After four years of posting 1,000 rushing yards, Najee Harris left for the Los Angeles Chargers. The Steelers brought in Kenneth Gainwell, but the backfield only consists of him, Jaylen Warren, and a potentially-eventual-cut Cordarrelle Patterson. It’s why the team is scouring the Earth for a running back and why the sleeper prospect Pittsburgh should draft is Oregon’s Jordan James.

Pittsburgh has enough talent with Gainwell and Warren that they don’t exactly need a “feature back.” One of those might be nice to have, but there are a couple of areas the Steelers might target in the draft. Defensive line, quarterback, and receiver are all spots the Steelers could look to upgrade before they look at running back.

James isn’t a top-round pick, allowing the team to fix other needs before landing him on Day Three.

Why Jordan James?

James was a fun player to watch during his time at Oregon. At just 5094, 205 pounds, he’s not the biggest back by any means. But he plays with strength and makes up for any lack of size with his agility. He’s a guy that can make you miss in a phone booth. A quick runner who eats up yards in the open field, James runs without hesitation.

While his smaller stature can hurt him, it does help him keep a low pad level, and he’s often able to pick up yards after contact. He runs with good speed, and if the line is clogged with defenders, he’s not afraid to squeeze his way through. When watching him play, James shows impressive strength for his small size. Just take a look at how he bounces off defenders in the play below.

With all of that, he can also break plays open with his speed. He’s not the fastest guy in the world, as his 4.55 40-time suggests. Still, he just eats up yards when the defense allows any space in front of him. Looking at the Steelers’ offense specifically, there are reasons to think he’d fit well.

In his third and final year at Oregon in 2024, James was incredibly productive. He played all 14 games for the Ducks and had 1,267 rushing yards on 233 attempts, good for an average of 5.4 per carry. James added 26 receptions and 209 receiving yards while scoring 15 total times. He doesn’t get the same recognition during this draft cycle as some of his teammates, but he was absolutely a key cog in that offense for a Ducks team ranked No. 1 for most of 2024.

Earlier this offseason, I took a deeper look at James’ game.

How Does Jordan James Fit With Pittsburgh?

You can only take a guy if he fits what you want to do offensively, and James does. At Oregon, James played in a zone scheme. That’s something he understands really well. Jones has great vision, understands how to set up his blocks, and quickly breaks through the line of scrimmage once he sees an opening. He runs with patience as well.

Arthur Smith isn’t exclusively going to run a zone scheme, and there would be other things James would have to do in the offense if drafted. However, it’s easy to see him fitting into Smith’s offense. James thrived in the zone scheme at Oregon and would see something similar in Pittsburgh. He’d also be running behind an offensive line with some promising pieces on it, including Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, and Troy Fautanu, who’s set to return after missing essentially his whole rookie season.

In the passing game, James brings value as well. His route-tree isn’t a big strength, and most of his pass-catching duties at Oregon revolved around simple checkdowns. However, he lined up wide a few times for the Ducks and ran routes on the boundary. James’ bread and butter isn’t as a receiving back, but it’s something he can offer.

Fitting into the Steelers’ backfield would be interesting. They’re not identical, but you could argue that he, Jaylen Warren, and Kenneth Gainwell all have similar traits. With James, the Steelers wouldn’t necessarily be getting a guy who will transform the RB room.

That’s not a bad thing. All three backs have reasons to believe they would fit well in Smith’s offense. Using them on a rotational basis would keep them fresh. And although James isn’t one of the more tantalizing prospects at the top of the draft, Gainwell and Warren can still be a better backfield than what Pittsburgh had with Harris and Warren.

Gainwell is on a cheap, one-year deal, and Warren is only tied to the Steelers for 2025. In 2026, there’s a chance neither of the two will be in Pittsburgh. If drafted, James would be under contract for the next four years. So, although the running back room wouldn’t be extremely versatile in 2025, it could still be in the years after.

Where Will He Be Drafted?

James is definitely going to be a guy available on the last day of the draft. I gave him a fourth-round grade in my scouting report, but he could certainly go lower than that. The running back class is especially deep this year, so expect James to be on the board as late as the sixth round.

This would be good for the Steelers. They’ve met with several top quarterback prospects and need to add to the defensive line. With George Pickens’ free agency looming, the receiver position could be another area they target. They could address all of those positions early and still draft a talented running back like Jordan James towards the end.