Can Steelers’ Najee Harris win offensive rookie of the year?

The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, but that doesn’t mean Steelers’ rookie Harris doesn’t have a chance to win offensive rookie of the year.

Had this been about fifteen years ago, Steelers’ rookie running back Najee Harris would likely be the favorite to land rookie of the year. Since running backs usually got on the field early, the top running back taken in the draft always saw plenty of playing time in year one.

Times have changed though, as rookie quarterbacks take the field early and often and typically become the favorites to land the award. That doesn’t mean that Harris has no shot of winning the award, but he will need to have an incredible rookie season with the Steelers like some of the previous award winners have had.

A recent history of the winners

Since 2007, only five running backs have won the award. Two receivers have claimed the award while seven quarterbacks have won it during that time span. This means that, on paper, Harris has a decent chance to win the award besides quarterbacks, running backs have the next best shot to win. This is due to the typically quick transition running backs have, as the college and pro game are similar for running backs.

That said, it will be up to Harris to beat out a quarterback for the award. Harris is in a bad spot in that case, as the NFL saw five rookie quarterbacks get drafted in the first round this year. Now, not all of them will start instantly or set the league on fire, but that stiff competition certainly makes him lower on the odds to win the award. Following some trends though, Harris could certainly improve his odds of winning the award.