The Pittsburgh Steelers made a nice splash this offseason in free agency, landing veteran running back Rico Dowdle on a two-year deal to help replace team MVP Kenneth Gainwell after he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That underrated move reunites Dowdle with first-year Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, whom he played under during his time in Dallas. Now, the big question is how things are split up between incumbent starting running back Jaylen Warren and Dowdle, who rushed for over 1,000 yards for the Carolina Panthers last season.
In Mike McCarthy’s 5 seasons with the Cowboys (RB relative % of total touches) #Steelers
’24:
Dowdle – 76.1%
Elliott – 23.9%’23:
Pollard – 74.3%
Dowdle – 25.7%’22:
Elliott – 51.7%
Pollard – 48.3%’21:
Elliott – 62.7%
Pollard – 37.3%’20:
Elliott – 69.7%
Pollard – 30.3%— Ross McCorkle (@Ross_McCorkle) May 25, 2026
Warren is coming off a career-best 952 rushing yards last season as the Steelers’ top rusher, but there seems to be a general buzz building about Dowdle likely being the lead guy for the Black and Gold this season.
Through three training camp practices, longtime Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly sees Rico Dowdle leading the charge at running back.
“Yeah, just guessing just how they employ them on the field, rep-wise so far, it looks like he’s gonna be the main guy,” Kaboly said of Dowdle, according to video via 93.7 The Fan. “That main guy doesn’t mean 90% of the snaps, maybe more 65 to 70. That’s the way I look at it right now. There’s a lot of talk about how violent of a runner he is. He not as big as you think he is, and he’s quicker than at least I thought he was. At least more nimble.
“So I think Jaylen Warren’s a really good football player. So, I think they’ll get him both out there, but I think that’ll definitely will be [the guy].
Kaboly is making that prediction based on his observations from camp, but according to Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora, the reps have been split pretty evenly. And particularly in the early installation sessions offensively, Warren has been the top running back in the mix.
On Friday at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Warren was the lead back, according to Kozora, getting the first-team reps in the walkthrough. Of course, this could all change once the pads come on Monday morning as Dowdle projects as the better fit physically in McCarthy’s West Coast rushing attack.
Just don’t discount Warren right now. Some beat writers believe he’s earned first crack at the lead-back role, while others think he could easily slide back into the Gainwell role as the pass catcher and third-down back. Time will tell.