Player: RB Najee Harris
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: For only the second time in his career, RB Najee Harris has rushed for 100-plus yards in consecutive games. Over the past two weeks, he has 208 rushing yards on 35 carries and two touchdowns. He has also broken out for a handful of explosive runs, a nice change of pace.
Surprisingly, we have not touched on Najee Harris in this column since his more recent successes. Through five weeks, the fourth-year running back had 270 yards on 82 carries with no scores. In the two games since, he has added another 208 yards on just 36 carries and has scored twice. All told, that’s 478 yards on the season on 117 carries, putting him on pace for another 1,000-yard campaign.
Not that it’s about racking up 1,000-yard seasons by any means, and Harris will be the first to tell you that. He has also been the first to credit everybody else for his recent success before himself. As he repeatedly said, it takes all 11 to get those breakout runs, and the Steelers are finally hitting on them.
Back in May, the Steelers declined to exercise Najee Harris’ fifth-year option. He is due to become an unrestricted free agent in March, but the Steelers could still retain him. If he continues on his current trajectory, they may well want to.
When we first heard of the decision, reporters said the Steelers wanted to see how Harris would function in Arthur Smith’s offense. After a sluggish start, he is now picking things up. We will have to wait to see if this is just a high point or a sign of things to come.
The Steelers have invested a lot in rebuilding their offensive line. They have also stocked up on tight ends and are emphasizing blocking from their wide receivers. They are doing everything in their power to make the run game work, and Najee Harris is starting to produce.
And he has done so largely without a ton of contributions from Jaylen Warren. While he has only missed a couple games, Warren has played injured, and at times with reduced snaps. He only has 42 touches in five games after having over 200 last season. Harris, meanwhile, has 131 touches, on pace for 318.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
