Najee Harris Becoming 'Invaluable' to Steelers
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers will enter year three with Najee Harris leading their backfield, but with the running back market changing, questions about his future are already being brought into question.
As Dalvin Cook, Kareem Hunt and Ezekiel Elliott remain on the free agency market, and Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs are waiting for long-term deals instead of franchise tags, questions about running backs across the league are starting to arise. In Pittsburgh, the player in question is Harris, who, at 25 years old, is coming off a bit of a dip in year two.
The Athletic's Larry Holder recently broke down the value of each big-name running back in the NFL. He explains the EPA (expected points added) per rush and reception, and unfortunately, Harris' numbers aren't great.
In 2022, Harris had a -0.13 EPA per rush and -0.05 EPA per target. Overall, he finished his sophomore season in the NFL with a -0.11 EPA while touching the ball 313 times.
"The bright red rates for the likes of Najee Harris, Dalvin Cook and Alvin Kamara should ring the alarm," Holder writes.
"The Steelers have been riding Harris for his first two seasons, but like Cook, Harris’ numbers alarmingly dropped from 2021 to 2022," he continues.
Harris' EPA dropped from -0.05 in 2021, falling from 39th in the NFL to 52nd. Meanwhile, second-year undrafted runner Jaylen Warren finished his first season with a 0.12 EPA per rush and 0.30 EPA per target, rounding out to a 0.17 EPA overall, ranking 1st in the NFL.
Harris is set to make $3.3 million this season, while Warren is under contract for $857,000.
"Harris is the Steelers’ No. 1 back, but given these rates, I’ll be curious to see how Pittsburgh deploys Warren, a 2022 undrafted rookie, this season," Holder writes. "Warren only scored one TD last season, but half of his receptions and 20 of his 77 carries went for first downs while averaging 4.9 yards per carry."
While there are concerns about what the future holds for Harris, there is optimism about his third NFL season.
This will likely be the best offensive line Harris has played behind since joining the Steelers, and with Warren's expansion within the offense, it's less of a workload on Harris' body. He also has a second-year quarterback in Kenny Pickett and a seemingly loaded wide receiver rookie with Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Allen Robinson and Calvin Austin.
With two seasons left on his rookie contract and a fifth-year option still on the table, Harris' time in Pittsburgh is far from over. And the narrative of him drowning in a sinking running back market shouldn't be written just yet.
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