• Jaylen Warren dominates on the ground in most situations: The Pittsburgh Steelers running back ranks in the 90th percentile or better in half of the metrics tracked in PFF's player profile series.
• Sean Payton’s running backs provide great value: Payton’s running backs have consistently finished among the top 16 fantasy running backs.
• Dominate your fantasy draft: Subscribe to PFF+ to get full access to PFF’s suite of fantasy football tools, including the fantasy mock draft simulator, live draft assistant, fantasy draft rankings, cheat sheets and more! Click here to subscribe!
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
These three potential breakout players have youth on their side, an ADP from the fifth to the 10th rounds and are ranked notably higher than their ADP.
Last updated: 7:15 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 31
Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers (ADP: 8.02, From consensus ADP)
Warren, who went undrafted in 2022, quickly secured the third-down job for the Steelers. Despite this, the team did not give him many opportunities in the passing game, as he recorded either one or zero receptions in half of his games.
He played a limited number of snaps but was the fifth-highest-graded running back in 2022, partly due to his ability to force missed tackles. Warren also excelled as a runner, breaking long gains despite averaging fewer than five carries per game.
In 2023, Warren's utilization increased significantly, recording more carries per game, more routes per game and a higher target rate. His rushing numbers improved with the larger sample size, and his receiving performance generally increased, as well.
Last season, Warren served as the primary third-down and two-minute drill back. He was the only running back in that role to consistently become a fantasy starter. His main competition remains Najee Harris, as it has been throughout his career.
Warren played more on early downs last season than the previous year, and his playing time could continue to increase. Warren's performance has been significantly better than Harris' in almost every situation, though he has only a slight lead against eight-man boxes. Harris has outperformed Warren on zone plays but nothing else.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.