4 takeaways from Steelers taking Najee Harris in the NFL Draft
By Tommy Jaggi
Najee Harris should give the Steelers an immediate boost
I know I get on running backs a lot for their sheer lack of positional value, but there’s no questioning that Najee Harris will be an upgrade over what this roster previously had at the running back position and he should give this offense a boost right away.
James Conner was less than spectacular in 2019 and 2020 – despite being voted to the Pro Bowl after his 2018 season – while Benny Snell, Anthony McFarland, and Jaylen Samuels have done very little to prove their worth to this team. The Steelers no longer felt that they could get by with spending day three picks on running backs and they wanted a quick fix.
Harris essentially takes the best traits of all of these running backs and combines them into one player. Though he’s not the type of running back that will routinely take the top off the defense, he has an impressive combination of size, power, and lateral quickness for the position. In addition, his soft hands in the passing game will be a welcome security blanket for Ben Roethlisberger. As long as the line is able to hold up in front of him, Harris has the skill set to eventually prove to be one of the top running backs in the league.