The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June and next up is their annual training camp, which gets underway in late July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of training camp, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time for you as part of a 30-post series. This Steelers roster preview, which includes outlooks for every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow.
The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers 2023 training camp are Madre Harper, Najee Harris, and Pressley Harvin III.
CB Madre Harper: The Steelers signed Harper, a former 2020 undrafted free agent out of Southern Illinois, to a Reserve/Future contract back in January. Prior to his arrival, he had been with the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants and Carolina Panthers, mostly as a practice squad member. Harper has played in 12 NFL games on his way to logging just 37 total defensive snaps, which all came during his 2020 rookie season. He has, however, logged 148 special teams snaps to date. A long cornerback, Harper measured in at his 2020 Pro Day at 6016, 196-pounds.
Outlook: With the Steelers selecting two cornerbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft in Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr., in addition to the addition of veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson in free agency, Harper has a very tough summer road ahead of him when it comes to making the 53-man roster. Barring a few injuries, Harper would likely need to beat out cornerback James Pierre for a 53-man roster spot this summer. Pierre is an above-average special teams player so Harper will likely need to shine in that phase of his game to improve his chances. That’s not totally unplausible. Realistically, Harper’s best shot at staying in Pittsburgh past the final cuts is as a practice squad player.
RB Najee Harris: While Harris did play in all 17 games again in 2022, the former first-round draft pick out of Alabama wasn’t fully healthy for a chunk of them. A foot injury from the early summer nagged Harris a good part of the first half of the 2022 season. Harris still managed to rush for 1,034 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022 on 272 carries, 39 fewer than his 2021 rookie season. Harris also caught 41 passes in 2022 for 229 yards and another three touchdowns. In total, Harris played 763 snaps in 2022, 217 fewer than he did in 2021.
Outlook: With the Steelers rebuilding their offensive line and identity in 2023, Harris could be primed for his best statistical season to date. He only needs to top 1,667 yards from scrimmage to essentially do that, which means an average of roughly 100 yards per game. Staying fully healthy will obviously be key for Harris in 2023. At least 320 total touches appear to be in the cards for Harris in 2023. However, the team will likely give him breathers along the way in games thanks to the emergence of his capable backup, Jaylen Warren. The Steelers need to decide whether they want to pick up Harris’ fifth-year option next offseason so it’s imperative that the running back performs well in 2023 if he wants to ensure such a transaction happens.
P Pressley Harvin III: In 2022, Harvin, who was selected by the Steelers in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft, saw both his yards per punt (44.5) and net yards per punt (41.1) averages increase slightly over his rookie season. Even so, Harvin was still wildly inconsistent overall in 2022. He did set a new career long of 69 yards, however, and did not have a punt blocked. He punted 69 times in total in 2022. He also played in all 17 regular-season games, which is something he failed to do in 2021 due to personal reasons.
Outlook: This offseason, the Steelers brought in some legitimate summer competition for Harvin in the form of punter Braden Mann, who was with the New York Jets for the last three seasons. That certainly means that Harvin will need to earn his job this summer. Additionally, should Harvin ultimately win the Steelers’ punting job this summer, he’ll need to punt consistently and strong throughout the 2023 season if he wants to last on the roster all season. He has a big leg; it’s just that he hasn’t been very consistent with it to date.
Previous Posts In This Series:
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Montravius Adams, Spencer Anderson, Calvin Austin III
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Luq Barcoo, Keeanu Benton, Chris Boswell
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Miles Boykin, Ja’Marcus Bradley, Hakeem Butler
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Jordan Byrd, Dan Chisena, Le’Raven Clark
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Mason Cole, Dylan Cook, James Daniels
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Duke Dawson, Kevin Dotson, William Dunkle
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Breiden Fehoko, Dez Fitzpatrick, Minkah Fitzpatrick
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry, Markus Golden
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Alfonzo Graham, Kendrick Green, Darius Hagans
