In terms of distance traveled, Jaylen Warren relocated about 10 feet in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room.
The distance traveled in his young NFL career over the past year, however, might be impossible to calculate.
A year ago, Warren was among a handful of undrafted rookie prospects trying to earn a spot on the Steelers’ roster. His locker during offseason workouts was a temporary stall situated in the middle of the locker room.
“I was right there,” Warren said Thursday, pointing to an empty spot that no longer houses a stall. “Yep, by myself.”
These days, Warren dresses along the back wall of UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, an area shared by other running backs and wide receivers. Warren has occupied that space since he made earned that 53-man roster spot in the 2022 preseason.
Although he is established as the No. 2 running back and complementary piece to starter Najee Harris, Warren hasn’t forgotten how far he’s come in the past year — on the field and in the locker room.
“I don’t think I’ve earned anything,” Warren said. “My goal is to keep that mindset my whole career however long that lasts.”
It already has lasted longer than Warren envisioned when he signed with the Steelers as a rookie free agent a few hours after the 2022 NFL Draft concluded. After spending two years at Utah State and one at Oklahoma State, the 5-foot-8, 215-pound Warren joined a team that had Harris entrenched as the starter, plus holdovers in Benny Snell Jr, Anthony McFarland and Terrell Edmunds. He also was joined in the running backs room by another undrafted rookie, Mateo Durant.
“Was I expecting to be in this position? No,” Warren said. “But when I go into things, I try not to expect it because that’s how you get disappointed. I try to leave it to whatever God’s plan is.”
The dominoes began to fall in Warren’s favor when Edmunds was released in favor of veteran Jeremy McNichols, who was injured less than a week into camp and headed to injured reserve. Durant failed to impress, and camp additions Max Borghi and Master Teague fell by the wayside.
Warren did enough in the preseason with his team-high 16 carries that the Steelers elected to keep him instead of McFarland. Not only did he make the roster, but Warren also supplanted Snell as the No. 2 back.
That designation was important given that coach Mike Tomlin vowed to reduce Harris’ workload after he led the NFL with 381 touches as a rookie. Harris had 68 fewer touches last season although he still ranked No. 6 in that category.
Warren had 105 touches, carrying 77 times for 379 yards — a position-high 4.9 average per carry — and catching 28 of 33 targets for 214 yards. And for a team intent on protecting rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, Warren wasn’t afraid to take on pass rushers in his role as a third-down back.
“We appreciate anybody who is going to stay in there and protect with us,” center Mason Cole said. “He’s really good (at pass protection). If he’s supposed to chip somebody, he’s going to chip that guy and give him a good hit.”
Warren’s biggest contributions came when the Steelers won their final four games to finish 9-8. He had 11 carries for 38 yards and a touchdown at Carolina, and he had a career-high 76 yards rushing and 98 total yards at Baltimore.
Warren said he was told to work on improving his pass-catching skills during the offseason, so he spent a month in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., getting pointers from a receivers coach.
When he got to offseason workouts, Warren discovered he may enjoy a more prominent role in the Steelers offense. He said the Steelers have installed some packages that allow him and Harris to be on the field at the same time.
“Hopefully, we can confuse (defenses) by our different styles of play,” Warren said. “They’ll be surprised with the many things we can do with the ball back there.”
It’s a scenario Warren couldn’t have envisioned a year ago when he was dressing in the middle of the locker room and trying to do anything positive on the field to get noticed by coaches.
“To me, the great part is it’s already been a year,” he said. “How fast a year could go by and how much a year can change your life. That’s what I reflect on.”
