defense is giving us. That’s the key.”
Such success is obviously what the Steelers hoped for out of Harris, their first-round pick in 2021. Harris produced four straight 1,000-yard seasons and ranks sixth in Steelers history with 4,312 yards.
But the Steelers declining Harris’ fifth-year option, coupled with Rooney’s comments, tells me a reunion isn’t likely.
“Najee is a good player,” Rooney said. “We’ll evaluate whether we can bring him back. He’s gonna have choices, too.
“But we have a job opening in that room that we’re gonna have to fill. Whether it’s Najee or somebody else, it’s gonna be an important position.”
The college try
You don’t need me to tell you about the importance of Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier when the Steelers finished second in the NFL in rushing yards during the 1974 and ’75 seasons.
Running the ball well has long been a mandate around here, carrying from those two to Super Bowl winners Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker and even Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers’ No. 1 back the last time they won a playoff game.
It also doesn’t have to be free agency. There are a bunch of available options come April in the NFL draft.
Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty of Boise State headlines the list, though the Steelers should probably use that level of pick on a more pressing need.
That said, there are intriguing next options such as North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo, Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson, Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson or the Ohio State duo of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson.
Evaluations on those guys vary. Some will assuredly require a pick that might be better spent on a wide receiver or defensive linemen. The point is the Steelers have choices.
One back who intrigues me due to previous pedigree and potential draft position is Ollie Gordon II out of Oklahoma State. He led all FBS backs with 1,732 yards in 2023 and paired that with 21 touchdowns. At that point, many saw Gordon as a first-round talent.
However, he rushed for just 880 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2024, his yards per carry average dropping from 6.1 to 4.6. Gordon was also arrested on suspicion of a DUI, something that could hurt his draft stock in conjunction with the drop in production.
Someone will still draft Gordon, who’s projected to go in the fourth round or later. If the Steelers are convinced he made a college kid mistake and that this year was an aberration, he could carry serious value.
There are other depth choices such as DJ Giddens of Kansas State and Devin Neal from Kansas, but again, the individual names aren’t the primary point, at least when compared to the big-picture need for the Steelers to get this right.
However it occurs, the Steelers shouldn’t treat running back like an accessory or a bonus if they happen to find one. Their inability to run the ball consistently in 2024 should be taken seriously, especially when you consider the upside other teams were able to find last offseason.
“It’s a position that’s important to us,” Rooney said. “Obviously it’s important to some other teams that have had success this year. Maybe it’s not as devalued as some might have thought.”
First Published: February 1, 2025, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: February 1, 2025, 8:43 p.m.
