Jaylen Warren And Rico Dowdle: Can Both Be Top-24 RBs?
Ian Hartitz checks down on the Pittsburgh Steelers RB room, highlighting the fantasy football relevance for both Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle.
Fantasy football managers have wanted to see Jaylen Warren get well north of 250 touches to see what he can do with his three-down skill set. It'll have to be another year, as Rico Dowdle joins the Steelers to give them a solid 1-2 punch out of the backfield. Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his Pittsburgh Steelers Team Preview.
Join Our Newsletter
Trusted by 400,000+ fantasy football players. Get access to Fantasy Life's free award winning newsletter and tools, all in one step.
By registering or logging in, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Can both Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle return solid RB2 fantasy production?
- RB1: Jaylen Warren (RB29)
- RB2: Rico Dowdle (RB32)
- RB3: Kaleb Johnson
- RB4: Eli Heidenreich
It sure seems like the Steelers plan to keep both of their running backs involved on a weekly basis. RB coach Ramon Chinyoung had the following to say about their potential split in early June:
"But when it comes to Jaylen and Rico, Coach (McCarthy) will define that … He wants two fresh backs at all times. We'll find ways to make sure we get them on the field, and they have an ample amount of equal time on the field. But it'll define itself by scheme, by game plan."
While fantasy managers would always prefer their running backs get every single available touch, that's not really realistic outside of a few backfields in the year 2026—and it didn't stop Warren from racking up 1,291 total yards and 8 touchdowns (RB19 in PPR points per game) even with 2025 team MVP Kenneth Gainwell siphoning away 199 combined carries and targets on his own.
The bull case for Warren is that he continues to make the most out of his rush attempts and emerges as the primary pass-catching back with Gainwell out of the picture. Consider: Warren ranks among the league's top-10 backs in yards per carry (4.7), yards after contact per carry (3.3) and tackles avoided per carry (27.8%) since entering the NFL. He also has 167 career receptions to his name and ranks sixth in yards per route run (1.45) at the position.
This is a damn good football player!
All that said: McCarthy is VERY familiar with one running back in Pittsburgh, and it's not Jaylen Warren. Enter: Rico Dowdle, who has racked up 1,300-plus total yards in back-to-back seasons and has minimal overall wear-and-tear after spending the first four years of his career as a distant backup. Credit to Dowdle for serving as one of the league's very best running backs during the first half of last season; he put together three BOOMS against the Dolphins (234 total yards, 1 TD), Cowboys (239 total yards, 1 TD) and Packers (141 total yards, 2 TDs).
The good news for both: This is a fairly fantasy-friendly environment for running backs. Sure, old man Rodgers isn't exactly expected to lead a top-5 scoring offense, but this group still graded out as the eighth-best situation in my "Running Back Supporting Cast Rating" ranks thanks to STRONG finishes in RB yards before contact per carry (11th) and overall team RB target share (2nd).
Ultimately, it's this latter environment point that has me ready and willing to try to leave every draft I'm in with a Steelers RB. Warren's potential to be the primary pass-down back earns him the overall nod in the Fantasy Life ranks, but both players possess the sort of explosive, three-down ability worth betting on in Rounds 7-8 in fantasy land.
Also note: 2025 third-round rookie Kaleb Johnson got doghoused early in his rookie season due to special teams miscues, and he later struggled to get much of anything going on the ground. Overall, Johnson's 2.5 yards per carry ranked dead last among 83 RBs with at least 25 carries last season. He seems like someone who is an injury away from being an injury away from having too much fantasy relevance, especially if seventh-round rookie Eli Heidenreich—who had 1,000 RECEIVING yards at NAVY—proves capable of siphoning away pass-down work.
Go FantasyLife+
Your league is unique. Your advice should be too. Get personalized tools, rankings, and projections tailored to your fantasy football league settings.
Players Mentioned in this Article
Published Updated