Breaking down every scenario for Najee Harris's Steelers season

What if Harris has a bad season for the Steelers?

Let me be frank in saying, I really struggle to see Harris hitting either the top or bottom of the scenarios I laid out. While I am not overly impressed with him, I can’t see him completely falling off. Compare that to Pickett, where I think all options were on the table as he enters his second season.

If Harris has a season like this, it indicates to me that he is likely wearing down. Again, he will be running behind the best offensive line that he has seen as a pro, and given his clear need for a good line to produce, it should only help. If it doesn’t, Harris is in trouble, and his career will be in jeopardy.

For the first time in his career, Harris fails to crack 1000 rushing yards. He still sees a heavy workload akin to what he had last year, but he is horribly inefficient. Again, a running back is much more than his yards per carry, but only averaging 3.5 on 272 carries screams a poor performance.

This also means the offense likely struggled unless Warren played a bigger role. The goal of this group is to run effectively to wear down the opposition. If Harris isn’t effective, this offense won’t jive.

He isn’t a real factor in the pass game either. He struggles with the ball in his hands and is a poor option even for a checkdown. While his total yards crack 1100, it is entirely due to usage as opposed to actual good plays.

Harris also falls off as a scorer, only finding the endzone four times. A year like this means that Harris is likely starting to break down. Usage and age will do that, and while this is earlier than I would expect, it wouldn’t shock me. Again, I struggle to see this scenario playing out, as Harris being this bad behind a better line would be a bit shocking.