Whether it was the lost weight, the added motivation from a declined fifth-year option, or the new offensive system, RB Najee Harris is finally looking like the first-round pick that the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted him to be.
For the first time in his career, he is coming off three straight games of over 100 rushing yards. He has been electric ever since a two-game slump during the Steelers’ losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys.
He used to be considered a purely between-the-tackles runner who couldn’t work out in space, but I think many of those fears have been put to rest over the last few weeks.
Count former head coach Jon Gruden as one who is very high on Harris entering the back half of the season.
“The Commanders got to deal with Najee Harris, one of the hottest backs in football,” Gruden said while previewing the upcoming game between the Steelers and Washington Commanders via his Gruden Loves Football podcast on YouTube.
“The running backs of the Pittsburgh Steelers are outstanding. I don’t like Najee Harris, I love him,” Gruden said. “…Great stiff arm, big back with quick feet and he has great balance and he will lower the boom on you.”
Through the first eight games, Harris has 136 attempts for 592 yards and two touchdowns. He also has another 17 receptions for 152 yards. He is on pace for the best season of his career in nearly every metric.
He can run over players, hurdle them, or juke them out of their shoes. That makes him a very difficult player to tackle, and the numbers bear it out. He is sixth in the league with 327 yards after contact with fewer games played than almost everybody ahead of him due to the Steelers’ recent bye week.
Just look at this spin move from Harris in Week 8 against the New York Giants.
This wasn’t something that he was doing on a regular basis over the first three seasons of his career. Now, he is one of the top backs in the league at generating explosive runs. All of this with an offensive line that is still trying to find itself after a lot of attrition.
Imagine what he could be with the O-line at full strength with a little more experience. Hopefully they can extend him this offseason so we can find that out.
