The Pittsburgh Steelers have Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell and Cordarrelle Patterson ready to replace Najee Harris at running back. But all three of those players totaled 1,442 yards from scrimmage last year.

Harris racked up 1,326 by himself. Now he is a Los Angeles Charger, so the Steelers may be looking for some help at the position. According to our former pro and college scout Matt Williamson, this is a good year to find it in the NFL Draft.

“As good of a running back class as you can ever imagine,” Williamson said on our most recent NFL pre-draft podcast. “Strong at the top. Several potential first-rounders. I heard (ESPN’s) Mel Kiper say the other day that he has 35 running backs with draftable grades. You’re going to find undrafted free agents that are quality players. You’re going to get fourth-round guys in the sixth round.”

Yet for as much talent as there is available to the Steelers at the position this year, don’t be surprised if Warren still opens up 2025 as the Week 1 starter.

“This class is great. I’m almost certain the Steelers will dip their toe in those waters at some point. But I don’t know that they will get a Day 1 starter ahead of Warren,” Williamson said. “It might be a committee: Gainwell becomes a No. 3 and a fourth-rounder that you have a third-round grade is the pick. I’d be fine with that too, because you only have (six) picks, and I’m more and more in the boat of ‘Don’t invest heavily at the running back position.’ I have a feeling (Steelers general manager) Omar Khan agrees with me.”

Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton are widely assumed to be first-round targets. But Williamson doesn’t see Jeanty falling out of the top 10 and predicts that Hampton will go no lower than the Broncos at No. 20, one spot before the Steelers.

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Many see the Ohio State tandem of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins as second-round targets. As of now, the Steelers don’t have a second-round selection. If the Steelers are sitting at pick No. 83 overall in the third round with their next selection, and they are tempted to go with a running back, here are some names to keep in mind:

• Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson (6-foot-1/224 pounds): “I give him a 25% chance of being there, and if so, you’d have to strongly consider it,” Williamson said. “He is an outside-zone specialist. He is big, and he can get to the corner. It’s just that his highlight film doesn’t blow you away. Really efficient, wears guys down. Only ran a 4.57 (40-yard-dash), which I’m fine with. He’s not going to bust off a bunch of long plays. It gets real old tackling him by the end of the day, though.”

• Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo (5-foot-10/219 pounds): “I like him. Everybody would have a Skattebo jersey. He runs like Johnny Knoxville. He loves contact and puts himself in harm’s way a ton. But he’s slow, and I just don’t know that I can trust him to stay healthy. He’s not a special athlete. He’s easy to root for. He’s a little bit more of a fictional character than he is (a player) you just trust your entire running game to. But, third or fourth round? OK.”

• Kansas State’s D.J. Giddens (6-feet/212 pounds): “He’s interesting,” Williamson said. “He’s a little raw. He runs a little high. But he’s really athletic and designed also for the outside-zone scheme. Get him on the edge. He gets there quickly, and he’s quick to turn up the field. I can see it. I’m probably thinking fourth round for him, but that’s a really rich neighborhood of running backs.”

• Kansas’ Devin Neal (5-foot-11/213 pounds): “He’s a good one. Very well rounded, excellent in the passing game, very athletic, but not fast.”

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Some other backs Williamson mentioned include Miami’s Damien Martinez, Bhayshul Tuten (Virginia Tech), R.J. Harvey (UCF), Jordan James from Oregon and Dylan Sampson (Tennessee).

Also, in the podcast, Williamson gives us a scouting report on those players. Plus he tells us why the Steelers may consider the offensive line for a mid-round pick, even though the team was heavily invested there in the draft last year.