Najee Harris Appreciation Thread

Gee thanks

 

Could not have picked a worse time for his first fumble. Ouch!!

 

Najee needs to go immediately

 

Agree

Fumble today excluded

 

This is silly. Part of why the fumble was so devastating is that Harris does it so rarely.

 

It isn’t just the fumble. He just doesn’t impact the game. Nothing special about the guy.

 

I guess you missed the win over the Bengals and the three consecutive games over 100 yards in the middle of the season, just to cite a few examples.

 

Worst thing the Steelers did draft him in rd 1

Best thing the Steelers did not resign him.

 

He is signed

They didn’t execute the 5th year

More and more I believe it was the right move

 

Yea I mean the 5th year or extension. Will be glad when he’s gone. The most average RB of all time.

 

Najee is only 12th in the league rushing

Not stellar

If you want to look at the value of a RB you also have to look at all purpose yards

Najee is 21

It’s starting to appear that not signing him to the 5th year was a good choice

 

“All time”

that is a long list

please give details for all players since 1933

 

You can give us live scouting reports from 1933.

 

Thought just crossed my mind

I’m very bored now

And here you are with nothing better to do than to converse with me

 

He gets what the oline opens up. That’s it. He isn’t a top 10 back and certainly not worth a second contract

 

I'll appreciate him more when someone else is paying him. Being able to stiff arm guys occasionally doesn't make up for him having zero chance to break a run all the way, and he's as useless as Mike Williams as a receiver

 

We've drafted worse players in round 1 for sure, but the RB position is so loaded with talent in the draft that you better be pretty darn sure your guy in round 1 is going to be a top 10 back... That is the part that hurts. He's about as good as Rashard Mendenhall was. Same YPC, similar success %, Najee fumbles 1/2 as much as Mendy (6 fumbles in 65 starts, vs Mendy 13 in 63 starts), but Rashard is better at scoring TD's with 37 in 63 starts vs. Najee's 27 in 65 starts. I've always said Mendenhall was better than we give him credit for because he fumbled in the SB at a crucial time (and had a sucky personality), but he was still painfully average. Najee is unfortunately more of the same.

The biggest problem with Harris isn't as much that he's not a great runner, but that he is horrible in space. We really can't run him out of the shotgun, he isn't much of a threat as a receiver, and there isn't a threat that Najee can break a long TD. Him being on the field limits our offense in ways that almost "tips our hand" because there are only so many things we can do when he's on the field. You can disagree that Warren is a better runner, but what you can't disagree with is that Warren is capable of doing a lot more different things than Najee. Warren is explosive, good in space, and is a threat to take it all the way if he breaks the second level untouched. He can take a short pass and turn it into 12-15 yards, block for his QB, run it inside with reasonable power, and run it outside with reasonable speed. He can also rip off a 74 yard TD run. He's just versatile and I think that makes the defense play a bit more on its heels. The defense is ALWAYS crashing down on Najee because there is no fear. The defense plays on its toes when 22 is in. I think it is part of why the offense just looks "better" or "different" when Warren is out there.

Personally I would like to see Warren get more of a shot at being the lead back, but we need another anyways, so I am fine drafting one and just splitting their carries until a front-runner emerges in 2025. Quinshon Judkins or Omarion Hampton would be welcome additions. I'd target round 2 for a RB though. I think we have to get a DL or WR in the first (depending on whether or not we sign/trade for a WR). WR #2 is priority 1.... then RB and DL next. Maybe CB too if we don't extend Jackson.

 

I guess you missed the statistic that shows him leading the league in forced missed tackles.

 

Harris has shown the ability to be a threat as a receiver, but they use Warren on third downs and this offense seems to be adverse to check-downs in most games. Harris isn't going to go 70-plus yards, but how often has Warren done that in a regular-season game? Once? Twice? Harris is among the league leaders in runs of 20-plus yards. I get the limitations, but people keep posting things about him that are simply wrong.

Warren has not shown he can be a feature back. The team seems to have no interest in letting him try. The two most recent games when Harris's carries were limited, they started giving the ball to Patterson rather than allowing Warren to carry more of the load. That should tell you what the team thinks of Warren.

 

Show me that stat that says he leads the league in yards after the missed tackle.

 

It has been posted on the board multiple times. I didn't post it and don't know where they got it.

I can offer a slightly different metric on another site that lists him third in the NFL in broken tackles this season behind Henry and Jacobs. (He is tied with Pollard.)

Pro Football Focus is often full of crap, but they do have him second behind James Conner in missed tackles forced.

There is some subjectivity in these particular statistics, but the fact that Harris keeps popping up near the top in statistics that try to measure broken tackles demonstrates that this notion that he only gets what the line gives him is utter nonsense.

 

Again.....has Najee not played injured, and yet no excuse for him.
Jaylen Warren injured: don't play we can do it without him.
Najee Harris injured: uhhh....sorry you gotta play, we need you.

 

Don't use facts man.....their eyes tell them differently. LoL.