Steelers' Impressive RB Najee Harris is "Top 5 for sure," says Ike Taylor

The Pittsburgh Steelers knew what they were doing when they selected RB Najee Harris in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. In his rookie season with the Steelers, the running back broke Steelers' legendary RB Franco Harris' rookie rushing record. He's quickly established himself as a workhorse, and top running back in the NFL!

AP Photo / Keith Srakocic

Steelers RB Najee Harris has “Gotten Bigger” and has a “Derrick Henry, Adrian Peterson look about him”

Former Steelers CB Ike Taylor went on Bleav.com's podcast and a topic of top running backs in the NFL was brought up by host, Mark Bergin:

"I can't wait to see what Najee can do with just better and improved line play. And I think that's something that he still made a Pro Bowl as a rookie that he didn't really have. But definitively, the only two guys that could say yes best for certain would be [Jonathan] Taylor and Derrick Henry. I'd probably put Chubb there, but I've got Harris like right there at number three or number four as best running backs in the league."

Taylor responded:

"Yeah. He's in my top five for sure. Najee Harris is in my top five, for sure. The only reason why I'm putting these guys in front of Najee is because, one, they've been in the league longer. Two, and the reason why I'm putting Jonathan Taylor, Jonathan Taylor's offensive line is okay. The offense was okay. The man rushed for 1,800 yards last year, had a little bit over 15 touchdowns. I think he had 18 touchdowns, so say. And the reason why I'm saying Alvin Kamara, I think pound for pound overall, whether it's receiving or coming out of the backfield, Alvin Kamara, he can just get the job done and he does it effortlessly. I didn't mention Derrick Henry, and I didn't mention Derrick Henry because we all know what he can do. But I think he's just the typical old school running back. You hand the ball off to him, you don't get him out, you don't get him out of the backfield. He need to see the line, he need to get his couple of steps. And that's the old school traditional running back. Joe Mixon, you said it best, Joe Mixon benefited off the support cast with Joe Burrow and company and Ja'Marr Chase and company, and Tee Higgins and company, Tyler Boyd and company. So I look at it that way. Even with the okay line, it's just you can't stack the box with Joe Mixon because man, them boys, Ja'Marr Chase and company man, they demand double, sometimes triple teams, depending on the situation."

Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back Najee Harris(22) participates in Organized Team Activities (OTAs) Tuesday May 31, 2022 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. (Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers)

Based on this, it seems Taylor has Harris just ahead of Mixon at number 4 best running back in the NFL, behind Taylor, Kamara, and Henry. A pretty solid top 5 running back list if I do say so myself, without any biases. Harris is going to be the man the Steelers offense leans on in this transition into a new era. He lets his play do the talking and he's thirsty for 2,000 rushing yards himself!

Steelers RB Najee Harris on Trash Talking: “I just see on their eyes that they already lost.”

"So I have personal goals, I want to achieve a lot of stuff. Rush for 2k, you know what I mean."

Aug 12, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) runs off the field after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

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