So far this season, the injury bug has hit the NFL hard. The Atlanta Falcons began the season with their third-string quarterback, and Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Jaxson Dart were all lost to injuries of varying severity in Week 2 alone.
The Pittsburgh Steelers still have quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but their running back room has been decimated. They’d looked to have strengthened that department in the offseason, replacing Kenneth Gainwell at RB2 with Rico Dowdle, who’d just come off of back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. But Dowdle was carted off with a toe injury in Pittsburgh’s Week 2 loss to the New England Patriots, and neither he nor Jaylen Warren participated in Wednesday’s practice, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
It’s unclear if Warren is dealing with any specific ailment, but his absence from practice raises the possibility that the Steelers could be without both Warren and Dowdle in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Without them, Pittsburgh would be extremely thin at running back.
Who would start if Warren and Dowdle sit?
In addition to Warren and Dowdle, there are two other running backs on the Steelers’ roster. Veteran Travis Homer has amassed 490 yards and one score on the ground and 475 yards and two touchdowns through the air across his eight NFL seasons, so he’d seemingly have the inside track at the job. Rookie Eli Heidenreich could also be an option; although he’s solely been used on special teams this season, the Steelers used a seventh-round pick on him, so they must believe in him to some extent.
The bulk of Homer’s production came in the 2021 season, when he appeared in 14 of the Seattle Seahawks’ games, and he racked up 90 total yards and a score in a Week 13 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. He also had one start against the Carolina Panthers the following season, taking nine carries for 26 yards and adding four catches for 25 yards. He’s predominantly a change-of-pace back, much like Warren in the first three seasons of his career when he operated the short end of a time-share with Najee Harris.
Heidenreich is more of a receiving back than even Homer. He recorded more receiving than rushing yards in each of his three seasons at Navy, managing 51 catches for 941 yards (a conference-leading 18.5 yards per reception) during his senior season. That season, he ranked just third on the Midshipmen in rushing attempts behind dual-threat quarterback Blake Horvath and fullback Alex Tecza, but he had three times as many receptions as any other player. If he plays on Sunday, I’d expect him to be used primarily as a receiver.
Are either worth picking up in fantasy?
Neither is particularly worth starting against the Bengals.
Although Homer has been efficient throughout his career, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, there’s a reason he hasn’t been trusted with a bigger workload. He never showed much elusiveness in college despite his athleticism and has averaged just 1.5 yards after contact per attempt in his career, a significantly lower rate than either Warren or Dowdle.
Similarly, Heidenreich almost solely operated from jet sweeps in college, but NFL defensive linemen and cornerbacks are far more mobile than those he faced in the American Athletic Conference. Although he’s competitive, he lacks the straight-line speed and elusiveness to be particularly effective as a runner. He managed just 3.3 yards per carry in the preseason despite mostly playing against backups.
If neither Warren nor Dowdle is healthy, I expect Pittsburgh to lean on its aerial attack. Rodgers certainly hasn’t been good this season, completing just 59.5% of his passes for 408 yards, one touchdown, and one interception so far. However, his teams have typically operated a pass-first system for most of his career, as he has ranked in the top 10 in passing attempts in 10 of the 15 seasons in which he has started at least 10 games. Rodgers did target running backs frequently last season, ranking dead last in intended air yards per passing attempt as Gainwell ranked second on the team in targets, but he’s been a much more aggressive passer this season under Mike McCarthy.
Cincinnati’s defense is also much-improved. The Bengals allowed the most FPTS per game to opposing running backs last season and ranked second-to-last by Pro Football Focus’ run defense grades, but so far this season, they’ve given up the 14th-fewest and have been the fourth-best team by PFF’s standards. Given that they now roster Dexter Lawrence, a three-time Pro Bowler with the New York Giants, that improvement could be sustainable. Cincinnati also lacks cornerback depth beyond DJ Turner II, so Rodgers’ wideouts could be in for a good game.
