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Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers leaned heavily on the running back position. The two-headed attack of Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell accounted for 1,495 rushing yards, 16 total touchdowns, 113 receptions and 819 receiving yards. New head coach Mike McCarthy won't have Gainwell this season but he's made some changes that could force a pair of interesting position battles during next month's training camp.
Warren is the incumbent and default "starter" in last season's two-back system. Warren has slimmed down in the offseason in hopes of adding a little additional explosion and speed to a game built on power and physicality. Warren went off the field on passing downs but is working hard to correct that as well.
McCarthy brought in Dowdle to replace Gianwell and perhaps supplant Warren as the starter. Dowdle has played for McCarthy before, knows the system and has been an overachiever in recent seasons. Warren vs Dowdle is going to be a battle to watch all the way through the preseason and could come down to who can win on third downs.
Johnson is trying to put his rookie season behind him and get a fresh start with a new head coach. Johnson came out of Iowa with huge numbers but so far his game hasn't translated to the NFL at all. Johnson is going to find himself in a position battle of his own in training camp and if he loses, could end up on practice squad or off the team.
Heidenreich was a surprise seventh-round pick out of Navy but he's looked great through minicamps. The comparisons to Christian McCaffrey are expected and Heidenreich's agility and quickness are truly elite. If things continue, he will be impossible to keep off the roster and might push Johnson for his spot.
We honestly doing know what to make of having a pure fullback on the roster but clearly McCarthy saw enough in Nowakowski to draft him so we have to assume McCarthy and the gang have a plan for him. The only question is, where does he fit in the 53-man roster and who is he taking a spot from?
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers training camp preview: Running backs
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Jaylen Warren
Warren is the incumbent and default "starter" in last season's two-back system. Warren has slimmed down in the offseason in hopes of adding a little additional explosion and speed to a game built on power and physicality. Warren went off the field on passing downs but is working hard to correct that as well.
Rico Dowdle
McCarthy brought in Dowdle to replace Gianwell and perhaps supplant Warren as the starter. Dowdle has played for McCarthy before, knows the system and has been an overachiever in recent seasons. Warren vs Dowdle is going to be a battle to watch all the way through the preseason and could come down to who can win on third downs.
Kaleb Johnson
Johnson is trying to put his rookie season behind him and get a fresh start with a new head coach. Johnson came out of Iowa with huge numbers but so far his game hasn't translated to the NFL at all. Johnson is going to find himself in a position battle of his own in training camp and if he loses, could end up on practice squad or off the team.
Eli Heidenreich
Heidenreich was a surprise seventh-round pick out of Navy but he's looked great through minicamps. The comparisons to Christian McCaffrey are expected and Heidenreich's agility and quickness are truly elite. If things continue, he will be impossible to keep off the roster and might push Johnson for his spot.
Riley Nowakowski (FB)
We honestly doing know what to make of having a pure fullback on the roster but clearly McCarthy saw enough in Nowakowski to draft him so we have to assume McCarthy and the gang have a plan for him. The only question is, where does he fit in the 53-man roster and who is he taking a spot from?
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers training camp preview: Running backs
Continue reading...
