For Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris, this was supposed to be the year it all came together. Good health meets good talent meets a true identity. Mix it all up and Harris should be enjoying a strong 2023. Like the rest of this offense, it’s been a sputtering and largely disappointing slog.
Former Buffalo Bills general manager and longtime Steelers’ front office executive Doug Whaley shared his thoughts on Harris’ slow start. And it’s not just the first two games that are slow. It’s Harris himself.
“Here it is. Lack of burst and lack of speed is getting exposed at the NFL level,” Whaley told 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show Wednesday. “At the college level, he could get away against University of Louisiana and Monroe.”
Harris was a stud at Alabama who looked like one of the best athletes on the field, especially with his ability to hurdle defenders at 220 pounds. In 2020, he averaged nearly six yards per carry and rushed for almost 1,5000 yards while making impact plays in the passing game. That led him to become the first running back drafted in 2021, the worst-kept-secret of the draft that Pittsburgh was going to take him. His rookie year was largely a success, a true workhorse back who ran for 1,200 yards and 10 total touchdowns. His sophomore season was a step backwards, hampered by a summer toe injury, but he ran well down the stretch as Pittsburgh found its groove and offensive identity.
With offseason additions of LG Isaac Seumalo, WR Allen Robinson II, and rookie TE Darnell Washington, along with Harris’ good health and further maturation of the offense, it seemed like Harris was set up for a big season. Two games in and it’s been anything but that. Whaley believes Harris isn’t built the way good NFL backs should be.
“Now the holes, especially after some injuries, which made him less explosive, less fast, those closing holes are closing a lot quicker,” he said. “And the defense is, when he’s trying to get to the outside, those guys, the pursuit is catching up to him.”
Harris was never known as a gamebreaker or explosive runner. Even in college, he didn’t register those types of plays despite playing for a football powerhouse and running behind one of the country’s top offensive lines. It was never going to translate to the next level. Whaley praised Jaylen Warren’s big-play ability, coming up large in the passing game in Monday night’s win over the Cleveland Browns.
Still, the Steelers have only played two games and Harris has made more impact in the running game than some think. Despite some ugly blocking in front and a general lack of opportunity, Harris is averaging 4.6 yards per carry. He already has more runs of 20-plus yards this year than all of last year, ripping off a 24-yarder against the San Francisco 49ers and a 21-yarder Monday against the Cleveland Browns. There’s no question he can and must be better but he’s been more effective on the ground than Warren, who is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry with a worse run-success rate.
But there’s no question Harris and this run game must be better. As Dave Bryan pointed out, the Steelers are at nearly historically bad levels through their first two games and have to take advantage of a softer matchup in Week Three against the Las Vegas Raiders. Pittsburgh wanted to be the bullies this year. Right now, the Steelers are the ones getting picked on.
