Former Steelers OL Ramon Foster Says Fans Shouldn't Be Surprised If Najee Harris Becomes Antagonistic

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected running back Najee Harris with their first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He absolutely dominated the SEC and won the Doak Walker Award as a senior. He left the Crimson Tide as the all-time leader in rushing yards (3,843), 4,624 total scrimmage yards, and 57 touchdowns.

Regardless of his many accolades, there were a large number of fans that were angry we drafted a running back in the first round. Mostly for the perceived value of the player, backs have some of the shortest NFL careers. They are the workhorses of the offense and their bodies take a beating, making them more prone to injuries. This leads folks to believe that you could get the same "value" player at a later round. 

Regardless of value, it is hard to dispute the necessity of a good back. While the NFL is definitely becoming a more pass-friendly league, teams still need a balanced system. A strong run game helps to keep the defense honest and not just know they can drop back on every play. Without the run game, there is no passing game.  

The Steelers are well-known historically for having a strong run game. Their smashmouth style of football has become iconic, with Pittsburgh fielding some of the best backs in history including Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis, and Le'Veon Bell. 

However, the run game was starting to falter after Bell left the Steelers, so it wasn't a surprise to many when the team jumped at the chance to have someone of Harris' caliber. Harris had a solid rookie season with 1,200 yards and 7 touchdowns. He did it with an aging quarterback and a subpar offensive line. This led to big expectations for him when he started his second year. 

But it was apparent pretty quickly something was wrong. Ultimately it was revealed that Harris had suffered a foot injury and undrafted rookie free agent Jaylen Warren was tasked with sharing the workload with Harris. This "running back by committee" style seemed to only solidify the anti-Harris group. 

Now Harris is heading into his third season and really needs to prove himself. He will be hoping that the team will pick up the fifth-year option on him and these next two seasons will be the determining factors. Can he get his production up? Can he continue to show the improvement he showed at the end of 2022? Former Steelers offensive guard Ramon Foster believes he can, but he also says he doesn't blame Harris for being frustrated with the negativity. 

Steelers' Najee Harris Has Every Right To Chirp Back At Fans Says Ramon Foster

Foster co-hosts, The Ramon Foster Show, which airs on DK Pittsburgh Sports, with reporter Dejan Kovacevic. On a recent episode, a fan asked if Harris doesn't have an excellent 2023 season, are fans going to start wanting him replaced by Warren? 

While it is natural, according to Foster, for fans to want to see a backup take the place of someone who is not doing their job, he thinks some fans might be missing the bigger picture on this. This is especially true in football where the spotlight falls so solidly on a first-round pick.  

"Gotta remember the guy who's the star also gets the most attention. It's the backup guy, Jaylen, who surprises you, who knocks you for 80 yards and you realize, oh dang, Najee had 90 and he had 80. It's natural for you to want to go to the backup, but the backup is the backup for a reason."

Kovacevic adds that from everything he has heard, the Steelers will be building the offense around two backs. He says there will be times you will see both backs on the field. He laughingly says that it reminds him of the old 1970s Steelers with Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier. 

He adds that when Foster played, there was almost a distinctive rhythm to the way they used Bell and DeAngelo Williams. You would see two carries for Bell and then one for WIlliams. But he expects the 2023 Steelers to use the element of surprise a bit more. 

"I'll say this, when you got two that can work like this, just appreciate both," says Foster. "Because Najee does stuff that Jaylen doesn't and Jaylen does stuff that Najee doesn't." 

There has been much talk about the "mistake" we made in drafting him, fans even going so far as to call him a "bust." There are also lots of fans who support Harris and see the important role he plays on the team. Foster is not sympathetic to the way fans are trashing Harris and he thinks they may get what they deserve if they keep it up. 

"Those who say we want Najee gone, don't be upset if Najee says some stuff in public or Najee is a little bit more sinister about his attitude and how fans treat him. Because all that will play a part in it too, 'Oh, y'all want me going? Okay, I don't want to be here.' That is my player side because people are so quick to turn the page on a guy because of 'bad production' (makes air quotes)."

One upside to the "running back by committee" method, is it prolongs the life of your backs. If you can have two feature backs, doing two different types of plays and both are able to play longer, there is no downside. 

What do you think about Harris? Has he deserved the trashing he has taken? Click to comment below.

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