Najee has been at least as good as Derrick Henry

Henry is Harris on Steroids, difference is Henry much faster and can score from 90 yards out where Harris will never.

 

Whats your opinion on bettis then? 3.9 yards per attempt for his career. If any RB got as many carries as him theyd be just as good?

 

We have 2 good rb's 3 tool players quality runners, blockers, receivers. would
not want any other rb tandem in the NFL.

 

Different era. If you look at the backs that were good in the mid-late 90's and into the early 2000's, most of them had YPC in the high 3's low 4's range due to how the game was played at that time. Curtis Martin, Ricky Watters, Emmitt Smith, Eddie George, Marhall Faulk, etc. Lots of big personnel, huge run stuffing LB'ers and the game ran through power backs running up the middle. Really only Barry Sanders was an anomaly and he was just different. League avg for YPC in the NFL by team in 2023 is about 4.2, while in 1995 it was in the 3.8-3.9 range. You'd be a top 5ish rushing offense with 4.4 YPC as a team back then, now we have multiple teams rushing over 5 YPC for the season every year.

Now the game is much more spread out, there are a good number QB's that can do damage with their legs to some degree too, and overall the defenses are built to rush the passer, match the offenses speed, and create turnovers. Its no longer a beefed up front 7 designed to only to stop the opponents rushing attack and force them to pass all game. Its just a different era and different game, that is all.

 

Actually Henry may be a little quicker but Harris is a little faster. Henry just have better blocking and schemes.

Harris 40 - 4.45
Henry 40 - 4.54

 

It goes to show you how meaningless 40 times are when the pads come on. Henry has the burst and top end speed seen in games that we've just never seen from Harris. He's been a homerun hitter just as much as a bruiser (as evidenced by the multiple 90+ yard TD's and even more 70+ yard scores), while Harris has never shown that ability (evidenced by his career long rush of 37 yards). Henry has succeeded because Henry is a beast, and he would have been great in nearly any system. Harris is just not on his level and that is ok.

 

Can you really name 14 NFL running backs who are better?

 

So what you are saying the running backs who had the majority of their teams carries while not sharing the workload did not produce high yards per carry compared to todays RBs who split the workload? Weird the 1 year najee splits the workload his yards per carry is his best year. I obviously understand different eras, workloads, offensive schemes but you are comparing RBs in spead offenses to a team that plays like its the 90s with their RBs. I'm sure if Najee was in a diff offense his yards per carry would be better and he probably would not carry the ball as much.

 

This. People don't think sometimes.

 

Look are deceiving. I try saying this all the time.
Example: ever drove on a tracks with go-karts???
When You hit speeds of 40 it seem that You are going faster than when You are cruising along at 75 in Your real truck/car.

 

You are wasting Your time. I tried explaining this to Him many times.

 

It is also why some teams can be caught off guard by the speed of a player they hadn't faced previously. Sure, they have seen him on film, but it isn't the same.

 

Exactly

 

Counterpoint: never draft any RB (at least not in 1st 2 rounds)

 

It was to me too. But Henry is fast for a big man and hard to stop once he get the gears going.

 

Speed in shorts is not the same thing as speed in full pads while carrying the ball. Jerry Rice was a great example of that. He didn't blow people away running a 40-yard dash, but he was explosive on the field.

 

No not at all. I am saying that backs generally averaged lower yards per carry 20-30 years ago because the way the game was played. The offense went through the RB's and the entire defense was built to stop the running game. There was just less room to run. Now in a more spread out league with defenses built solely on sacking the QB and stopping the passing game, there is a lot more room to run and teams have much higher YPC for the season that they did in years' past. 3.9 YPC looked a lot different in the 90's than it does now.

I also don't think that Najee's usage or anything has had any affect on his YPC at all. He's been used less every year and not much has changed... For the first 14 games this year it was all the same as it had been the previous 2 years for Najee. Prior to the last 3 weeks of the season he was still averaging just 3.95 YPC on the year. He has really just gotten super hot to end the season, and did so while actually getting a tick upwards in usage as opposed to splitting more. While that is encouraging, its no guarantee that this is "who he is now" and not just a good stretch of games. Is Najee truly turning the corner and turning into that 4.3-4.4 YPC beast he's been the last three weeks? Or is he the 3.9 YPC plodder we got for the first 48 games of his 51 game career?

None of it makes sense... Like why would Najee "expect" to have a higher YPC because his usage is less, but be the same guy he was the previous 2 years for 85% of the season when he splits... and then turn it on when they actually start upping his usage? The truth is that the YPC thing is just on him. He gets stuffed for nothing too often and he doesn't break a ton of big plays/his big plays aren't big enough. The question is do we feel good about a guy that has largely been mediocre for his career? Should we celebrate a season that sees him hit 4.05 YPC when that puts him 24th in the league among RB's? Only 4 backs ahead of him in YPC are "complimentary backs" too (Gibbs, Warren, Charbonnet, Achane) putting him essentially 20th among "starting RB's"? We have another back that gets running down workload as well and that guy is out performing Harris. Should we feel good about him moving forward? I certainly feel good about weeks 16-18, but he has to prove that he is that guy now and not the guy he's been.

The truth is that he put together yet another mediocre season capped off by 3 fantastic games. I sincerely hope that Najee continues to play the way he has the past three throughout the playoffs and into next season. I have no problem changing my opinion on his game if his body of work merits it. Harris seems like a super great guy and awesome teammate, and I have no ill will against him as a person. I just don't think he is that good of a back. We drafted him in the first round to be a top end back, and his play in the league hasn't justified the draft position. You just don't draft a guy 24th overall at RB and consider it a success when you get an average/slightly below average NFL back out of it. He doesn't suck, but he isn't particularly good either.

 

You also have to remember that Najee weighed 230 at the combine when he recorded that 40 time. He is listed at 242 by the Steelers, and is likely even heavier with all the added muscle he's put on in consecutive years. He isn't running a 4.45 currently.

Henry weighed 247 at the combine when he ran the 4.54. Not sure what his weight fluctuated to during his career, but he's been around that same weight throughout. You would expect him to run to that same speed post combine.

 

Thats all fine and dandy but your 1st few sentences describe the steelers offense that najee plays in today in the 2023/2024 season. I'm not sure why you keep referring to a spread offense that the steelers don't run. I'm not celebrating anything nor saying he sucks. I never would feel good about drafting a rb rd 1 and wasn't when naj was picked.

 

We certainly don't run a "spread" and never said we do. I just mentioned today's NFL is more spread out than it used to be. Lots more 3-4 wide sets (something the Steelers do use) and "move TE's" that are used more in the passing game as receivers/mismatches. I didn't mean to insinuate that the Steelers run a "spread" offense.

Our offense certainly has more issues than just Najee (main issue Pickett's play IMO), and getting those problems fixed would certainly help both Najee and the Steelers as a whole. We need better QB play (we've gotten it from Mason) and its no coincidence that our offense as a whole has improved because of it. Lets hope we can continue to keep that rolling into Buffalo and extend our season again

 

I have watched Henry since high school almost as much as I have watched Harris and can tell you that there is no comparisons on long runs from football running position. No matter what the chart says Henry will break many, many more long runs then Harris ever will. When Henry breaks free no one including defensive backs will catch him. Harris can't do that, many times he got an open clear running lane to the goal line but is always caught. I believe his longest run in the NFL is 37 yards.

Harris is almost as much as a bruiser type running back when he gets a running start but more of a plodder type in the open field.

 

True. Henry is quicker and that allows his to get to his top speed, Harris is not as quick.

I think the verdict is still out on that because there is a 4 year span between their time in the league. Najee has not had many long runs because he's been handcuffed by the Steelers playcalling and O Line deficiencies. Will he be as good as DH? We don't know, at least I don't.

 

We should all give a bow to Derrick Henry, who is mainly responsible for beating the Jags yesterday. One of the all time greats.

 

So you think Harris will get quicker in the next 4 years? The play-calling does nothing when a running back breaks from the line and in the open field.