The Pittsburgh Steelers want to run the ball, although one wonders if their conviction will be as strong in 2025. The 2025 NFL Draft could be very telling, with one sign being more overwhelmingly obvious than all others. In 2021, they used their first-round pick on RB Najee Harris—could they draft another running back that high four years later?
Obviously, the fact that we could discuss the possibility of the Steelers drafting a first-round running back four years after doing so with Najee Harris tells us a big part of the story. Harris is gone, leaving in free agency, presumably by the Steelers’ choice. They declined his fifth-year option, and it doesn’t appear they ever offered him a contract. But how does that experience color their view of drafting another running back in the first round?
“Is there a little bit of a burn still there from the sting of Najee Harris?”, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Brian Batko wondered on the North Shore Drive podcast about whether the Steelers would be willing to take another first-round running back so soon. “I don’t want to say he didn’t work out, but they didn’t pick up his option. I think it wasn’t exactly what you thought you were getting”.
The Steelers gained four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons out of Najee Harris, but that’s where the accolades end. While that is a commendable achievement, it was hard-won through attrition and volume. In his four-year Steelers career, Harris only posted a 46.4-percent run-success rate. He saved the worst for last at just 43.7 percent in 2024.
“I just think it’s gonna be tricky for the Steelers to decide, ‘Okay, would we want to invest in a first-round running back again and take a leap of faith that it’s gonna work out better than it did with Najee?’. I don’t know”, Batko said. “This class could be one where it happens. Maybe not Ashton Jeanty, but Omarion Hampton from UNC’s the other name that’s getting a lot of first-round buzz”.
The Steelers have taken long looks at both Jeanty and Hampton, though the former may be off the board by the time their turn to select comes. While this is a deep draft at the position, they don’t have a second-round pick. If they don’t take one in the first round, they have to wait all the way to the third.
And if the Steelers really envision themselves as an elite rushing team, then they are going to want an elite running back. If Ashton Jeanty is on the board when they are picking at 21, can they pass him up? It depends, in part, on how they truly view their identity. If they see themselves as this great rushing offense, considering the offensive line investments already in place, can you say no? Najee Harris didn’t work out as well as hoped, but Jeanty is a different type of runner.
