Another Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick has departed. Running back Najee Harris is signing a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal is worth up to $9.25 million.
Harris, the Steelers’ first-round pick in 2021, spent his first four years as Pittsburgh’s lead back. But since the team declined his fifth-year option last May, the writing’s been on the wall for his exit.
Consistent and durable, Harris is the NFL’s only running back to rush for 1,000 yards in each of the past four seasons. Despite a bruising run style at a physically demanding position, he’s yet to miss a regular season game.
In his time with Pittsburgh, Harris carried the ball 1,097 times for 4,312 yards and 28 rushing scores. He spent his rookie season as the team’s bellcow back before the hidden gem find of Jaylen Warren created a committee over the next three seasons, Harris mostly seeing early-down work while Warren handled third-down duties.
Harris’ most productive season came as a rookie, rushing for exactly 1,200 yards behind a poor offensive line. He also played a key role in the short passing game, catching 74 passes. His rushing yards hovered just over 1,000 yards each of the next three years, showing remarkable consistency on a yearly basis. Unfortunately, a lack of big plays and respectable yards per carry also remained the same, never averaging more than 4.1 yards per tote in a single season.
Slimming down for 2024, Harris showed more burst early in the season and got off to a hot start. He recorded 100-yard rushing performances in three-straight weeks in October but only twice topped 70 yards the rest of the season, one of which was aided by garbage time rushes in a Christmas Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Pittsburgh’s running game, and it offense, sputtered to the finish line.
Searching for bigger players from the backfield, Pittsburgh could look towards a talented draft class to replace Harris. There, they’ll find players with the size the organization prefers but packaged in bigger-play ability. North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins, and Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson are just a handful of options.
In Los Angeles, Harris will have the opportunity to play in a gap scheme that suits his running style well. With J.K. Dobbins a free agent, Harris should take over as the Chargers’ RB1. Los Angeles’s interest in Harris was reported earlier in the day, and NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported on Monday evening that the Chargers were pushing to get a deal done with the running back.
With Harris gone, Jaylen Warren shifts from 1B to 1A in the Steelers’ committee. A more explosive runner, he battled injuries early in 2024 but finished the year stronger. Pittsburgh will test Warren’s ability to handle a larger workload, never receiving more than 149 carries in any of his three seasons with the team. Najee Harris registered at least 255 carries ever year. Ball security will be another concern for Warren, who has more fumbles than Harris on one-third of the carries.
The last Steelers first-round/selection to sign a multi-year second contract was EDGE T.J. Watt in 2017. Since, SS Terrell Edmunds, LB Devin Bush, WR Chase Claypool, RB Najee Harris, and QB Kenny Pickett all failed to reach long-term deals with the team. Edmunds re-upped on a one-year contract but left the following season to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles.
