After celebrating a Super Bowl championship ring during his tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles, running back Kenneth Gainwell has taken his talents cross-state to join the Pittsburgh Steelers in the offseason. Selected as a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Gainwell never quite secured the opportunity to win the outright starting role in Philadelphia, though he consistently supplied solid production operating in a valuable backup capacity. As he transitions to his new franchise in Pittsburgh, Gainwell’s path to achieving a more significant volume of touches appears slightly clearer than it would have been had he remained buried behind superstar Saquon Barkley, though the competition remains fierce.
Jaylen Warren enters the 2025 campaign as the favorite to handle the starting duties for the Steelers, while the organization also utilized a third-round selection on Iowa product Kaleb Johnson to help fill the void left by the departure of Najee Harris. Throughout his time in Philadelphia, Gainwell earned the trust of the coaching staff specifically on passing downs, a notable feat given his somewhat subpar efficiency as a receiver, reflected in a career average of just 5.2 yards per target. Observers have long noted that something eventually has to give in that department—either his receiving efficiency will show marked improvement or his overall playing time will inevitably come under internal review.
In truth, Gainwell’s playing time was already facing strict evaluation once the Eagles aggressively secured Saquon Barkley during free agency, as Barkley immediately established himself as one of the very best passing-down running backs across the entire National Football League. Gainwell and rookie fourth-round pick Will Shipley emerged as the leading candidates to fill depth roles behind the Eagles’ newly minted workhorse back, leaving any potential fantasy football or on-field value entirely dependent upon Barkley occasionally missing time due to injury or rest.
Although he undoubtedly served as a valuable piece of depth for the Philadelphia roster, analysts have frequently suggested that Gainwell might ultimately require a complete change of scenery in order to truly flourish at the professional level. His primary selling point as an offensive weapon has always been his pass-catching ability, yet the Philadelphia offensive scheme under head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts has historically not shown an extensive tendency to manufacture targets for its running backs. Instead, the passing game often looks downfield rather than checking down underneath, and would-be short targets frequently turn into designed rushing attempts or scrambles for Jalen Hurts himself.
As a pure runner, Gainwell historically found it difficult to consistently compete with backfield newcomers like Rashaad Penny or D’Andre Swift during various points of his tenure, leaving him frequently locked in battles with veteran Boston Scott for the primary third-string designation. While players like Penny and Swift have occasionally been viewed as carrying a fragile health profile, even if one or both were forced to miss extended action, Gainwell was projected to split repetitions rather than assume a dominant bell-cow workload.
Looking back at his developmental trajectory, Gainwell initially showed occasional flashes of genuine productivity as a rookie fifth-round draft pick, though he was never able to firmly establish a consistent, every-down role within the Philadelphia offensive backfield. During his early campaigns, he topped 80 yards from scrimmage on three distinct occasions—specifically in Weeks 4, 13, and 18—which accounted for nearly half of his total offensive yardage for the entire season. While he mostly saw his playing time concentrated on passing downs, he was arguably even more effective as a traditional runner, churning out an efficient 4.3 yards per carry and finding the end zone five times on just 68 rushing attempts, compared to his 5.1 yards per target and five dropped passes as a receiver.
The uncertainty surrounding his early-career role was compounded by the fact that Philadelphia management never appeared to fully view former backfield leader Miles Sanders as a true, undisputed number one running back, which initially seemed to open the door for younger alternatives. Stylistically, scouts often compared Gainwell’s skill set to that of his former Memphis collegiate teammate Tony Pollard, noting similar traits including sub-4.5 speed. However, unlike Pollard’s early situation in Dallas, Gainwell did not have to contend with an entrenched veteran holding a massive contract and elite pedigree like Ezekiel Elliott sitting directly ahead of him on the depth chart.
As the latest successful offensive product to emerge from the University of Memphis running back factory, Gainwell followed in the professional footsteps of players like Antonio Gibson, Tony Pollard, and Darrell Henderson into the NFL. While he may not possess the absolute raw breakaway speed of some of those explosive runners, an impressive 4.44-second time in the 40-yard dash at his pre-draft pro day suggested that Gainwell certainly knew how to move in space. During his standout college career, he demonstrated exceptional elusiveness, natural balance, and sharp field vision. Despite being slightly undersized for a traditional every-down NFL running back, he was consistently more than willing to lower his pads and attempt to grind out tough yards between the tackles when called upon by his coaches.
While that gritty running style does not always translate directly against significantly stronger and faster defenders at the professional level, Gainwell entered the league with a distinct physical advantage regarding career longevity. Having logged only one season of significant, heavy touches during his time at Memphis after he opted out of the 2020 college football campaign due to health concerns, accumulated wear and tear on his body was never an immediate concern for NFL talent evaluators. Furthermore, his well-documented receiving and pass-protection prowess provided him with a clear blueprint to carve out an immediate role on third downs, offering a viable path to securing less physically punishing touches while contributing to early-down offensive packages.
Unfortunately, upon being selected in the fifth round by Philadelphia, he immediately landed in a remarkably crowded backfield environment. With Miles Sanders holding down the top spot on the depth chart, an experienced and reliable backup in Boston Scott already established in the locker room, and the dynamic rushing threat of quarterback Jalen Hurts taking a substantial share of design runs and red-zone opportunities, the path to sustained playing time was precarious from day one. Compounding matters further, the broader structural tendencies of the Eagles offense meant the unit was never guaranteed to operate as a statistical hotbed for running back production.
Now turning the page to his new chapter with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gainwell carries those hard-earned lessons from Philadelphia across the state. With a Super Bowl ring already secured and a fresh opportunity awaiting him in the Steel City behind Jaylen Warren and rookie Kaleb Johnson, the former Memphis standout aims to prove that he can translate his reliable backup traits and pass-catching background into a more prominent and lasting role within a new offensive system.
