Before Arthur Smith was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator, or even before he was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, he made his name in the league as the OC of the Tennessee Titans. That was a physical, run-first offense led by All-Pro RB Derrick Henry.
The current Steelers offense is built in much the same way with Najee Harris the big-bodied running back to lead the charge.
According to The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo on X, Arthur Smith was asked about a big hit delivered by Harris at the end of one of his runs on the opening drive.
“That reminded me of some of the Derrick Henry runs that he finished off,” Smith said before Thursday’s practice via DeFabo.
Most running backs might just run out of bounds on a play like that, but Harris wanted to set the tone early in the game. He was running with an attitude, which is great to see for an offensive system like the one the Steelers want to use in 2024.
This isn’t a new thing for Harris, who is a frequent on Good Morning Football’s “Angry Runs” segment. But it is still fun to hear Smith compare Harris to one of the best in the league. They were raised in the same physical Alabama offense that loves to use big bodies at running back.
You won’t find anybody who would try to claim Harris to be better than Henry, but a look at the beginning of their careers suggests there could still be room for Harris to grow.
Henry had 501 attempts for 2,293 yards and 22 touchdowns to start his career. Harris has had three-straight seasons over 1,000 rushing yards and had 834 attempts for 3,269 yards and 22 touchdowns in his first three years. Obviously not as efficient as Henry. It wasn’t until Henry’s fourth season—his first working with Smith as his OC—that he turned into a perennial All-Pro. He even won the AP Offensive Player of the Year award in 2020 under Smith.
There are definitely big expectations for Harris in 2024 under Smith. He will be sharing carries with Jaylen Warren, but he should still be able to have a breakout year with a new offensive coordinator and a revamped offensive line.
He got off to an okay start in Week 1 with 70 rushing yards on 20 attempts. The expectations are obviously higher than that, but Harris only had one game over 70 rushing yards in the first eight games of 2023. The rushing attack jelled over the second half of the season, which is reasonable to expect again with some new pieces in the group.
