{"id":936134,"date":"2026-07-04T04:27:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T04:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/936134\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T04:27:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T04:27:14","slug":"steelers-rb-duo-named-one-of-nfls-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/936134\/","title":{"rendered":"Steelers RB Duo Named One Of NFL’s Best"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Steelers moved quickly to replace RB Kenneth Gainwell this offseason after he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, inking Rico Dowdle to a two-year deal. Dowdle is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons (he can make NFL history if he hits that mark again), and he\u2019ll pair with Jaylen Warren in Pittsburgh\u2019s backfield. It\u2019s a duo that SI\u2019s Matt Verderame believes<\/a> is one of the NFL\u2019s best, ranking it No. 2 overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith both Dowdle and Warren in the backfield, quarterback Aaron Rodgers can rely heavily on the ground game to set up the big play,\u201d Verderame writes.<\/p>\n

The duo finished behind the Los Angeles Rams\u2019 Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, who landed in the top spot.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a much more positive ranking than recent ones for the Steelers\u2019 running back room, with Warren Sharp ranking it as the 20th-best<\/a> in the NFL. Warren nearly eclipsed 1,000 yards last season as well, running for 958 while adding 40 receptions. While it might seem aggressive to rank the duo as the second-best in the NFL, not many teams can boast two near-1,000-yard rushers.<\/p>\n

Both Warren and Dowdle can also contribute in the passing game and there won\u2019t be a drop-off if one comes in to replace the other. That\u2019s a huge plus in the modern NFL with almost every team utilizing multiple running backs, and it\u2019s a reason for optimism for the Steelers this season.<\/p>\n

Strong running back rooms have been a Steelers hallmark in recent years. Before the team had Gainwell last season, Najee Harris and Warren led its backfield. A talented running back room will take pressure off Aaron Rodgers and the passing game and, as Verderame noted, can help set up big plays.<\/p>\n

While the Steelers underwent plenty of change this offseason with a new coaching staff, keeping a strong running back room was clearly a priority. It helps that Dowdle has plenty of familiarity with HC Mike McCarthy and others, including running backs coach Ramon Chinyoung Sr., from his time with the Dallas Cowboys.<\/p>\n

With a revamped receiver group in addition to a strong running back room, the Steelers should be better offensively this season. That will go a long way toward their quest to repeat as AFC North champions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pittsburgh Steelers moved quickly to replace RB Kenneth Gainwell this offseason after he signed with the Tampa…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":919814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[7,1736,9407,6,520,57,2360,7152,2348,426,691],"class_list":["post-936134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-football","tag-jaylen-warren","tag-matt-verderame","tag-nfl","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-pittsburghsteelers","tag-rico-dowdle","tag-sports-illustrated","tag-steelers","tag-trending"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116859820025549383","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=936134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/919814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=936134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=936134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=936134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}