Jaylen Warren

Pittsburgh signed Rico Dowdle to a two-year deal and Mike McCarthy's staff projects Dowdle to handle the bulk of early-down carries, relegating Warren to a complementary/passing-down role and capping his rushing ceiling.

Warren enters his age-27 season, the typical RB value-decline window, with no second contract leverage and a value model already flagging the cliff.

Warren's target share fell to 3% over the final stretch despite a stable ~46% snap share; if his receiving role erodes, his PPR floor — the main thing propping up his value — disappears.

Warren's pass-catching skill set secures a defined passing-down/two-minute role that provides a weekly PPR floor even inside a committee, and he slimmed to 208 lbs this offseason to add burst.

Warren is the clear next man up; a Dowdle injury or ineffectiveness would restore him to a near-bell-cow workload, as he showed when leading the 2025 backfield to career highs (211 carries, 958 yds, 8 TD).