The Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the best running back tandems in the NFL last season, yet CBS Sports' latest running back rankings suggests that only one of them was worthy of making their list.
Warren was ranked 20th in Garrett Podell's top 20, while Harris was listed as a "notable mention" despite registering his third consecutive 1,000-yard season in 2023.
Podell mentioned Warren as the most elusive running back last season (35.6% tackle avoidance rate) and suggested that Warren would receive a significantly bigger workload this season under Arthur Smith, based on Harris' performance last year.
"Backfield mate Najee Harris' 4.1 yards per carry ranked 27th out of those 49 in 2023, so perhaps Warren will be given a larger volume of responsibility from new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith in 2024."
In his analysis, he noted that Warren averaged 5.3 yards per carry last season, which was "third most in the NFL among the 49 running backs with at least 100 carries last season." Podell forgot to add that Warren had only 149 carries, compared to Harris' 255, which ranked sixth among running backs in 2023.
Podell also failed to acknowledge the fact that Harris finished fifth among running backs with eight 20+ yard carries, while leading the team in touchdowns with eight. Though it may not seem appealing from a visual perspective, Harris' numbers are worthy of a top-10 ranking rather than a mere notable mention.
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