No Pittsburgh Steelers news right now is bigger than the new contract extension for Alex Highsmith. On July 19th, the former third-round pick inked a rich new deal with the team that will keep him around for the foreseeable future.
One day prior to Highsmith's contract extension, NFL analyst Maurice Jones-Drew released his rankings of the top 10 players from the 2021 NFL Draft, and the word 'bizarre' doesn't begin to cut it.
Jones-Drew started off strong by justifiably ranking Micah Parsons as his top player from the 2021 class, but things took an unusual twist in the back half of his rankings. The biggest head-scratcher? Ranking Steelers running back Najee Harris as the 8th best player from the entire draft class.
Is @MicahhParsons11 the best player from the 2021 draft class? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/CLQdQX1Nma
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) July 18, 2023
The reasoning behind this placement is puzzling. While Najee began his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, his efficiency numbers were near the bottom of the league among running backs over the past two years.
Whether you want to use advanced metrics or traditional efficiency statistics, it's hard to make a case for Najee Harris on this list. In 2022, he finished 62nd in the league in true yards per carry, 28th in DVOA, 46th in breakaway run rate, 48th in yards per touch, and 35th in run success rate, per Football Outsiders. Najee also has failed to manage over 3.9 yards per carry in either of his first two seasons.
Many fans will instantly chalk this up to injury -- insisting that playing with a steel plate in his foot slowed him and that he wasn't up to full speed. In my interview with Najee last season, the Steelers running back assured me that he was healthy, but even if he wasn't, these numbers are hard to justify.
Jones-Drew included the wrong Steelers player in his 2021 draft class rankings
What makes Jones-Drew's rankings so wild is that he had players like Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence and Eagles WR Devonta Smith lower in his 2021 draft class rankings. Additionally, much more deserving players like OT Rashawn Slater, OT Christian Darrisaw, OG Landon Dickerson, and LB Nick Bolton didn't even make the list.
If Jones-Drew insisted on including a player from the Pittsburgh Steelers, I would argue that he picked the wrong guy. Former second-round pick, Pat Freiermuth, has been thoroughly impressive over his first two NFL seasons. He became just one of two tight ends in history to catch at least 60 passes in his first two seasons, and he has a chance to make history in 2023.
Not only that, but Freiermuth also graded out as one of the best tight ends in the NFL in 2022, and he has been a reliable security blanket across the middle of the field.
I don't dislike Najee Harris, but I also don't think it's fair to call him a top-10 player from the 2021 NFL Draft when there are so many players who have been better over their first two seasons. Najee could prove us wrong, but Pat Freiermuth is far more deserving of that conversation at this point.