The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2021 offseason practices concluded last week. Next up for the team is their annual training camp, which should get underway in the latter part of July. Ahead of training camp, we will preview the team’s 90-man roster three players at a time for you as part of a 30-post series. This Steelers 90-man roster preview that includes outlooks for each player goes alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow along with.
The next three players we will preview today are Najee Harris, Pressley Harvin III, and Dwayne Haskins.
RB Najee Harris — The Steelers made Harris their first-round selection in 2021. During the 2020 season, Harris, an Alabama product, rushed for 1,387 yards and 24 touchdowns and he also caught 36 passes for another 346 yards and three touchdowns. For his college career, Harris, who is listed at 6014, 230 pounds, rushed for 3,764 yards and 44 touchdowns in addition to catching 73 passes for 702 yards and another 10 touchdowns. Harris also registered 26 runs of 20 yards or longer during his college career at Alabama. He is the first running back that the Steelers have drafted in the first round since Rashard Mendenhall in 2008.
Outlook: As a rookie, Harris is expected to touch the football around 300 time in total for the Steelers. He should be the Steelers’ bell cow running back right out of the chute in 2021. That means logging at least 80 percent of all offensive snaps every week. Harris should have a good chance at setting new Steelers’ rookie rushing and total yards from scrimmage records in 2021 if he stays healthy. There’s also a chance that Harris winds up in the running to be voted the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2021, as well.
P Pressley Harvin III — Harvin, the Steelers seventh round draft pick this year, is listed at a whopping 6’0″, 255 pounds, and was a four-year starter at Georgia Tech. For his career, he averaged 44.7 yards per punt. Last season, he exploded for a career-best 48 yards per attempt. He won the Ray Guy Award for top punter in college football and was a unanimous All-American selection. Harvin was widely considered to be one of the top three punters in the 2021 draft class.
Outlook: Harvin will be expected to beat out punter Jordan Berry this summer in training camp. The Steelers attempted to stray from Berry at the start of the 2020 season but the punter the veteran player they signed to replace him, Dustin Colquitt, was even worse. The Steelers re-signed Berry a few weeks into the 2020 season, and he remained the team’s punter the rest of the year. The Steelers invested a seventh-round draft pick in Harvin, so odds are good he’ll stick barring any wild inconsistencies during training camp and the preseason.
QB Dwayne Haskins — The Steelers signed Haskins, a former first round draft in 2019 out of Ohio State by the Washington Football Team, to a one-year contract back for the minimum in March following his release from the team that originally selected him. Haskins struggled mightily with Washington during the 2020 season, completing just 61% of his passes with five touchdowns and seven interceptions. In his 16 career NFL starts, Haskins has just 12 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions. With Washington, Haskins had 2,804 passing yards and a 3-10 record as a starter.
Outlook: Haskins should battle fellow Steelers backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs during training camp and the preseason for the right to be the team’s third-string signal caller in 2021. Haskins possesses a great arm, but he lacks good and consistent accuracy. He also has some issues reading NFL defenses to date and adjusting to what he sees on the fly. Haskins is a cheap lottery ticket for the Steelers. Should Haskins wind up beating out Dobbs this summer, the former first round draft pick might have a shot to be the team’s starter in 2022. It’s hard to imagine Haskins playing any meaningful snaps in 2021 for the Steelers unless injuries are suffered by fellow quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph.
Previous Posts In Series
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: DeMarkus Acy, Marcus Allen, Tyson Alualu
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Abdullah Anderson, Kalen Ballage, Zach Banner
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Jordan Berry, Chris Boswell, Antoine Brooks Jr.
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Shakur Brown, Isaiah Buggs, Calvin Bundage
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Devin Bush, Rico Bussey, Kameron Canaday
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: T.J. Carter, Demarcus Christmas, Chase Claypool
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Aviante Collins, Rashaad Coward, Anthony Coyle
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Carlos Davis, Stephen Denmark, Joshua Dobbs
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Kevin Dotson, Eric Ebron, Terrell Edmunds
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Trey Edmunds, B.J. Finney, Minkah Fitzpatrick
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry, Mark Gilbert
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Ulysees Gilbert III, Joe Haden, Joe Haeg
