Jaylen Warren appears to have surpassed Benny Snell as running back number two on the depth chart. Warren, during practice took snaps as the number two guy despite his fumble against the Seahawks. This information was posted first by RotoWire Staff on CBS sports.
Jaylen Warren Is Impressing In Camp
Jaylen warren was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent rookie. He hasn’t looked back since given the opportunity. Like George Pickens, Warren has been making plays left and right for the Steelers in practice. It was thought he would be a depth piece and Benny Snell still had control of the number two spot. Well, Snell is back to practice and Warren still ran with the first team offense with Najee Harris still sidelined with a minor injury. The Steelers may be playing it safe with Snell and not pushing their luck.
Benny Snell
Benny Snell was a good running back at the University of Kentucky. He was known for being a bruising back who played hard and fought for every single yard. Sounded like the perfect fit for the Steelers. A hard nose gritty player willing to put his body on the line. The issue I see with Snell is he lacks speed and explosiveness. It’s understandable to blame the lack of offensive line stability however, Snell was constantly being stuffed behind the line and Najee had a great rookie campaign. Ive seen time and time again where Snell would have a hole up the middle but seemed to be just a step too slow to get to the hole in time.
Jaylen Warren Preseason Debut
Warren looked great in his preseason debut. Often compared to Maurice Jones-drew he is a bowling ball of a running back. He has great foot work and he’s a smaller guy to the point where he is hard to find behind the offensive linemen. He had 6 carried 34 yards to go with 4 catches 30 yards and an amazing touchdown. The thing that stood out to me the most was how he just always found the hole and bounced off of defenders. He did have a fumble, but hey, he is a undrafted free agent rookie.
This kind of thing could be coached out of a guy. He came in and made good plays when needed and just had the burst on the handoff that Benny Snell does not have. So far Warren is making a big case to be number two behind Najee Harris. Warren will need to stay consistent in practice and come out this weekend against the Jaguars hot. Do everything production wise he did last week and just make sure he does not fumble.
Conclusion
Up to this point I love Jaylen Warren and the change of pace back ability he has to bring to the Steelers. He will definitely give Benny Snell a run for his money. As long as the ball security does not become a recurring issue there is no doubt I see him being the backup to Najee Harris.
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