Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris admitted today that he needs to spend more time working on the little things. Harris was a highly touted recruit coming out of high school and a first-round pick out of Alabama, and he said that led to him skimping on the details because he knew was better than the guys he was going up against. The NFL is a different beast though, and Harris said he’s working on being more detail-oriented this season.
“Me being more detailed in my work is one thing that stood out. A lot of times, I’d always be this much better than the people. Always a high recruit, coming out of high school, and college too my last couple of years, I was put in the spotlight and didn’t feel like I needed to work on certain things,” Harris said said via Jeff Hathhorn of 93.7 The Fan. “I felt like the small things weren’t as big because it wasn’t an issue for me. Being in the NFL, the more film you have on you out there as a player, the more detailed other teams will be. So certain things you can’t do because it’s something they talked about during the week. So watching the other backs in the NFL and how detailed they are in their work, that’s something that stood out.”
Harris has been solid in his first two seasons, rushing for over 1,000 yards in both. But his efficiency hasn’t been great, at 3.9 yards per carry his rookie year and 3.8 yards per carry last year. While’s never been a truly explosive back, he has to show he can improve on that mark this season.
No one’s asking Harris to rip off 20-plus yard runs, but consistent gains of four, five, or even six yards on the ground will do a lot to help Pittsburgh’s offense improve. They need him to be a bruiser and wear the defense down throughout the course of the game, with Jaylen Warren spelling him to offer a little bit more of an explosive element.
The Harris-Warren debate has gotten a little bit much, with it becoming more of an either-or debate instead of looking at the merits of the two of them working in tandem. With Harris focusing more on the details, maybe he’ll be able to find that edge to boost his efficiency and make him more valuable as a bruiser. In turn, Warren will play a role as the team’s third-down back and come in to offer a different look. The two of them could form one of the better backfields in football.
Entering Year Three, it’s time for Harris to show what he’s capable of and live up to his first-round draft status. Putting more work in and focusing on his details will hopefully help him take that next step and break out.
He’s going to be a guy the Steelers turn to often this season, and they built the offensive line up into a group that should be really sound when it comes to run blocking. They started to gel in the second half of last season and added Isaac Seumalo to the fold in addition to a potentially elite blocking tight end in Darnell Washington. The pieces are in place.
