Kenneth Gainwell

If we want Najee Harris back his clone will be available in the middle of the draft. Ollie Gordon is a big power running back that lacks top end speed, running a 4.61 forty.

 

Gordon was nowhere near as good as Harris in college. Sure, he didn't have Alabama's line, but NFL prospects should get more than 880 yards in 12 college games. He was also busted for DUI.

 

Whatever man. Bottom line, the Steelers knew Harris was the better back, which is why they started him over Warren and gave him the ball more the last four years. Because Khan has no understanding of the concept of not letting the perfect get in the way of the good, he hurt this year's team by not picking up that reasonable option, only to watch Harris get more money elsewhere when the incentives are included. There is no reason to believe those incentives are out of reach if he stays healthy enough to play, which he has always done in his career.

The Steelers should have had both backs and at least situation settled before the offseason started, but they blew it. Now they are counting on Warren to do things he has not been able to do as a pro. He is a fantastic part-time and third-down back, but he doesn't protect the ball as well, isn't even nearly as durable, and has carried the ball 15 times in an NFL game exactly once in his career. They didn't even make him the lead back for part of the win over the Bengals when Harris was out, instead giving those reps and carries to Patterson.

 

Why? Y’all have been blaming a coach for 18 years

 

I have to believe Najee’s incentives are tiered and include some reasonably attainable ones, while having other benchmarks he probably won’t reach. Almost half of his contract value is incentive based. As an example, he probably has some things in there tied to playoffs and Super Bowl.

 

If you didn't want to respond productively, you could have just let it go.

 

Gainwell is an interesting move.
He's been nothing special with his best year being 364 yard. His pass catching is ok.
So are they moving Warren to feature back and spelling him with a similar type back in Gainwell?
Or are they looking into the Draft for that homerun guy?
Warren/Gainwell could well be a good 1-2 punch too.

I like the 1-2 punch of Harris and Warren... but I figured that was coming to an end with contracts coming up.
I want to see what Harbaugh does with Harris as a Charger.

I think they draft a RB, maybe not a feature back but one that will probably make Patterson obsolete or maybe Shampkin.
I don't know.

 

Looks like we have a meeting with Mafah from Clemson too. Not sure why we have a penchant for big backs that lack lateral quickness and long speed, but here we are again investing time and effort into sluggish big guys that have athletic limitations that will cap their ceiling in the league. There are a lot of high end studs at the top of the draft, but it appears we are mid round picking hoping for an NFL caliber #2 and situational runner. Not in love with it.

 

He's kinda a prototypical 3rd down back that brings a plus KR... I think Gainwell is the one that makes Patterson obsolete (they fill the same role), and we are looking for our tandem mate for Warren in the draft. We are definitely drafting a RB somewhere, as we've spent far too much time scouting the position to not be actively looking to add to the room. I'd prefer we looked at some of the higher end options because I think there are a number of really good ones this year, but we might be able to get lucky in the later rounds and get a solid player that projects as a #2 in tandem on day 3. I think Warren has earned his shot this year as the starter and I am actually excited to see what he does with it. I thoroughly expect him to be an upgrade on what we've gotten from Harris the past 3 years, just how much of an upgrade is going to be up to Jaylen.

I think Harris landed himself in the EXACT right place for him. Harbaugh wants to use single back, heavy personnel a ton... and that is really the only type of offense that Najee is useful in. I don't expect Najee to have some breakout year where he looks like a high end back, but he should be productive enough if his line blocks for him. He's always going to be a guy that gets what's blocked for him and nothing more, but the Chargers are at least committed to giving their back the ball a lot, and doing so in packages that play to Najee's strengths. It's as good a fit as any for him. I wish him well, but am glad we have someone else toting the rock here in Pittsburgh.

 

I gotta say, that sounds logical.
I don't expect Harris to make us miss him that much but he will be an important part of their game. So it's all good.
The draft strategy is also sound. There are some homerun hitters in this class and a very good one goes a long way towards helping the QB situation.
I think Smith wants to utilize a younger version of Patterson sort of.
However, I could be overthinking that....

 

No, I think you're right and I think Gainwell fits that bill to a degree.

TBH this year might be one time I am okay with us trading out of the first (I am usually VERY against trading back with our first rounder). But if we could end up trading 21 for two seconds (like CHI's 39 and 41 for 21) or swap with one of the contenders (BUF, KC, PHI) for their second round pick, we might be able to walk out of the draft with a good DL like Darius Alexander or Tyleik Williams AND that RB like Henderson/Hampton/Judkins/whoever is available.

 

I couldn’t care less what your screen name used to be. It doesn’t change the fact there is a large contingency of you people that ignore what the players do and blame the coach. Ben spots the browns 28 points ina quarter and yall blame the coach. Wash, rinse, repeat

 

Kahn clearly much smarter than that. He understands you don't pay a RB top 10 money when he isn't a top 10 back. The Steelers obviously wanted more from the position and they weren't going to get it from Harris. He's been the same back since he was a rookie. The spew about everyone around him making him worse is just an excuse for an average back that can't elevate those around him. He's durable. Great. He's also average, at best.

 

Yeah? We done any better in the other playoff games? Part of the player's performance on the field is the coach too. If he gets no blame for all the playoff losses, he should get the same amount of credit for the SB win. Maybe we shouldn't ignore the players and give credit to the coach there? It goes both ways. Neither have been good enough to win playoff games, and that is why we haven't.

 

Do you mean by our qb it turning the ball over? Not particularly. Somehow in your little world it’s the coaches fault when players screw up and apparently in spite of the coaches when they don’t. Turnovers or turnover differential are one of the biggest factors in winning or losing games. Bills vs Steelers mason throws an int in the endzone, Pickens fumbles, and muth fumbles. -3 in turnover differential you lose those games over 80% of the time.

 

The Steelers have been outclassed by QB talent in like their last 4-5 playoff games.

 

So? In the past 3 years Daniel Jones, Baker Mayfield, Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff and two rookies (CJ Stroud and Jayden Daniels) have all won playoff games. That's not exactly a short list of top 5 QB's. Stroud and Daniels have a shot at some point to be... but they certainly aren't there yet.

You don't have to have elite QB play to win a game or two in the playoffs. Its such a cop out to think that way and it pushes blame away from places that should be held accountable.

 

Coach is a part of the team, so yes, he shares some of the blame when the players don't perform... I never said its the coaches fault and never the players, I was showing you how hypocritical your viewpoint on the subject was. Both have blame. Sitting there and blaming the players to scapegoat the coach is NO DIFFERENT than saying its the coach's fault to scapegoat the players. Its a team game. Blame falls on the team, which includes the HC and coordinators. When the QB throws picks is it because he sucks, or because we weren't putting him in the right position to succeed? Same thing for the defense, when a top 5 rushing defense throughout the season gets gashed for 300 yards is it because the players didn't show up or did our gameplan contribute to the ineptitude? Why is it that the #3 and #2 turnover defense the past two years failed to create a turnover in the last two playoff games? You can't just erase the coaching staff from the equation. They share blame when we lose and share accolades when we win.

We weren't -3 against the Bills, we were -2. We were even against the Ravens. +1 against KC, -2 against Jacksonville... Yes, the Browns game was not going to be a win when you go -5, but we've turned the opposition over 2 times in those 5 games. Defense owns some of it too.... We can't just blame turnovers for all of them because of the Browns game. We lose because we come out sluggish and trail, only to have to push for a comeback late. Its been EVERY SINGLE GAME. Ben or not. Favorite or dog. It's a troubling trend and not something that you can blame only on the players.

 

And they have faced MVP QBs Mahomes, Lamar, and Allen but sure they should've won those games .

 

You realize it’s not about football for the guy you are arguing with. He will never blame MT for anything. Move along brother.