I’ll be the first to admit it. I was never the biggest Jaylen Warren fan.

I respected the way he played. I respected his toughness. I respected the fact that every time he touched the football, he ran like somebody had personally disrespected him.

But I never looked at Warren as a true feature back.

I do now.

Five games into this season, Warren isn’t just playing good football. He’s playing like one of the best running backs in the NFL, and if the Pittsburgh Steelers want to maximize what this offense can become, there shouldn’t be much debate anymore.

The offense needs to run through Jaylen Warren.

 

He Earned the Opportunity

Sometimes the NFL makes things more complicated than they need to be.

We spend so much time talking about rotations, keeping guys fresh and splitting touches that we forget the simplest rule in sports: Feed the hot hand.

Right now, Warren isn’t just hot. He’s on fire.

Through five games, Warren has rushed for more than 400 yards while averaging nearly six yards per carry. Add his 230 receiving yards, and he has already produced around 640 yards from scrimmage.

And this isn’t one monster game inflating the numbers.

Against Cincinnati, he had 176 yards from scrimmage. Against Cleveland, 126. Then against Indianapolis, Warren exploded for 188 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns, including a 50-yard touchdown run and an 80-yard touchdown reception.

That’s three straight games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage.

That’s production. More importantly, that’s consistency.

 

He’s Running With a Chip on His Shoulder

You can see something different in Warren right now.

He’s running like a man who waited a long time for somebody to finally give him the football and get out of his way.

Remember, Warren wasn’t some first-round pick who entered the NFL with a franchise expecting him to become its featured running back.

He had to earn everything.

He spent years sharing the backfield. He waited his turn. Even entering this season, the Steelers brought in Rico Dowdle after back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

Then Dowdle got injured, Warren got his opportunity, and Warren basically said: This is my backfield now.

That’s exactly how he should feel.

 

When Rico Dowdle Returns, Don’t Mess With This

This is where I believe the Steelers have to be careful.

Rico Dowdle is a good NFL running back. This isn’t disrespect toward him.

He rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of the previous two seasons. He was brought to Pittsburgh for a reason.

But football isn’t about making sure everybody gets equal opportunities. It’s about winning.

And when Dowdle returns, I don’t want to see Pittsburgh suddenly turn this into some 50-50 backfield just because that might have been the original plan.

Plans change. Warren changed the plan.

If we’re talking carries, I want something closer to 90-10 than 50-50 right now.

Warren is RB1. Dowdle should be the primary backup. Give Warren a breather when he needs one. Let Dowdle spell him and keep Warren’s legs fresh.

But don’t start taking Warren off the field for entire series just to manufacture a committee.

Why mess with something that’s working?

 

The Numbers Say Warren Is Playing at an Elite Level

This isn’t just the eye test, either.

Warren entered this week among the NFL’s leading rushers, and Pro Football Focus has him averaging 5.9 yards per carry with 4.1 yards after contact per attempt. His rushing grade ranks among the best qualified running backs in football.

Think about that.

More than four yards after contact. That tells you exactly what you’re watching.

He’s not simply benefiting from giant holes and running untouched through the secondary. He’s creating yards. He’s breaking tackles. He’s finishing runs. He’s turning ordinary plays into explosive ones. And because Warren can catch the football, defenses can’t automatically diagnose the play based on whether he’s in the backfield.

That versatility makes him even more valuable to this offense.

 

Pittsburgh Finally Has an Offensive Identity

This might be the biggest thing for me.

The Steelers don’t need to spend the next two months trying to figure out who they are offensively.

They’ve found it. Jaylen Warren is the identity.

Run the football. Get Warren involved in the passing game. Let Aaron Rodgers operate off that. Use play action. Force defenses to bring another defender into the box. Then attack the matchups that creates outside.

It doesn’t have to be complicated.

When you have a running back playing this well, make the defense prove it can stop him before you decide to stop him yourself.

 

The Next Three Games Are Huge

Pittsburgh is 3-2, and the next stretch gives the Steelers an opportunity to put themselves in an excellent position heading into their bye.

They have Tampa Bay next, followed by New Orleans in Paris and then Cleveland at home before the Week 9 bye.

Win those three and you’re sitting at 6-2.

That’s when you’re no longer talking about simply hanging around. You’re talking about positioning yourself for a legitimate run.

And to me, the formula should be obvious.

Ride Jaylen Warren.

Don’t overthink it. Don’t worry about making the carries look balanced on the stat sheet. Don’t interrupt the rhythm because another player comes back from injury.

Ride the guy who has earned it.

 

Warren Waited for This

That’s probably what I respect most about what we’re seeing.

Jaylen Warren waited.

He wasn’t handed the Steelers’ backfield. He didn’t arrive with the hype. He didn’t complain because somebody else was getting carries.

He kept producing whenever his number was called.

Now his opportunity has finally arrived, and he’s showing everybody what he can do when he’s treated like a feature running back.

I wasn’t sold on Jaylen Warren before this season. I’m sold now.

And if the Steelers are smart, they won’t make this harder than it needs to be.

Give him the football.

Let Dowdle be the change-of-pace back when he returns. Let Warren keep playing with that chip on his shoulder.

Because through five games, Jaylen Warren isn’t playing like a guy who deserves a bigger role.

He’s playing like an All-Pro.

And right now, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense should belong to him.