Steelers RB1 Najee Harris Absolutely "Should Lose Weight" According To Le'Veon Bell

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Le’Veon Bell came to an impasse in contract negotiations before the 2018 season. Bell elected to hold out and eventually moved on to the New York Jets in 2019 when the Steelers elected to try to replace him, rather than pay him. James Conner was given every opportunity in 2019 and 2020, but he could not stay healthy and ultimately the team moved on when they drafted Najee Harris in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Bell joined the Steel Here podcast on Friday with Kevin Adams and Jersey Jerry to discuss his time in the NFL and his budding career as a boxer. After several significant revelations about his contract and some key incidents in his career, he was asked if he still followed football and the Steelers. Bell admitted he didn’t watch regularly, but he had some advice for the current starter Harris specifically.

“He needs to lose weight,” Bell declared. “He is kind of like how I was when I first came into the league. When I first came in, I was like 235. He wants to be nimble, he runs like a scat back, but not really.”

Bell was drafted as a big back but ultimately, he was a shifty patient runner, with a sudden burst. He also ran behind a Mike Munchak-coached offensive line with three Pro Bowl blockers which allowed him to be patient and pick holes. Harris ran behind one of the worst Steelers offensive lines in recent memory in 2021 and early in 2022, the combination of an injury and his rookie season, made him appear hesitant to the point that fans were using the dreaded B-word to describe him.

Adams agrees with Bell that Harris is not strictly a power back and points out that he can be shifty in space. The former Steelers running back clarified that weight loss to become quicker could benefit Harris who seems more like a carbon copy of his Alabama teammate Derrick Henry. The Steelers running back demonstrated in the second half of the 2022 season he could be a straight power back behind an improved line.

“You know what I’m saying,” Bell continued. “Like he jumps over people, he could shed a little bit just to be quicker. He’s got something to him, I like the way he runs.”

Pro Football Focus recently ranked Harris as the 19th-best running back in the NFL. The criteria used to justify his low ranking was his average of 3.9 yards per carry during his first two seasons. Harris did post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and has been a lightning rod for criticism during his short time in the NFL. Bell’s advice is sound in theory, but Harris ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash coming into the NFL which is significantly faster than the 4.6 seconds Bell posted at the combine before he was drafted.

Steelers’ Najee Harris Makes Light Of His Weight Problem 

Harris is an impressive physical specimen and before last season, he weighed in at 244 pounds. The former first-round draft pick worked out with legendary NFL running back Adrian Peterson and appears to be chiseled from granite. The Steelers and Harris benefitted greatly from his decisive power running during a 7-2 stretch after the bye. Whether it was the presence of Jaylen Warren pushing him for playing time or simply a matter of recovering from a foot injury, Harris was extremely effective in the second half of the 2022 season.

The Steelers appear to be building the offense around a power running game for 2023 with several upgrades on the offensive line including Isaac Seumalo and first-round draft choice Broderick Jones. Harris and Warren should be even more effective if they are making their first moves at or beyond the line of scrimmage and that simple change may give fans a glimpse of how much burst the duo really has and if a return to power running was the right decision.

What do you think Steeler Nation? Do you agree with Bell that Harris could afford to lose a little weight? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.