Frank Gore knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a successful running back in the NFL.
So, when the former 16-year NFL veteran with 16,000 career yards and 81 touchdowns on the ground speaks about the running back crop in the NFL, one should listen, especially when Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris draws some ire from Gore, a borderline Pro Football Hall of Famer.
In a piece from ESPN.com’s Tom Junod, Gore spoke his mind on a number of running backs in the NFL today, including Harris.
“He never got 4 yards a carry. How do you not get 4 with that team?” Gore asked regarding Harris and the Steelers, according to ESPN.com.
In his first three NFL seasons, Harris has yet to crack 4.0 yards per carry for a season. Currently, Harris sits at 4.0 yards per carry with three games remaining in the 2023 regular season as he has 723 yards on 183 carries.
But in the two seasons prior, Harris had 3.9 yards per carry as a rookie and 3.8 yards per carry last season. Both years, he topped 1,000 yards but that was more due to volume than overall production. He had 579 combined carries in his first two seasons. The emergence of second-year undrafted free agent running back Jaylen Warren this season as a legitimate complement to Harris has lessened the workload on Harris and allowed him to be fresh and play better.
However, he’s coming off of a tough week against the Indianapolis Colts. He struggled with his vision during what was “a bad day at the office,” as running backs coach and interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner said Wednesday.
Gore is right to question Harris not having four yards per carry to this point, but just because he’s a Steeler doesn’t mean that’s going to happen. These aren’t your dad’s Steelers anymore.
The run game, though an emphasis the last two seasons, isn’t anywhere near as good as it once was. The offensive line is much worse than in past years, and the offensive scheme is a real deterrent as teams aren’t fearful of the passing game. It doesn’t help that the Steelers don’t have an answer at quarterback like they did with Ben Roethlisberger, either.
The Steelers didn’t exactly try to fix the run-game issues the proper way, either. Instead of building up the offensive line and then trying to find a running back to plug in, they selected Harris at No. 24 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and then tried to patchwork things up front. In the last two years they’ve committed more resources to the offensive line, but the group is still having issues.
Granted, Warren is having plenty of success, averaging 5.5 yards per carry this season with 652 yards and three touchdowns on 119 carries, going along with 5.3 yards per carry for his career. But criticizing Harris for not averaging 4.0 yards per carry yet in a season just because he’s a Steeler seems very odd from Gore.
Context matters. There’s no denying the offense has not been good during Harris’ tenure. He isn’t absolved from its issues, either. He’s been bad at times, too. But too often we get caught up in yards per carry in today’s game. It’s more about successful run rate, though I’m sure that will rub some readers the wrong way.
It’s a common criticism of Harris though, and it’s not wrong. Just a bit strange that the yards per carry is something that Gore takes issue with when it comes to Harris, at least from an outsider’s perspective.
