5 players who would have been better picks for Steelers than Najee Harris

Najee Harris hasn’t been able to turn Pittsburgh’s offense around as many expected. Here are five picks that would have been better for the Steelers. 

Recently, Najee Harris has been a topic of discussion on social media platforms. The Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled mightily on offense this year, and Harris hasn’t made the difference most were hoping to see. While many would chalk this up to struggles along the offensive line, I would argue that running backs are typically only going to be as good as the guys in front of them.

Many among the Steelers media claim they would still re-draft Harris in a heartbeat with the 24th overall pick. However, I think that would be unwise. Factoring in the value of the position, I had Harris ranked as my 38th overall player in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Using my final 2021 NFL Draft board, here are five players I definitively can tell you I would have taken over Najee Harris. I think all five would have been better for this team in the long run:

OT Samuel Cosmi

My final ranking: 33rd overall

Not only did I have Samuel Cosmi higher on my draft board than Najee Harris, but he also plays a position that is infinitely more important than running back. Most NFL experts would agree that, next to the quarterback position, there’s nobody more important on the football field than your left tackle.

While his film was just solid, Cosmi had all the traits to be a starting left tackle in the NFL. Over his first 300 snaps this season, the athletic rookie earned a very good 74.6 overall grade, via Pro Football Focus — good for the 25th-best in the NFL.

In addition to his strong start, Cosmi has untapped potential to be one of the best tackles in the NFL. According to his Relative Athletic Score, he tested as a 99.9 percentile athlete during his Pro Day this past offseason. With quality offensive tackles capable of having 10-15 year NFL careers, this would have been a much better pick for the Steelers.