PITTSBURGH -- Gage Gundy was scrolling through social media two weeks ago when a familiar sight popped up on his feed.
There was Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren, hitting a hole and streaking down the field for a 74-yard touchdown.
Gage, the son of Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy, saw that plenty from the stands in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2021 when Warren had a breakout season as Oklahoma State's primary back and earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors. Gage, 18, copied a link to the video and sent it to Mike.
"Jaylen might be the best running back in the NFL," the youngest Gundy wrote in a message to his dad.
Mike Gundy was in the middle of preparing for the Cowboys' upcoming game against BYU with a Big 12 Championship game berth on the line when the text arrived from Gage. He glanced at the notification and went back to work. But later that night, he checked to see what Gage sent him. That, in turn, sent him down a Warren highlight rabbit hole.
"I pulled up the game, and he had 12 carries for like 149 yards, and he averaged like 14 yards a carry," the elder Gundy said. "He's lighting it up.
"The reason he's successful is because he's very humble. He's just very thankful for what he has. ... That gives him a chance."
Since he barreled his way onto the Steelers roster with a head-turning training camp as a rookie in 2022, Warren has worked his way from being a third-down, change-of-pace back to one half of a fearsome running back tandem with 2021 first-round pick Najee Harris.
Among running back duos in the league who have at least 50 carries each, the duo rank third in yards per touch (4.8), second in yards after contact per touch (2.1) and first in rushing yards over expected per touch, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
Warren possesses the invaluable combination of strength, finesse and selflessness that's made him a key piece of the Steelers' recent ground game -- and offensive -- surge. The Steelers are 5-0 over the past two seasons when Warren gets double-digit carries, including a 3-0 mark this year. An undrafted free agent who took the long way to the pros from junior college to Utah State to Oklahoma State and once overlooked by everyone from college coaches to NFL scouts to opposing defenses, Warren is now impossible to ignore.
"Personally, I hope that they're not game-planning for him so he can keep ripping off 74- yard runs," linebacker Elandon Roberts said. "I'm like, yeah, don't game plan. Yeah, he's not that good. Trust me. It was an accident. Keep not doing it. So we can rip another one off. "... I don't know what other teams are thinking, but I will assume, because we're all pros, that they're starting to say, 'OK, let's make sure we up on him. They got two backs that can go.'"
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As a rookie, Warren played 330 snaps and averaged 19 offensive snaps per game. He finished with 379 yards and averaged 4.4 yards per carry. But in 11 games this season, he's 25 snaps away from matching his rookie snap count, and he's rushed for 542 yards averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
"I think his center of gravity, he bounces off tackles," defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. "He's able to keep his feet churning, and he's always turning a three-yard run into a six-yard gain."
By comparison, Harris has rushed for 42 more yards but has 50 more carries. Harris has also played 357 snaps to Warren's 305 this season. Over the last three games, Warren has played 89 snaps to Harris' 99. Harris has 216 rushing yards over that span, while Warren has 279.
There's the obvious temptation to compare the two head-to-head, to argue that the undrafted Warren should be the Steelers' top back over the first-round pick who's campaigned to play as many snaps as possible. But the reality is the Steelers have found the most success with a balanced attack between the two of them.
"Both of 'em are workhorses," offensive tackle Broderick Jones said. "Both of 'em work hard. Having both of them being able to rotate, it's not a fall off when one comes in and one goes out. That's a plus."
It's not just the yards gained that makes Warren a great running back. He's also willing to do the dirty work. And he excels at it.
"We ask him to do a lot in pass protection, maybe more than any other back probably across the league," center Mason Cole said. "Against the Rams, we were asking him to block a true defensive end the whole time, basically. And we'll put him on bigs often because he can handle it, and I think the fact that he does that and doesn't bitch about it, doesn't complain and likes the challenge of it kind of speaks to who he is as a person and a player."
Listed at 5-foot-8, 225 pounds, Warren might look a little undersized to have such a big role in pass protection. But underestimate him at your own risk.
"He's a little small, but he's thick," Cole said. "He's got no neck. He's like a little pitbull. I think at first it kind of shocked us. First Cincinnati game last year, he stepped up and got a backer in the A gap and almost took his head off. From there on out we like, oh, OK, this guy's got it.
"Besides running the ball and some of that stuff, the protection stuff has been so good and I think that speaks about his character and just his willingness to help the team."
Roberts is plenty familiar with Warren's strength. Even before the two battled in the backs-on-backers drill at training camp this year, Roberts saw Warren pop off the tape when he was with the Miami Dolphins last season and his defense had to gameplan for Warren ahead of their Week 7 matchup.
"We were just saying, even in pass pro, man, we know [number] 30 may be a little guy, but he brings the pop. You've seen it on film. Last year, somebody was coming in there and he hit the dog mess out of him. We knew what type of pass pro protector he was, and we knew what type of back he was. I think this year, he's just been able to have the opportunities."
Against the Las Vegas Raiders, Warren's block against Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby gave Pickett enough time to find wide receiver Calvin Austin III for a long touchdown.
"His blitz pickup has always been exciting and exceptional," coach Mike Tomlin said the week after that game.
Not everyone appreciates Warren's hard hits. So far this season, Warren has been fined several times for them.
"It's unbelievable how aggressive he is," Pickett said. "He gets all those fines because of how aggressive he is. I don't know how the fines work. I think it's ridiculous, but he's just an aggressive player, and he goes and gets guys."
The last time Warren took the field at Acrisure Stadium three weeks ago, he ran out of the tunnel with the starters for the first time, an honor Tomlin told him he'd earned for his consistency and effort at the team meeting the night before. Warren sprinted out to the roar of more than 67,000 fans as his name was called, pausing briefly to drop to his stomach and mime being on a surfboard to honor his Polynesian heritage. Then, he rode a wave of momentum to his first 100-yard game.
That wave hasn't crested yet. Three weeks in a row, the Steelers run game has posted season-high marks. Warren is a significant part of that, and he'll need to continue being a factor for the offense to keep moving in the right direction.
"That's what you want to see, and that's what we've always been pushing to do," Pickett said after the duo put up 205 rushing yards against the Packers. "When we have that kind of balance, I think we're going to be a tough out."
When he joined the Steelers as an undrafted free agent a year and a half ago, becoming a starter wasn't in Warren's plan. Neither was a 100-yard game. But with quiet determination and his signature work-ethic, Warren accomplished both. And he's just getting started.
"I don't usually expect anything or envision anything," Warren said. "I kind of just play. I put my best foot forward and whatever happens, happens."