This past week, we were able to see the Pittsburgh Steelers rookies put on the coveted black and gold for the first time in their young careers. Selfishly, as the loyal, diehard Steelers fan that I am, this rookie class looks particularly good sporting the legendary Steelers logo. There are high expectations for not only each player selected in this year's draft, but for the team/organization as a whole for the upcoming season, and each player will need to do their part in making this year a success.
The intrigue with this rookie class is going to depend more on how different this offense is going to look with these new and improved faces, hopefully making their mark with this offensive unit. Both top picks in this year's draft (2nd round pick TE Pat Freiermuth and 1st round pick RB Najee Harris) will seemingly both have roles on this offense that will be vital in determining whether this offense will succeed or not. What’s still left in question is the exact role both will have when the regular season kicks off. Although it's early, I think it’s safe to say that Freiermuth will most likely be sharing his role with TE Eric Ebron, but the light was shed on the potential plan the organization has in store for not only the running game, but Harris himself.
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If you were on any of the Steelers social media sites this week, I’m sure you have seen Harris’s interview where he seems to poke fun at the media by now. Let me just say, if you didn’t like Harris before you saw that interview, it has to be hard not to like him after the fact. Besides the point, what might have got lost in the entertainment aspect of the interview was what the potential overall plan might be for Harris’s talents might be.
Obviously, the exact plans for the future of this offense are going to be kept quiet up until Week 1 of the regular season. The suspense leading up to that first performance is something teams value more than you would think. In this situation, you have to take what you hear with a grain of salt. That being said, what did excite me was hearing how our first overall selection will be utilized in our game plan. Although nothing was particularly given away, Harris was quoted as saying, "I am going to be utilized everywhere", and that is nothing more than a positive for this team.
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In an era of a “pass first” offense, having a running back who can not only do damage out of the backfield, but also be utilized as a receiver in the passing game, is something that teams value now more than ever. An area the Steelers in particular seem to have missed since Le’Veon Bell was our starting running back in 2017. With the Steelers, Bell’s ability to adapt to playing the receiver position allowed for a mismatch on the outside for at least one other receiver, hopefully allowing a slower linebacker to either be matched up with him himself or another talented playmaker on the outside. We saw what having that type of player does for an offense, and with Ben Roethlisberger back at the helm with this talented group of receivers, I have no doubts we will get back to the glory days sooner rather than later. Harris has shown the ability to be used in more ways than one and the quote, plus the reports of the Steelers use of Harris, leads me to believe that he is the guy to turn it around.
I don’t think there is any doubt in my mind that Harris is special. There have already been reports that he is impressing in camp and he is drawing comparisons to different players left and right. The bottom line is, the Steelers did not draft him to be Le’Veon Bell or any other Steeler great running backs of the past. They drafted him to be the best Najee Harris he can be, and by utilizing him in both ways offensively, the Steelers are doing him justice.
How do you see the Steelers utilizing Najee Harris? More in the passing or running game? Comment below!
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