Najee Harris was selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team was coming off three straight seasons of being among the worst rushing offenses in the league and felt it needed a spark at the running back position. Given how the position has been devalued, many questioned the decision of drafting a running back in the first round.
One of the big reasons why running backs are devalued is because of the amount of punishment they take in the NFL. They sustain injuries at a higher rate than most other positions and their longevity in the league suffers because of it. There are just 11 running backs over the age of 30 who have been on a roster this season. Of those 11, Raheem Mostert is the only one to have over 80 carries. For Najee Harris, his availability hasn’t been a big issue. In fact, it has been one of his greatest assets.
Since 2004, over the last 20 seasons of drafted running backs, there have been 10 players to play in every game their first three seasons. Here is that list:
| Player | Rd. Drafted | Draft Year | G | Offensive Snaps | Offensive Snaps % |
| Christian McCaffrey | 1 | 2017 | 48 | 2,751 | 85 |
| Najee Harris | 1 | 2021 | 50 | 2,275 | 68.1 |
| Alfred Morris | 6 | 2012 | 48 | 1,924 | 59.5 |
| Duke Johnson | 3 | 2015 | 48 | 1,583 | 49.5 |
| Tarik Cohen | 4 | 2017 | 48 | 1,388 | 44.3 |
| Nyheim Hines | 4 | 2018 | 48 | 1,230 | 37.2 |
| Kenyan Drake | 3 | 2016 | 48 | 1,129 | 38.9 |
| Kyle Juszczyk | 4 | 2013 | 48 | 839 | 25.1 |
| Robert Turbin | 4 | 2012 | 48 | 716 | 23.2 |
| Derek Watt | 6 | 2016 | 48 | 430 | 13.8 |
It is worth noting that Harris was listed as a limited participant in practice Tuesday, which could potentially put this impressive feat at risk, but he was also listed in Week 17 with the same knee issue he has been managing and ended up having one of the best games of his career. Even if he were to miss the game, he has played in more games than everyone else on the list because he was drafted in 2021, the year the 17-game schedule took effect. While everybody else played 48 games in the first three years of their careers, Harris will have played in 51 on Saturday.
Beyond that, most of the players on the list were not a feature back upon entering the league. Just Christian McCaffrey and Harris played over 60 percent of their team’s snaps. Harris is the only player to start every single game of his career on this list as McCaffrey didn’t start six games his rookie season.
Harris has only exited a game once with injury, against the Colts in 2022, but other than that he has been available and playing a large share of the Steelers’ offensive snaps. Having a two-headed backfield with Jaylen Warren has helped matters this year as Harris isn’t expected to handle 80 percent of the carries.
In his 2,275 career snaps, Harris has carried the ball 808 times for 3,157 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has also added another 139 receptions on 180 targets for 845 yards and six touchdowns. With 77 rushing yards in Week 18, he will have eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the third straight season. That is the benefit of being available, as Harris has been.
