Najee Harris Can Help Arthur Smith Buy Time
Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Heading into the 2024 season, the Steelers did not pick up Najee Harris’ fifth-year option on his rookie deal. While that often makes a young player a lame duck with their organization, Harris can do more for the Pittsburgh Steelers than kill time before his pending free agency.
The #Steelers have declined RB Najee Harris’ fifth-year option, which would’ve paid him $6.79 million in 2025.
Harris will now be a free agent after the 2024 season. pic.twitter.com/9RRQedmkym
— Steelers Update (@SteelersUpdate1) May 2, 2024
Despite the Steelers choosing to not extend Harris, the rushing attack was been the strength of this offense last season. In 2023, they ranked 13th in rushing yards with 2,010 and were tied for the 11th-most rushing touchdowns (16). The centerpiece of the rushing attack was Harris, who provided rock-solid stability over the past three seasons, as he has not missed a single game in Pittsburgh. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons, all while leading the league with 81 broken tackles over that span.
After spending two and a half seasons suffering through Matt Canada’s offensive system that was, by law, not allowed to score more than two touchdowns in a game, Pittsburgh will enter 2024 with Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator. Harris may not be a part of the Steelers’ future, but Smith can use the ultra-reliable Harris to buy time as he figures out their Russell Wilson-led offense.
When Pittsburgh made Eddie Faulkner the interim offensive coordinator after Canada’s firing midway through 2023, Harris’ usage and production sharply increased from that point on. While the passing game still struggled (they used three different starting quarterbacks over the final seven games), Harris’ production actually improved.
His total yards per carry increased from 3.9 under Canada to over 4.2 under Faulkner, and he had almost the same number of carries in the final seven games under Faulkner (127) as he had in the first ten games under Canada (128). There is no reason that Harris, who has already shown the ability to maintain consistent production as the team changes offensive systems, can’t help that transition. In addition, Faulkner, under whom Najee flourished, has returned to his role as the Steelers’ running backs coach.
A change was sorely needed after Pittsburgh’s passing offense posted the fifth-fewest yards in the NFL (3,247) and had as many passing touchdowns as Gus Edwards had rushing touchdowns (13). Their passing game will feature a completely new depth chart at quarterback and an extremely unproven wide receiver room with George Pickens being the only proven target. The running game is going to be needed as an early-down safety net as the passing game gains its footing. And as much as Jaylen Warren brings a dynamic element, Harris’ reliability should prevail early for this reason.
Harris has also maintained serviceable production despite Pittsburgh’s below average offensive line play over the last few seasons. Just ask your local Hall of Fame running back.
“You look at the offensive line,” Jerome Bettis said during an appearance on the Zach Gelb Show. “[Harris’] first year, the offensive line was awful. His second year, they were bad. And in his last year, they were a little, maybe average, a touch below average. So he’s been running behind a group that hasn’t been playing up to their potential. They’ve kind of made a resurgence. They’ve got some draft picks. They put some thought into the offensive line, and now I believe he’ll be running behind the best offensive line he will [have seen] in Pittsburgh.”
As Bettis nodded to, the offensive line is going through a transitional period of their own. They invested early-round draft capital in left tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier, and both are expected to take on starting roles in 2024. If they have success right away, Harris’ numbers should show it. Should Fautanu and Frazier experience growing pains, Harris has shown the ability to produce behind bad lines, so no harm, no foul.
As consistent as Harris has been over the years, even through different offensive systems, there are some who still aren’t sold on Najee Harris because they don’t believe he’s lived up to his status as a former first-round draft pick.
“Najee Harris gets viewed (through the lens of being) a first-round running back and he was supposed to fix the run game in Pittsburgh,” Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus said. “As we know, you’re not gonna do that. You can’t get a running back in the first round to fix a run game that’s broken because the offensive line or the system isn’t gonna let it function. And that’s what Najee Harris was asked to do. Wasn’t able to do it. Now the Steelers have overhauled that offensive line. I think this is finally the year we’re finally gonna see the first-round version of Najee Harris because the offensive line has been improved.”
Many fans would love to see the more explosive Jaylen Warren, who has averaged over 5.0 yards per carry, in the top running back role. However, having Harris as the early-down back will help Warren stay fresh for a longer period of time, allowing their thunder-and-lightning duo to flourish over a full season.
While Harris has plenty of naysayers, he’s more than ready to prove them all wrong. If Smith is smart, he’ll get through the growing pains of a new organization by leaning on the chip on the back of Harris’ shoulder.
Up Next