The nickname is catchy, and a totally appropriate one for running back duos that has stood the test of time.
“Thunder and lightning,” Rico Dowdle repeated the other day while standing off to the side of a practice field at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
In his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dowdle is teaming up with fifth-year holdover Steelers running back Jaylen Warren for what on paper is a quality pairing at their position.
But if the twosome’s nickname is “Thunder and Lightning,” who’s the Thunder and who’s the Lightning? After all, each has an identical listed weight (215), and each had a very similar time in the 40-yard dash at his respective NFL combine (4.54-4.55).
Neither, in other words, stands out all that much as a “Thunder” or a “Lightning.”
Perhaps a new nickname is needed the Warren-Dowdle tandem that figures to provide the bulk of the touches for the 2026 Steelers offense. For now, though, these two are blending as well as, say, peanut butter and jelly?
“We reached out to each other last year during the season and kind of gave each other respect,” Dowdle said, “but it’s been great getting here and working with him, getting to know him personally and coming in and putting the work in with him, learning every day.”
New Steelers RB Rico Dowdle on joining Jaylen Warren in becoming a tandem at the position pic.twitter.com/iybxP1O5Nw
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 28, 2026
Dowdle joined the Steelers on a two-year, $12.25 million contract after eclipsing 1,000 rushing yards for the second straight season. Warren, meanwhile, was one of only nine NFL players to have at least 900 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards last season — the first he played after signing a two-year, $12 million extension that runs through the 2027 season.
“You’ve got two guys who’ve been productive in this league,” Dowdle said. “It’s always good to have two guys who can go out there and get the job done at a high level.”
This isn’t the first RB timeshare Dowdle has been part of in the NFL. This is the third time over the past three seasons, in fact, that Dowdle has paired with another back of some repute.
After joining the Dallas Cowboys under then-new coach Mike McCarthy as an undrafted free agent in 2020, he was behind then-franchise stalwart Ezekiel Elliott and then-emerging future starter Tony Pollard on the depth chart. Dowdle broke out in 2024, McCarthy’s last season in Dallas, following the free-agency departure of Pollard.
During Dallas’ 2024 season opener, Elliott started and out-carried Dowdle. But Dowdle quickly became the preferred option and ended up with 1,079 rushing yards and 249 receiving yards to lead the team in yards from scrimmage.
Then, Dowdle joined the Carolina Panthers as a free agent in 2025. Again, he entered the season as the No. 2 running back (this time to Chuba Hubbard).
Again, he ended up leading his team in yards from scrimmage (1,373).
This season, again on a new team, Dowdle is teaming up with a running back who started 15 games last season and, yes, led the Steelers in yards from scrimmage (1,291).
If that sounds as if it might be awkward, the two deny there’s any such feelings.
“I’ve seen some tape popping out from last year when he was going off,” Warren said, referencing Dowdle’s 389 rushing yards over a two-game October stretch when Hubbard was out injured. “Because (Dowdle is) undrafted, we kind of have the same story, so it’s a blessing to be with another guy with the same story.”
The aforementioned similarities in size and speed between Dowdle and Warren complicate the idea of dividing up their roles in the offense. Warren spent part of the early stretch of his career as the “third-down back” complementing Najee Harris.
Last season, Warren earned the official start in all but one of the games he played for the Steelers, but another running back, Kenneth Gainwell, earned team MVP honors.
How do the Steelers plan to split up snaps and touches between Dowdle and Warren?
“That’s a great question,” running backs coach Ramon Chinyoung said. “Per game, it will define itself — what scheme we’re going to highlight, what scheme we’re going to basically (feature) in that game or things of that nature.
“When it comes to Jaylen and Rico, (McCarthy) will define (roles). He wants two fresh backs at all times, and so we’ll find ways to make sure that we get them on the field and they have ample amount of equal time on the field. But it’ll define itself by scheme and by game plan.”
Warren and Dowdle each said neither has been given an indication from the coaching staff about its plans for how much, when and in what capacity each will be deployed this season.
But being that each has thrived while used in conjunction with a different respective running mate during each of the past two seasons, it’s not unreasonable to believe that this partnership, too, will blossom.
“He’s a guy with a good skill set. I’m excited to work with Rico,” Warren said. “We both were undrafted, so we’ve both got that chip on our shoulder and want to give it our all every day.”