The Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping they drafted an elite running back this year in Alabama’s Najee Harris, selected in the first round Thursday night. In making him their selection, Harris became the first running back drafted in the first round by the Steelers since Rashard Mendenall in 2008. Since he was drafted, Harris’ mentor, former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch, had some interesting comments about his protégé in the final segment of a series of videos orchestrated by AL.com.
“Physically, I mean, shit, he a God damn freak of nature,” Lynch said of Harris. “I could see him putting up numbers. You know, I would love to see him, you know, Rookie of the Year type-shit. Like, you feel me? All of the work that he’s putting in, I could see those type of accolades for him. That’s my son. My big son. My tall son.”
Those are some big accolades from Lynch. There are a lot of NFL analysts who feel Harris will ultimately become a big star in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has had problems with its running game the last several seasons.
If Harris can stay healthy as a rookie, he might just have a legitimate shot at being the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2021. He might just break the Steelers’ rookie rushing record, as well. That’s been in place a long time, and belongs to Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris.
You can watch the fourth and final installment below that includes Lynch talking about Harris.
