Pundits, fans and even quarterback Aaron Rodgers have called for Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren to receive more touches. But if Warren feels the same way, he’s not letting the public know.
Warren addressed his role in the Steelers offense in front of reporters Friday, two days prior to the team meeting the Cincinnati Bengals in a critical rematch. Warren made clear he aims to maximize the opportunities he gets, not hoping for more.
“I just make sure that every and any play I am in for that I make some shake,” Warren told reporters, via Triblive.com’s Chris Adamski. “I don’t like to calculate how many plays I’m out of a game; I just know that if I’m in on this play, I’m focused on that play.”
Warren has posted 474 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground while playing 270 offensive snaps this season. Warren has also registered 23 catches for 214 yards with another score in the passing game.
The veteran leads Steelers running backs in snaps. While missing one game this season, he has played 52.12% of the team’s offensive snaps in 2025.
Kenneth Gainwell is second among Steelers running backs with 227 offensive snaps. That’s 43.82% of the team’s snaps on offense.
Will Jaylen Warren Get More Touches in Week 11?
Coming into the season, pundits expected the Steelers to be a “ground and pound” offense. But that hasn’t exactly been the team’s formula in the first half of the 2025 regular season.
While the Steelers are 26th in pass attempts, they are also just 29th in rushing attempts. Pittsburgh is also 29th in yards per carry and 30th in total rushing yards.
One of the issues is the Steelers just simply aren’t running enough plays on offense overall. The team is last in the NFL in offensive plays at 495 in nine games.
The Steelers aren’t running enough because they don’t have the ball enough. Furthermore, there’s not a lot of touches to go around for any of Pittsburgh’s offensive weapons.
Still, Rodgers has stressed Warren needs the ball more.
“[Warren]’s a talented guy, and we got to give him more touches,” Rodgers told the media after the team’s Week 10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
How Do the Steelers Get Warren More Touches?
It’s easy to state Warren needs the ball more. How the Steelers do that is more complicated.
No one has more touches than Warren for Pittsburgh this season, and yet, the Steelers arguably have one of the worst offenses in the league. One could argue the running back is a big reason why the Steelers aren’t running with more efficiency or posting more yards.
Head coach Mike Tomlin, though, put it in simple terms while speaking to reporters Tuesday. If the Steelers can convert more third downs, then Warren will get more opportunities.
The Steelers were 2-for-11 on third down in Week 10. They are also 7-for-33 (21.2%) on third down over the past three games.
“We win more third downs, we’ll get Jaylen [Warren] more touches,” Tomlin told reporters Tuesday. “It’s as simple as that.
“Jaylen was having the trajectory of a good day in LA, but we didn’t convert enough third downs for you to really, really feel it.”
Warren averaged five yards per carry against the Chargers but only had 14 attempts because the team was behind the entire second half.
The good news is Warren could be in line for a big Sunday. During the team’s first matchup with the Bengals during Week 7, Warren posted 127 yards, averaging 7.9 yards per carry.
Steelers’ Jaylen Warren Speaks out on His Touches, Snaps Before Week 11