The Pittsburgh Steelers have made several high-profile moves at running back recently, and head into the 2026 NFL Draft with 2 veterans playing on second contracts and one second-year player working on his rookie contract.
- So a premium pick is, probably, off the table in upcoming draft.
Yet, even a glance at Steelers history reveals that late round draft picks such as Dick Hoak, Rocky Bleier, Frank Pollard, Merril Hoge and Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala form a critical part of the franchise’s legacy at running back.
So does that mean that the Steelers will or should add to their running back depth chart, either early or late in the 2026 NFL Draft? Let’s take a look.
Jaylen Warren and Kaleb Johnson at OTAs. Photo Credit: X.com
Steelers Running Back Depth Chart Entering the 2026 NFL Draft – The Starter
In this age of AI it is not too hard to imagine someone prompting a major LLM agent such as Chat GPT about Jaylen Warren’s 2025 campaign and getting something like this (full disclosure, this was made up by me):
Although the Steelers thought enough of Jaylen Warren to give him a second contract on the eve of the 2025 season, the running back found himself eclipsed by free agent Kenneth Gainwell, who not only got playing time at Warren’s expense, he won the team MVP Award. In many ways the 2025 season could be considered to be a disappointing one for Jaylen Warren.
Or something like that. That conclusion, while logical, is wrong.
Jaylen Warren was easily one of the best players on a 2025 Steelers offense that was starved for playmakers. In his first year as a starter, Warren got more carries, rushed for more yards and at a higher yards-per-carry rate than 2024.
Jaylen Warren rushes. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
He also had a strong year receiving, and posted his best yards-from-scrimmage total of his career, and his best “success rate” for those of you who love meta stats, of his career. It is also important to note that he only fumbled once – and ball security had been one of the concerns about Warren as he took on a bigger role going into the season.
Steelers Running Back Depth Chart Entering the 2026 NFL Draft – The Backups
When the Steelers lost Kenneth Gainwell in free agency, they immediately turned to Rico Dowdle, a five year veteran coming off back-to-back 1000 yard rushing seasons. Steelers fans will remember him from the Cowboys’ 2024 win over the Steelers at Acrisure on Monday Night Football, where Dowdle out played Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
Behind Dowdle the Steelers have Kaleb Johnson, whom they drafted in the 4th round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Johnson’s rookie year was marred by his failing to field a live kick return which proved to be the turning point in the Steelers loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Kaleb Johnson rushes in his preseason debut. Photo Credit: AP via Tribune-Review
Johnson only got spot duty at running back in 28 games. And while he’s 2.5 yards-per-carry average is unimpressive, he did have a 50% success rate.
Technically the Steelers did sign a second running back in free agency, Travis Homer a 7-year veteran most recently out of Chicago. The Steelers however brought Homer to Pittsburgh as a core special teamer – he’s had 7 carries in the last two years and hasn’t cracked double digits since 2022.
Max Hurleman and Lew Nichols round out the Steelers off season depth chart at running back.
Steelers 2026 Draft Needs at Running Back
On paper the Steelers enter the 2026 NFL Draft with a solid running back depth chart led by Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle.
That gives them an established starter and a starter-capable backup with a developmental prospect behind them.
Steelers Draft Needs Scale 2023
The purist in me says, “The Steelers still need more depth” remembering that the Steelers last won a Super Bowl with Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore and Gary Russell all on their opening day roster.
And while that kind of running back depth might be desirable, it probably isn’t realistic in the NFL of 2026. If the Steelers can find good value on the middle or later rounds by adding a running back, they should avail themselves of the opportunity.
Still, they’ve got strong depth and the Steelers need at running back in the 2026 NFL Draft should be considered Fair.
