Pittsburgh Steelers select Najee Harris in 2021 NFL Draft: Grading the pick
By Randy Gurzi
At pick No. 24 in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers took Alabama running back Najee Harris. Was that the right pick for them?
The Pittsburgh Steelers were 11-0 in 2020 but then fell apart at the end of the season. They lost four of their past five games and they suffered a defeat in the playoffs at the hands of the Cleveland Browns.
Part of the problem was that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger started to wear down some — and the running game did little to help him. That should change going forward as they spent the No. 24 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Alabama running back Najee Harris.
After allowing James Conner to leave in free agency, this pick seemed like a no-brainer. Big Ben isn’t getting any younger, but he can still get it done in spurts. What he can’t do, is sling the ball 50 times a game the way he did when he was in his 20s.
Adding Harris takes a huge load off his aging shoulders. It gives the Steelers a player who ran for 3,843 yards and 46 touchdowns in four seasons for the Tide — although the majority of the damage was done over the past two seasons.
In 2020, Harris was a beast with 26 touchdowns as he helped the Crimson Tide win it all. And if that wasn’t enough, he had 70 receptions over the past two seasons and two touchdowns.
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He can do it all — and hardly fumbles or drops passes. Harris is a perfect fit for this offense and even though drafting a running back can be hit-or-miss, grabbing one at No. 24 when your team is fresh off an 11-win season isn’t terrible.
Grade: B+