3 Steelers who will benefit most from Matt Canada’s new offense

RB Najee Harris

I know he has yet to play a game in a Steelers uniform, but I really think that Najee Harris is incredibly fortunate to get Matt Canada as his offensive coordinator just before coming to Pittsburgh.

Brilliant offensive minds can help out the running back as much as anyone on the offense with play creativity. The former innovative college coach is likely going to bring some variation of the stretch-zone blocking scheme to the Steelers – meaning more opportunities for an offensive lineman to get out in space and block outside the hashes.

This is something the team was severely lacking in 2020. As a result, Harris will have more opportunities to create big plays. In addition, throwing in pre-snap motion will help the running back as much as any other position, as we have seen how this freezes the defense. If you recall, the Steelers averaged 136.8 rushing yards per game over the first five contests of the season when they ran much more play-action and pre-snap motion. I expect similar success all year long with Canada taking charge.

We can’t expect the Steelers to be better everywhere on offense, and I’m still worried about their offensive tackles in 2021. Still, it’s very reasonable to believe that these three players will be benefactors of Matt Canada’s new-look offense.