Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris has been one of the leaders of the team’s young offense on and off the field, being voted a captain during his second season in the league. During his press conference on the opening day of training camp, Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked about Harris’ evolving leadership role.
“Just to continue to progress in the manner in which he has, not only inside the white lines, but off of it. He’s a guy that’s shown a natural appetite for leadership and perspective and it’s reasonable to expect that to continue as well. Teams are continually evolving. Guys are ascending, guys are descending and so forth. And you’ve got a talented young guy like him that shows an appetite for leadership, you just want to cultivate all components of that discussion, not only in his game, but, the intangible things that he provides us,” Tomlin said via the team’s YouTube channel.
While Harris hasn’t been as productive as the Steelers likely would have hoped on the field with just 3.9 career yards per carry, he’s still gone over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons. Couple that with his leadership and being a guy that people can turn to in the locker room and someone who isn’t afraid to speak his mind, and he’s a valuable member of the Steelers.
As Tomlin said, the intangibles that he provides help the team in a lot of ways more than just his abilities as a running back. Harris has shown his maturity and leadership by speaking out about the running back market, and not doing it in a way that comes across as whiny or immature.
He’s someone who has a lot of respect from his teammates and his peers around the league and it makes him an easy guy to root for. Even former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who played one season with Harris, praised his leadership. As a captain, he has a major voice in the room and he’s clearly someone not afraid to speak up and use it to make sure he’s doing what’s best for the team.
While the running back situation has dominated the headlines, and the discourse will come with Harris due for his fifth-year option after the season, he’s going to be a Steeler for at least another two years or even longer. He’s someone who has a lot of respect in the organization among his teammates and coaches and guys like that usually just don’t walk out of Pittsburgh. I’m excited to see Harris work this season and I think a breakout year is coming.
