Steelers Scenario Series, Part 3: Best and Worst Cases for the Running Backs

The 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers roster is an intriguing mix of fresh talent and seasoned veterans on both sides of the ball, and each position group will have it’s own challenges to develop into an efficient, productive squad like the Front Office and Coaching Staff envision them to be. The Steelers don’t do hard resets and they never plan to be bad, and that philosophy brings with it the expectation for each group to provide winning level play every year.

With recent Draft picks looking to find their footing, new Free Agent acquisitions getting acclimated, and familiar faces returning for another year, there’s a lot of variables that play into fielding a winning roster. In this series, we’ll identify a “lynchpin” player (player who’s success or failure will most heavily impact the group) and a rising star for each position, as well as determine the best- and worst-case scenarios for the 2025 season.

Up next: the Running Backs

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Offensive Line
Quarterbacks

ON THE ROSTER

Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson, Kenneth Gainwell, Trey Sermon, Jonathan Ward, Max Hurleman, Evan Hull, Cordarelle Patterson (KR)

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Lynchpin Player: Jaylen Warren
Rising Star: Kaleb Johnson

BEST CASE SCENARIO

The duo of the veteran Warren and the Rookie Kaleb Johnson is decisively more explosive than the Najee Harris-led backfields of the last few years, operating behind a steadily improving OL that regularly opens lanes that the two can take advantage of. Their fit with OC Arthur Smith’s scheme gives the Steelers an advantage whenever they choose to run the ball. Gainwell continues to prove he’s one of the better change-of-pace backs in football, giving the team another weapon on 3rd downs to spell Warren and Johnson. Throughout the course of the season, Johnson starts to take command of the backfield as a true workhorse-type back, and Warren, who has proven to be able to handle multiple roles out of the backfield, keeps the Rookie fresh and makes plenty of explosive plays on his own. The running game leads the attack for a rejuvenated offense, and the QB Aaron Rodgers, WR DK Metcalf, TE Pat Freiermuth, and co. give the team enough juice on the outside to keep teams from stacking the box.

WORST CASE SCENARIO

Jaylen Warren isn’t built for a larger workload than he was given during the Najee years and he struggles with injuries and/or effectiveness when given the reigns in 2025. Kaleb Johnson isn’t ready for the upgraded defenses he’ll face in the NFL with the speed and strength of pursuing D-linemen and Linebackers. The OL struggles with so many young, unproven starters, and the Aaron Rodgers-led passing attack lacks the consistency and big-play ability to keep defenses from keying in on the run. The offense regularly sputters with the inability to create any explosives and sustain drives.