For the past four season, Najee Harris has been a dependable running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, that might not be enough for them to give him a second contract. Drafted in the first round of the 2021 draft, Harris has been a good player, but not exactly a gamechanger. Not all of that is his fault, with the entire Steelers’ offense struggling over the past few years. Analyst and former scout Daniel Jeremiah believes the Steelers should move on from Harris.
“The slow part would be another major thing for me is that they just need a major infusion of team speed on offense,” Jeremiah said recently on the Shek Show. “They’re just not fast enough. Najee Harris, I know, is like a fan-favorite because he’s tough and he falls forward and he’s physical.
“He’s got no juice. If you’re going to be a team that’s reliant on the run game, you’ve got to be able to pop some explosive runs. That’s not 10 and 15 yards. That’s every now and then having a 50- or 60-yard run capability. They don’t have that.”
Jeremiah isn’t wrong that Harris isn’t the most explosive running back in the league. He’s much more of an old-school player. Harris is a bell-cow back reminiscent of a different generation of football. The Steelers do want to be a run-heavy offense, but in today’s NFL, they might need more explosiveness for that to be effective.
Going into this season, many people expected Harris to play with a chip on his shoulder. Despite never missing a game and not fumbling very often, the Steelers didn’t pick up his fifth-year option. Harris’ 2024 campaign ended up being a mixed bag, with more bad than good.
In 17 games, he only topped 100 yards rushing three times. He finished with 1,043 rushing yards, good for 14th in the league. However, he also had 263 carries, which was seventh in the NFL. Harris averaged four yards per carry, which just isn’t good enough. His longest run of the year was 36 yards, which is good, but not great. That’s been much of the story with Harris.
In fact, Harris only had a run of over 30 yards in only two games last year. Besides those contests, his longest runs come in around 20 yards. That didn’t just happen last year, either. Harris has struggled to break off big runs throughout his NFL career.
It’s fair to say that problem shouldn’t solely fall on Harris’ shoulders. Before last offseason, the Steelers hadn’t done a good enough job building up their offensive line. Their offense was also a complete mess, with Harris being the least of their worries.
However, none of that should take away from Harris’ own faults. He’s reliable player, but for the Steelers to actually employ a run-heavy offense, they probably need a player with a little more burst.
Among the top ten leaders in carries last year, Harris has the second-lowest longest run. He also has the second-lowest total rushing yards. Harris hasn’t been dealt a great hand in Pittsburgh, and his efforts have been admirable, but a change of scenery might be best for both parties. Perhaps he’ll be better on a new team, but the Steelers might need to up their pace on offense if they want to actually be competitive.
