Fantasy Football Player Notes

Jaylen Warren should once again have something close to a half share of the Pittsburgh backfield, with his tag-team partner now rookie Kaleb Johnson instead of Najee Harris. Warren is 5-8, 215 pounds, so he isn't cut out to handle 20 carries a game. But Warren has averaged 61.7 scrimmage yards per game over the last two years while sharing work with Harris, who didn't miss any games over that stretch. Warren has averaged 4.8 yards per carry over his NFL career but has never averaged more than 8.8 carries per game in any of his three NFL seasons. The workload may not expand significantly, but perhaps we can squeeze a few more touchdowns out of Warren, who's scored only six TDs in 48 career games.

Rookie Kaleb Johnson is expected to replace Najee Harris as the Steelers' primary early-down back. Johnson was a committee back his first two years at Iowa, then broke out with 240-1,537-21 rushing last fall. He's a powerful downhill runner who's hard to bring down if you hit him high. It's easy to envision him being an effective goal-line back in the NFL. A good fit for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's zone-running scheme in Pittsburgh, Johnson is a patient runner who reads his blocks well. He doesn't have great long speed, doesn't change speeds often or make sharp cuts. Still, Johnson landed in a favorable spot and could make a big impact right away.