The 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers are built to run the ball successfully. With additions like Isaac Seumalo, Nate Herbig, Broderick Jones and Darnell Washington, the Steelers focused on bringing in players who can run block and do a damn good job of it. That’s why 2023 is going to be the most important season of Najee Harris’ career.
The Steelers spent a first-round pick on Harris back in 2021, and so far, the results have been more disappointing than promising. While Harris has had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, his efficiency has been poor. He only averaged 3.9 yards per carry as a rookie and that number went down to 3.8 in his second season. With his fifth-year option needing to be decided after the season, another meh season out of Harris could lead to his future in Pittsburgh being clouded.
For the record, I’m confident in Harris having his most productive season to date and improving his efficiency. He has all the tools in place to make it happen, and we’ve seen flashes of what a fully healthy Harris is capable of in front of a decent offensive line.
He topped five yards per carry in two games in the second half of the season last year when Pittsburgh’s offensive line finally started to gel and the run game began to get going a little bit. And the line and run blocking is going to be even better this season, so there should be holes for Harris. He runs with power, as evidenced by his 51 broken tackles over his first two seasons in the league, and is productive as a receiver with 115 receptions in his career.
But the efficiency on the ground hasn’t been there, and Harris isn’t a consensus top-ten back in football. If you spend first-round draft capital on a running back, the goal is for them to be one of the best backs in the league heading into their third year. Harris was hamstrung by poor offensive line play as a rookie and a Lisfranc injury that affected him early last season, so there’s evidence you can point to as to why he isn’t as productive as Pittsburgh would hope.
He’s healthy entering 2023 with a team that added a bevy of talented blockers and is committed to running the ball down the throat of the opposition. If he can’t be a guy who gets at least 4.2-4.5 yards per carry next season, I think the Steelers might have to think long and hard about his future.
If they decline his fifth-year option, he’ll still be with the team in 2024, and he could prove himself worthy of an extension with a big year. But more likely, his role would decrease and Jaylen Warren, assuming he has a solid year in 2023, would play a bigger role, all but spelling the end of Harris’ tenure in Pittsburgh.
That’s why 2023 is going to be so important. Harris has to prove that he can be more efficient, especially this season with the team leaning on the run and adding players who specialize in the run game.
He has the talent and ability to do so, and the team should put him in a position to succeed. While I think he will, he has to prove it on the field. A big season from Harris should also mean a big season and a playoff appearance for the Steelers, but if he continues to be just average, the season could be a little bit of a letdown.
