In 2023, Pittsburgh’s offensive triplets of Kenny Pickett, Najee Harris and Diontae Johnson ranked No. 22 in CBS Sports’ offensive triplets ranking. This year, with Russell Wilson, Najee Harris and George Pickens, the Steelers ranked No. 26. Jared Dubin writes that the CBS Sports panel was “not inspired” by Russell Wilson.
“Our panel is, once again, not inspired by Russell Wilson — or by the Steelers’ triplets. Harris is likely to remain the lead back due to inertia and financial investment, but he has been outplayed by Jaylen Warren in each of their Warren’s [sic] two seasons. Pickens has a ton of talent, but we also haven’t seen him totally tap into it just yet, so it’s hard to say he should carry this ranking.”
Pittsburgh’s highest ranking was No. 20, and their average placement was 25.6. Their lowest ranking by a member of the panel was No. 27.
Where do I start here? To say that Harris will remain the lead back due to financial investment when the team declined his fifth-year option and has yet to extend him doesn’t make much sense, and Warren very well could wind up being the lead back at some point this year. Harris is also coming off one of the best seasons of his career, as he had a career-high 4.1 yards per carry.
Pickens also surpassed 1,000 yards last season, but he’s being downgraded for not having fully tapped into his talent? That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, especially because if he does fully tap in, he’ll be a top receiver in the NFL. Some of the teams Pittsburgh is behind is what makes their placement a little bit baffling, given that the Washington Commanders and New Orleans Saints both rank ahead of them.
I understand the trepidation with Wilson given that he’s coming off two seasons where he didn’t play his best football in Denver, but last season wasn’t all bad, as he limited turnovers and still threw for 26 touchdown passes. But it’s the lack of respect for Harris and Warren that just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Especially considering that Pittsburgh’s revamped offensive line and Arthur Smith could pave the way for a big season on the ground, it seems as if Harris is just being discounted in this exercise for no good reason.
We’ll see if Pittsburgh’s offense can outperform this ranking, and if they don’t, then it’s probably going to be a long season in Pittsburgh.
