The Steelers didn’t stray from the plan on draft day. Here are my four takeaways from taking Najee Harris in the NFL Draft.
Well, the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft is in the books, and I honestly can’t say I’m surprised. Disappointed? Yes. But not surprised. For months now, Alabama running back Najee Harris has been the most commonly mocked player to the Pittsburgh Steelers and recent reports suggested that he would be the pick if he was available with the 24th overall selection.
That came to fruition on Thursday night. Though the board was laid out in a way that could have allowed the Steelers to go in a number of different directions, Pittsburgh narrowed in on a position they have tried and failed to fix over the past four NFL Drafts.
Najee Harris should provide an immediate spark to an ailing offense that had the league’s worst rushing attack in 2020, but was he worth such a high draft pick? Here are my four takeaways from the Steelers taking Harris in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft:
Steelers did what we thought they would
As I mentioned, Pittsburgh didn’t stray from the book at all here. Every Steelers fan and their mother knew that this rushing attack was an issue last year. While Pittsburgh clearly had several big needs they could have chosen to fill – like center, cornerback, and offensive tackle – none was more pressing to them than grabbing a quality running back early in the draft.
With his combination of size, power, receiving ability, and production at the nation’s best football program, Pittsburgh fell in love with Harris quickly. Some (including myself) could debate whether or not Harris was even the best running back in the class, but it’s clear to see how he is going to fit in this offense as a workhorse runner. Even with quality players on the board when the Steelers were on the clock, this pick should have come as a surprise to nobody.
Steelers could regret passing on offensive line
I’ve been saying for months now that Virginia Tech offensive tackle, Christian Darrisaw, would have been a dream scenario for the Steelers with the 24th overall pick this year. However, he was off the board one pick before Pittsburgh after the Minnesota Vikings traded back with the Jets. Whether it would have made a difference or not, I don’t know.
Still, there were plenty of quality options along the offensive line that Kevin Colbert and his staff could have chosen from, assuming the interest was on their part. Teven Jenkins is a player that many Steelers fans have been lobbying for since January. At nearly 6’6” and 317 pounds, Jenkins tested as a remarkable athlete and he certainly isn’t lacking power or grittiness on tape. Like Harris, he could have helped improve this run game while offering more in pass protection than their current offensive tackles can.
In addition, interior offensive linemen Landon Dickerson and Creed Humphrey both remain ripe for the picking after day one of the NFL Draft, and either player could have been the next in a line of great centers for this football team. Many great general managers believe that the key to building a successful roster starts in the trenches, but Colbert is putting this theory to the test by passing on some quality talent in the first round for a position that, analytically, just isn’t very important.
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.
The value of running back makes this pick a reach
I know we are going to have a lot of different opinions on this, and most of the fans that I have spoken to are split down the middle. On one hand, Najee Harris is a drastic upgrade over the running backs they currently have and should bolster the offense enough to keep them from having the league’s worst running game in 2021. On the other, I can argue that the value of the running back position makes the Najee selection a reach with a first-round pick.
Regardless of where your team is or whether you are selling out to ‘win now’, it’s never worth sacrificing great talent at more important positions. The money positions in the NFL are quarterback, offensive tackle, edge defender, and cornerback, and several quality options existed at the time for a few of these spots – options that I had rated higher on my draft board.
While many fans argue that the Steelers could simply fill these needs later in the draft with their remaining picks, the sheer lack of ‘best player available’ mentality on the part of Pittsburgh is concerning to me. As the 38th ranked player on my overall big board at 23 years old and with a significant amount of tread already taken off the tires, Harris might only have a few years on top before being thrown onto the pile – much like Le’Veon Bell’s sharp decline by the age of 26.
Will Najee Harris help this team compete in the short term? Absolutely. And if that was the goal for Pittsburgh here then I get it. However, the longevity of his career at a position that just isn’t that important in the NFL is concerning to me. I really hope the Steelers prove me wrong on this one, but it’s going to take some convincing.