After an abysmal rushing attack in 2020, the Pittsburgh Steelers went all in during the 2021 NFL Draft to bring a physical running offense back to Pittsburgh. This process included selecting Najee Harris at 24th overall in the first round, Kendrick Green in the third round, and Dan Moore Jr. in the fourth round. Although James Conner was, and still is, a legitimate NFL running back, there was the lingering question of what was needed most to obtain an effective run game? Is it a bell-cow running back behind a below-average offensive line, or a mediocre running back behind an imposing offensive line? Well, as the 2021 progressed through the various ebbs and flows of a typical NFL season, Harris was able to post incredible numbers for a rookie running back, including breaking Franco Harris’ rookie season rushing record.
But with that said, fans may have overlooked a compelling and powerful aspect of [Najee] Harris’ skillset throughout the season. This may have been due to the fact the season was seemingly focused around 18-year franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s final season, or TJ Watt’s record-tying season sack total. Among everything that transpired in the 2021 season, Harris quietly proved he possesses a very unique skill that is critical to a powerful, sustained offense, which has shown to be the main differentiator between a ‘good’ and ‘effective’ running game.
As every Steelers game progresses, Harris gets better and better; and the numbers prove it.
Steelers running back Najee Harris vs. Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field. (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
I know what you’re probably thinking; that is a wildly subjective proclamation that seems fairly obvious. That may be the case, but the answer to the original question above regarding what is needed to obtain an effective run game could be found in this analysis. Let’s take two of the arguably best Steelers running backs in recent history in Jerome Bettis and Le’Veon Bell, combined with the previous Steelers RB1 in Conner, and compare them to Harris in some key areas. First, seeing as though Harris only has a single season under his belt thus far, we’ll take the highest-yardage total in a single season for comparison. Therefore, it’ll be Bettis’ 1997 season, Bell’s 2014 season, and Conner’s 2018 season. To help in a clear, concise, and organized comparison, let’s break this out into three areas; numbers in the second half of the entire season, numbers in the second half of the game, and numbers in the fourth quarter of the game.
Let’s get into it.
Numbers of the Second Half of the Season
Let’s begin with maybe the easiest comparison of the notion that Harris is better as the season wages on. We’ll get into the per-game averages below, but in this category, we’re comparing numbers in the second half of the season (Weeks 9 through 16/17) for each running back.
To start, Harris posted a modest stat line of 837 yards from scrimmage with 4 touchdowns in 2021 in this span. Bettis tallied 797 yards with 5 touchdowns, Bell finished with 1,129 yards and 9 touchdowns, and Conner only put up 385 yards with 3 touchdowns. Looking at these numbers, Bell has the clear upper hand in terms of both yardage and touchdowns. However, we should compare these numbers relative to, not only these four players, but in relation to numbers from the first half of the season to determine any drop-off in production on the ground. The Steelers pride themselves on wearing down defenses late in the season in the way of a dominant ground game. If fans think back to those cold, snowy, tough games heading into the playoff push, we think of the offense riding the shoulders of the run game. So, this begs the question of who saw the biggest uptick in production on the ground in the second half of the season in comparison to the first half?
The answer to this question is Harris. Harris increased his rushing yards total over 21% in the second half of the season compared to the first half. Meanwhile, Bettis had a drop-off of 19%, Bell fell off by 3%, and Conner came in last with a dreadful 62% less yards on the ground in the second half of his best season. To put this simply, not only was he the only player to increase production on the ground after the bye week, but Harris racked up an average of 21% more yards in Weeks 9 through 17 than in the first 8 weeks of the season.
I consider Harris the leader in this category.
Steelers' RB Najee Harris runs away from the Cincinnati defense (Twitter: @jsko-photo)
Numbers of the Second Half of Games
We are all very familiar of the Steelers’ being a ‘tale of two halves’ team; it is not how you start, it is how you finish. Therefore, let’s look at the numbers posted from each player in the second half of games.
Harris posted a modest total of 907 yards from scrimmage with 7 touchdowns in 2021. For comparison, Bettis tallied 991 total scrimmage yards with only 3 touchdowns. Bell had one of the best lines by posting 1,078 total yards with 6 touchdowns. Conner came in last by tallying only 769 total yards with 5 touchdowns. These basic numbers can be inferred several different ways, but to keep it simple, Harris fell 84-yards shy of Bettis and 171-yards short of Bell, but scored more touchdowns in the second half than any other running back listed. But if we dive a bit deeper into that stat sheet, what about turnovers?
Coincidentally, Harris and Bell never fumbled. On the other hand, Bettis lost the ball 3 times and Conner twice. If I’m taking those variables into consideration, this gives the clear edge to Bell and Harris. Then, if I’m looking at the numbers between Harris and Bell, I’d argue they’re neck-and-neck, as Bell put up more yardage, but Harris scored more touchdowns. We’ll see this trend continue below.
Fourth Quarter Numbers
Similar to what we did earlier, let’s look at the fourth quarter numbers from each player. Only looking at the fourth quarter, Harris posted 471 total scrimmage yards with 5 touchdowns. Bettis tallied 348 yards with a single touchdown, Bell put up 562 yards with 4 touchdowns, and Conner came in at just 290 yards with a single touchdown.
In addition, Bettis gave the ball away twice in the fourth quarter and Conner lost a fumble once. As to what we just saw above, it appears to be Harris and Bell side-by-side in fourth quarter heroics. However, Bell showed to be incredibly efficient with the ball in his hands by averaging over 6-yards per play with the ball.
Meanwhile, Harris averaged 4.57 yards, Bettis was only 4.3 yards, and Conner surprisingly averaged 4.83 yards. There could be arguments made for either Harris or Bell to gain the edge in this category, but Bell may have a slight advantage over Harris. The clear difference between the two backs in this respect is a trade-off between production; would you accept an additional touchdown for 91 fewer yards, or would you want 91 more yards from scrimmage and settle for one less touchdown? This answer will depend on whoever you ask, but if it was up to me, I’d want the extra yardage over touchdowns in this instance, so Bell ranks slightly higher than Harris here.
VERDICT: While there could be a multitude of other different categories to consider, the proof is evident. Harris possesses something that all NFL teams search for in a steady three-down running back. As the season and every game moves forward, Harris gets stronger and becomes a bigger contributor on offense. This isn’t something Steelers fans have seen frequently, as we see above. It is clear the Steelers landed one of the best-potential running backs in the entire league in Harris, and 2021 was a great leading indicator as to what fans can expect in years to come.
Of course, time will be the determining factor as to whether or not this tend holds. But the numbers prove that for every carry, for every hit, and for every catch in every game, Harris just gets stronger.
Like a fine wine, Harris will simply get better with age in the NFL.
When do you think Harris is best in the season? Do you think he’ll have a better 2022 season compared to 2021? Let us know in the comments below!
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