It came as a little bit of a surprise that the Pittsburgh Steelers only had one offensive captain going into the 2023 season with QB Kenny Pickett being the lone representative on that side of the football. Many figured that RB Najee Harris would stand beside Pickett as a captain last season with now backup QB Mitch Trubisky, taking on a bigger role in just his second season in the league.
According to head coach Mike Tomlin, the voting of Pickett for captaincy by the team was widely accepted by the team, stating that the votes for Pickett were reflective of him winning the honor. Still, Tomlin mentioned that Pickett being the lone representative on the offensive side of the ball wasn’t meant to be a ding to any of the other players like Harris who are great leaders in their own right. Pickett reiterated the same sentiment in his media availability on Wednesday, speaking highly of Harris when asked how much of a leader the third-year runner out of Alabama is both on and off the field for the Steelers this season.
“I mean, it is juice and energy,” Pickett said about Harris on video from Steelers.com. “The guy shows up to work. He shows up to play and runs hard. I know when I hand it off to him, he’s gonna go do whatever he can to get as many yards or put points up and there’s no doubt about that. So, love having #22 back there. Same with #30. Hopefully, we get [Anthony McFarland Jr.] back at whatever point in this season. But it’s good to have a room like that with him leading the way.”
Harris has been a natural leader since coming to Pittsburgh as the team’s first-round pick back in 2021. He has been groomed for a leadership role ever since, having Tomlin pair him up with DL Cameron Heyward to show him the ropes of what it truly means to be a Steeler and how to carry himself as a leader among his teammates. Harris has been a leader for the team both on and off the field, playing with passion and energy as he lays his body on the line to pick up every yard possible while also shouldering the blame when the offense plays poorly rather than pushing it off onto someone else.
Harris’ production may have taken a notable dip this season, working more in a tandem backfield role with RB Jaylen Warren, but that doesn’t discredit what Harris brings from a character and leadership perspective to this team. Pickett sees Harris’ heart on the field and knows that it fires himself up as well as the rest of the offense around him, playing with a fire despite being in a blowout against the Houston Texans a few weeks ago. The stats may not be there compared to Harris’ first two seasons in the league, but his leadership is still there as Pickett is grateful to have that guy to rely on in the backfield as Harris leads the charge in Pittsburgh’s rushing attack.
