Through his first two seasons in the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris has cracked 1,000 yards rushing and shown flashes of being a dominant running back. But overall, he’s been one of the least efficient running backs in the NFL.
That’s led to some questions about Harris and his overall future in Pittsburgh with questions about him being the right guy for the Steelers and the right piece overall in a run-heavy offense that the Steelers seemingly want to play in 2023 and beyond.
Former NFL head coach and longtime defensive coordinator Dave Wannstead, appearing in a video for The 33rd Team Monday, stated that he believes Harris is the guy who will lead Pittsburgh to the promised land offensively, thanks to an improved line in front of him and signs of improvement from second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett and third-year coordinator Matt Canada.
“There’s a little bit of talk of is he the guy to carry this team to the promised land with the Pittsburgh Steeler, tough, blue collar mentality, being that he’s only averaged 3.9 yards per carry and on and on and on. Well personally, I think he is,” Wannstedt said Monday, according to video posted on The 33rd Team’s Twitter page. “No one understands the importance of a good running game more than Mike Tomlin. They went from Ben Roethlisberger to Mitch Trubisky and then after the season gets started last year, it’s Kenny Pickett. So, you combine rotating quarterbacks. Mike Tomlin understood this, so what do you do to give your team the best chance to win? You run the football.
“It minimizes your turnovers when you run the ball as compared to throwing it with somebody that you’re not real confident with. This year, you’re going to get a better supporting cast, Pickett’s gonna be a lot better, and when you can throw the ball and score some points it put pressure on the defense to be a little more balanced. And then guess what opens up? Your running game. And we’ll start seeing those big runs and more productive runs that everybody wants to see with that Pittsburgh Steeler offense and Najee Harris as the guy.”
Early on in the 2022 season, as the Steelers went through a transition from Mitch Trubisky as the starting quarterback in training camp, the preseason and then through the first four weeks, the run game simply wasn’t good enough to provide balance to the offensive attack and take some responsibilities off Trubisky’s shoulders. Harris, who was dealing with a foot injury, was too often caught behind the line of scrimmage being too patient and dancing, trying to avoid contract, rather than leaning into his massive 235-pound build and punishing defenders downhill.
There were growing pains once the Steelers turned to Kenny Pickett as the starter at halftime of the New York Jets matchup in Week 4, but once Harris got healthy after the Week 9 bye, the Steelers’ rushing attack took off.
Pittsburgh went from one of the worst rushing attacks in football to the No. 7 rushing offense in football in the second half of the season
After the Week 9 bye, the Steelers averaged 141.8 rushing yards per game, a significant increase from the early-season struggles in the run game for Pittsburgh, which needed a new-look offensive line to gel under first-year position coach Pat Meyer.
After struggling with a foot injury early in the 2022 season, Harris got healthy down the stretch and played much better. He played a key role in Pittsburgh’s rushing attack ranking No. 7 in the NFL in the second half of the season.
In the second half of the season, Harris had five games with 4.5 or more yards per carry, including three of 5.0 or more. The rushing attack really took over in the second half of the season, and Harris looked like the first-round back he was expected to be. Pittsburgh only got better around him with the additions of Seumalo and Jones, two guys who excel as run blockers and bring a nastiness in that area.
A key to Harris’ success was that he would just put his head down and barrel forward, punishing defenders in the process. He really leaned on his size and worked downhill, rather than searching for that home run-style run seemingly every single time.
Now, with Pickett entering Year 2 as the starter, improvements made on the offensive line with the additions of left tackle Broderick Jones and guard Isaac Seumalo, plus the trade for veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson II and the selection of tight end Darnell Washington in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh’s offense appears to be in great shape moving forward.
If Pickett can take that next step forward under center and Canada can open up the playbook a bit more through the air, the Steelers won’t be facing as many loaded boxes in 2023. That should improve the run game right away with Harris. He might not be that elite running back everyone was hoping for with his selection at No. 24 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, but he’s a good back overall, and should have a breakout season in 2023 if all goes according to plan.
