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.
CB Greg Newsome
My final ranking: 24th overall
Cornerback is one of the hardest positions for players to step into and compete from day one in the NFL. Their coverage assignments and technique must be spot on. However, Cleveland Browns cornerback, Greg Newsome, is off to an electric start to his professional career.
Newsome was dinged a big coming out of Northwestern for his inability to stay healthy (played just 17 games in three seasons). However, when he was on the field, there were very few defenders in college football who were better.
While Newsome had just one career pick in college, he was left on an island against top receivers and did not disappoint. So far for the Browns, he’s looking like a future Pro Bowl cornerback who could be one of their best players for a long time.
The Steelers chose to ignore the cornerback position in the draft, and they are currently paying for it. James Pierre and Ahkello Witherspoon have both been bad this year while Joe Haden can’t stay on the field. Greg Newsome would have been a better pick and 24 overall.
C Creed Humphrey
My final ranking: 27th overall
Just because the NFL was wrong for letting Creed Humphrey fall to the tail end of the second round doesn’t mean that the Steelers were right to pass him up (twice, in fact). I said at the time that Humphrey would have been a very solid pick in the first round. Now he’s already playing like the best center in football.
What wasn’t to like about Humphrey coming out of Oklahoma? At 6’4 1/4” and 302 pounds, Humphrey had great technique on tape and some of the best movement skills I had ever seen from an interior offensive lineman. His athletic testing would confirm this, as Humphrey tested as a 100th percentile athlete, via Relative Athletic Score.
At the Senior Bowl, Humphrey was nearly perfect. Despite one-on-one drills that favor the defensive line, Humphrey never lost a rep. This is something that should have elevated his draft status but apparently did not.
Despite the Steelers being desperate for a new starting center after the retirement of Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh elected to wait until round three and dig down the list for Kendrick Green. So far. Green is also a great athlete but hasn’t shown the ability to hold up against stronger pass rushers and has been downright awful at times this year. Humphrey would have been a more important piece of the puzzle than Harris for the Steelers and could have had a 10-year career in Pittsburgh.
EDGE Odafe Oweh
My final ranking: 27th overall
Here’s a player that I actually mocked to the Steelers several times leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft. Mike Tomlin has a fascination with Michigan players, and I thought this would have made a ton of sense.
After Pittsburgh just lost both Bud Dupree and Ola Adeniyi in free agency, the team was razor-thin at the edge defender position outside of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. While I think Highsmith was a successful pick, he’s probably best suited as the first edge off the bench in the rotation.
Formerly known as Jayson Oweh, Odafe was powerful, fast, and athletic — testing as a 99.2 percentile athlete. Though his college production was lacking, Oweh possessed 4.37 speed at 6’4 7/8”, and 257 pounds. He was a moldable block of clay with untapped potential.
For the Steelers, Oweh could have proven to be a force opposite of Watt when rushing the passer and he’s excellent against the run. So far for the Ravens, Oweh has graded out as a top-40 player at his position. Pass rushers are far more important and much harder to come by than running backs, and Pittsburgh missed an opportunity to grab the Penn State product here.
OG Landon Dickerson
My final ranking: 25th overall
After suffering a knee injury last year, Landon Dickerson got off to a rocky start in his rookie year for the Philadelphia Eagles, but it didn’t take long for this elite talent to turn things around.
Alabama has a long history of impressive offensive lineman and Dickerson is no exception to the mold. At 6’5 5/8” and 333 pounds, Dickerson had enough size to play any position along the offensive line. Coincidentally, he also had experience at each position during his time at Alabama.
If not for the knee injuries, Dickerson would have been considered a blue-chip prospect and could have wound up in the top-10 last year. While there’s no guarantee Dickerson won’t suffer another knee injury, this was a gamble that would have been well worth taking.
For Pittsburgh, Dickerson could have played right tackle this year and would have been a significant improvement over Chukwuma Okorafor. Down the line, the Steelers could have kicked him back inside to center or guard — wherever they feel he would have been best utilized. Dickerson has All-Pro upside assuming he has a healthy career.
I’ve said it from the start: Najee Harris is a good football player, but a bad pick for the Steelers. Running back decline age starts at 26 years old and the position relies on so much in front of them in order to have success. Najee will prove to be a good player, but these five will have longer NFL careers and should have been taken over him.