One question Mike McCarthy and the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to answer this preseason is who will be the team’s top running back. 2025 leading rusher Jaylen Warren will be back, but the Steelers signed 1,000-yard rusher Rico Dowdle in NFL free agency over the offseason.
McCarthy raved about Dowdle when asked about his fit in the Steelers offense Tuesday.
“Rico is a hell of a football player,” McCarthy told reporters to start his answer on Dowdle. “Rico was a young player for me in Dallas.
“Had injuries his first two years, but you could see the toughness, the instinct. I think the first time he touched the ball, he took a kickoff about 60, 70 yards.
“So, I mean, he’s just a hell of a football player.”
Dowdle rushed for 1,000 yards in McCarthy’s final season as Dallas Cowboys head coach in 2024. He reached that milestone again in his only campaign with the Carolina Panthers last year.
The past two seasons, Dowdle has averaged 4.6 yards per carry while eclipsing 1,300 yards from scrimmage twice. He has also scored 12 total touchdowns.
Mike McCarthy Speaks Highly of RB Rico Dowdle
GettyThe Pittsburgh Steelers added Rico Dowdle in NFL free agency this offseason.
The Steelers added Dowdle to replace Kenneth Gainwell on the running back depth chart this offseason. But Dowdle is a different type of player.
Gainwell lined up in the Steelers backfield mostly in passing situations last season. That worked incredibly well, as Gainwell led the team with 73 receptions.
Dowdle is a between-the-tacklers runner similar to Warren. But that’s what McCarthy loves about him.
While Pittsburgh’s top two backs will be more similar than they were a year ago, that will make them interchangeable to play on any down.
“To be able to get Rico here and to pair him with Jaylen [Warren], it excites me because I know my personal preference as a play caller,” McCarthy told the media Tuesday morning. “I don’t want to have to worry about what back is in there. So, if it’s third down, we run our stuff and both of those guys give us that flexibility.
“You want to get them [both] to touch the ball, especially in the first and second down. They’re good out of the backfield, so we really got a dynamic one-two punch, in my opinion.”
Warren is a strong pass-catcher in his own right. He caught 40 passes for 333 yards with two scores last season.
In 2023 while playing more of a complementary role to Najee Harris, Warren had 61 catches for 370 yards.
It sounds as though both Dowdle and Warren will get their chances to run between the tackles and catch the ball in space in Pittsburgh’s 2026 offense.
McCarthy Addresses 2nd-Year RB Kaleb Johnson
GettySteelers head coach Mike McCarthy discussed Kaleb Johnson’s efforts to improve in pass protection this offseason.
McCarthy focused most of his positivity on the team’s top two running backs Tuesday. That could be noteworthy, as the Steelers also have 2025 third-round running back Kaleb Johnson still on the roster.
Johnson has told the media he has focused his offseason on improving his receiving and pass protection skills. McCarthy didn’t say Johnson hasn’t shown strides in that area. But Tuesday, the head coach also didn’t go to bat for the second-year back.
“I mean it’s so early. I understand why we’re asking questions, but we go into these meetings,” said McCarthy. “We’ve had one padded at practice, and this is not really the time to do player evaluation.
“I’m not picking on [the] question. I’m happy with the energy. I’m happy with the approach.”
It will be interesting to see how Johnson progresses this month. The running back had high expectations as a rookie but failed to live up to them. He made a major gaffe on special teams in Week 2 and by the end of the 2025 season, became a regular healthy scratch.
As McCarthy said, it’s still early. But it appears it could take a significant injury to Dowdle or Warren for Johnson to play a significant role this season.
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