Whether Aaron Rodgers or Mason Rudolph is the quarterback of the Steelers in 2025, the team will only go as far as the running game takes them. And with Najee Harris moving on in free agency, there's a lot riding on a running back room dealing with turnover and an offensive line in development.

Now that Harris is in his home state playing with the Chargers, Jaylen Warren is now in line to be the feature back. He'll split touches with third-round pick Kaleb Johnson and free-agent signing Kenneth Gainwell, but Warren wasn't tagged with a second-round tender as a restricted free agent this spring for no reason. After earning a spot as an undrafted free agent to amassing 2,568 yards from scrimmage while averaging 4.8 yards per carry over three NFL seasons, he's earned it.

"It's a blessing to get this far into the league," Warren said this week at OTAs. "But, it's onto this next season. That's what I'm focused on."

That work ethic Warren showed three years ago hasn't changed. It shows in that mentality right there. Grateful for what's happened, but also remaining focused on the next task. Despite Warren now clearly being the No. 1 running back during OTAs, complacency is not in his nature. 

"I'm still earning a spot," Warren said. "That's how I look at it."

That work ethic sets the tone for the rest of the running back room. Johnson is working hard on his pass protection, picking the brains of Warren and Gainwell any time he possibly can. Warren's trying to learn what he can from Gainwell, especially coming fresh off a Super Bowl title with the Eagles.

And, the chemistry with the offensive line is a big part of putting everything together, as well.

"You can tell the camaraderie is building," Warren said. "The chemistry is there. I'm excited to run behind them this year."

While the running back room has some new pieces and how that works out is pretty crucial, almost nothing is as important as how this offensive line develops this season. The organization has invested two first-round picks and one second-round pick into the unit.

And now, Mason McCormick has gone from fourth-round pick out of South Dakota State to full-time starter by Year 2. While he's not as highly profiled as Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu or Zach Frazier, he feels the same pressure as they do: This line has to get better:

"We've been developing. It's definitely time for us to step up," McCormick said following today's OTAs. "We're excited. We're ready."

While the 2024 season will mostly be remembered as a huge disappointment, highlighted by the five-game collapse to close it out, it may end up being a necessary, painful step in the process of getting better.

McCormick, Frazier and Fautanu were all rookies. It's never easy for rookies to come in and figure things out right away. In fact, that seldom happens. They go from a full-fledged draft process to being thrown into the deep end of the NFL pool, and they have to learn how to swim right away.

"Last year as a rookie, there's kind of a lot of thinking," McCormick said. "How do I hit this block? How do I do this? I just want all that stuff to become second nature so I can really fine tune the little details and stuff like that."

This year, there will be less thinking. They've all been through this before. The only rookie in the mix this time around is Johnson at running back, but there's Warren and Gainwell to carry the load while Johnson picks up the NFL game.

These three weeks at OTAs and minicamp has been productive for those who need it most. And, by the time training camp comes along on July 23, they need to be able to hit the ground running. This is when the foundation can start being laid for the 2025 season. That's why it's no accident that every single one of these guys, except for Isaac Seumalo, are present at OTAs.

"We're just going to keep attacking every day," McCormick said. "The result will keep getting better."