Steely McBeam
Well-known member
- Mar 20, 2019
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USA TODAY Sports
The Steelers made a significant investment to improve their offense’s ground attack by making Najee Harris the first running back taken in the 2021 draft.
Pittsburgh finished the 2020 season last in rushing yards, but that should change with Harris in tow. Though the running back wasn’t doing all that much in rookie minicamp over the weekend, he made a positive impression on his new head coach.
“He is a sharp guy,” Mike Tomlin said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “He is a football guy. You can tell he is passionate about football. He can articulate the game very well, so it’s a lot to be excited about.
“It is more noticeable simply because there’s not a lot of people to work with. He’s getting an opportunity to work one-on-one with coach [Eddie] Faulkner at the running back position that provides plenty of opportunity for him to verbalize his knowledge and things of that nature.”
Harris rushed for 1,466 yards with 26 touchdowns and caught 43 passes for 425 yards with four TDs as a senior at Alabama. He said over the weekend he’s starting back at step one in his transition to the game’s highest level. But his ability should help a club that averaged a league-worst 3.6 yards per carry in 2020.