One of the early standouts at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp has been running back Jaylen Warren. We all knew Warren was an exceptional running back but he is entering year three and eyeing a new contract so you can see just after a few practices, Warren has stepped up his game.

A huge part of that has been in Warren’s conditioning. Head coach Mike Tomlin is a huge advocate of coming to camp in great shape as opposed to working into condition during camp and it’s clear Warren took that to heart in his offseason workouts.

Suppose Warren takes the next step in his own evolution as an NFL running back. In that case, he’s going to make it tough on the coaches not to make him the starting running back and he’s going to make it tough on the front office in giving Harris any significant contract extension.

Last season Warren was second on the team in rushing yards with 784 but down the stretch was the team’s best back. It’s a race between Harris and Warren to see who ends up the darling of Arthur Smith’s new offense to see which guy ends up the lead back. But if early training camp is any indication, it could easily be Warren.

Story originally appeared on Steelers Wire