What I'm seeing from the Pittsburgh Steelers: Najee Harris in good spot, other observations

The Pittsburgh Steelers orchestrated an offensive makeover this offseason, hiring a new offensive coordinator, turning over the quarterback room, infusing the offensive line with young talent and trading wide receiver Diontae Johnson. All these changes have created countless questions about this side of the ball.

Can Russell Wilson prove he still has something left at 35 years old? How much will coordinator Arthur Smith’s addition impact tight end Pat Freiermuth’s production? Which receiver will step into the No. 2 role? And — about twice a day for a month — will this Brandon Aiyuk saga ever end?

But now with the season on the horizon, it’s worth asking: Did we forget about Najee Harris?

In hiring Smith, the Steelers are looking past the last three seasons in Atlanta and trusting the 42-year-old coach can recapture what he created in Tennessee as the offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020. While Smith helped quarterback Ryan Tannehill play some of the best football of his career and set up play-action shots to become the NFL’s fifth-highest-scoring offense in 2020, there was one thing that made it all work: Derrick Henry.

In back-to-back seasons in 2019 and 2020, Henry led the league or was tied for the league lead in virtually every significant running back stat, including rushes, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. With his bruising style and history of durability, Harris will need to be the Steelers’ version of Henry for this play style to be successful.

Harris, a 26-year-old former Alabama ball carrier, comes into the season snubbed by his own team after the Steelers declined to pick up his fifth-year option. The decision creates what’s essentially a contract year for what appears to be a motivated player.

During training camp, his energetic, fun-loving personality re-emerged after it often was masked last season by the natural frustrations that come from an ineffective offense. He also has shown a noticeable intensity, whether he’s getting in linebackers’ faces during ‘backs on ‘backers drills or spending time after practice running sprints alone.

At times, he’s been a tough player to evaluate. Only three running backs have tallied more yards over the last three seasons than Harris’s 3,269. However, his production has been less consistent than that one stat suggests. Over the last two seasons, he’s averaged just 44.9 yards per game over the first eight weeks of the season, 39th among rushers. But from Week 9 until the end of the season, he was the ninth-most productive rusher the last two years, averaging 73.4 yards per game.

For years, Harris ran behind offensive lines that were inconsistent at best and poor in many situations. That would be the defense of Harris’ slow starts. But now he’s in perhaps the best situation a running back could ask for entering a contract year, with an offense that features a young but talented group of high-round line draft picks and, more importantly, a coordinator committed to running the football.

How well Harris fills his role will go a long way toward determining how the Steelers’ season unfolds.

Here are some other things I’m seeing.

The defense still needs to dominate

While the Steelers’ offense devolved into dysfunction last year — with a mid-season coordinator firing and three changes at quarterback — the defense more or less carried Pittsburgh to playoffs. Even after the Steelers upgraded at offensive coordinator and quarterback, T.J. Watt and company will again have to dominate. There’s reason to believe they can.
 Last season may have been defensive coordinator Teryl Austin’s finest coaching job. Even after losing defensive lineman Cameron Heyward for eight games, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for seven and finishing the season down two of three starting inside linebackers and a safety (among others), the defense was sixth best in the most important stat, points per game (19.1). Other than helping earn Austin an extension, that season also proved how valuable Watt is. It says something that the other two highest-paid players on defense were limited for a significant chunk of the season and the Steelers defense kept humming thanks to Watt. The star edge rusher will need to produce another Defensive Player of the Year-worthy season.

Defense looks better than last year

General manager Omar Khan set a team record for an outside free agent when he signed Patrick Queen to a three-year, $41 million deal, then added another rangy inside linebacker in Payton Wilson, who may turn into the steal of Khan’s second draft class. At strong safety, DeShon Elliott is an upgrade over what became a revolving door after Keanu Neal’s injury. His addition will allow Fitzpatrick to do what he does best in center field as a ballhawk. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is a year older. Opposite him, Donte Jackson is much faster and probably more reliable than Patrick Peterson was last season. Defensive lineman Keeanu Benton is expected to take a big jump in his second season. Put it all together and it’s not overly optimistic to look at this defense, see what it accomplished last season despite all the injuries and think this can be one of the best defenses in the league.

How good will Heyward be?

During offseason contract talks, longtime team captain Heyward told the media, “I think when I’m at the top of my game, I’m still a top-5 player at my position.” If he is, that would be a massive addition to a defense that finished 19th against the run last season. But at 35 years old and coming off a pair of surgeries, how close to the top of his game can he get?

The concern on defense

Now, while we pointed out the flattering points-per-game stat, the underlying numbers weren’t as impressive. The Steelers gave up the ninth-most yards per game (342.1 yards per game) and were 21st on third down (allowing opponents to convert 39.1 percent of opportunities). One of the biggest issues was limiting explosive passing plays. The Steelers were gashed by 63 passing plays of 20 yards or more, fourth most in the league. With Jackson in the fold and Fitzpatrick expected to play deep more often, that’s another area that theoretically should improve.

Sacks should scare you

To be successful on offense, the Steelers will need to run the ball efficiently behind a remade offensive line and pick their spots off play action to unleash Wilson’s trademark moon ball and highlight George Pickens as a deep threat. Sacks are one of the easiest ways for this offense to go south in a hurry. Wilson has twice in the last five seasons led the league in sacks, including in 2022 when he and Justin Fields both took 55. The offensive line wasn’t especially great at protecting during the preseason, either, so keep an eye on that.

Injuries complicating tackle evolution

Broderick Jones, the Steelers’ 2023 first-round pick, is one of the most important players on the roster because of the versatile and prominent role he’ll play. It appears he’ll be the right tackle until, at some uncertain point, the Steelers feel this year’s first-round pick, Troy Fautanu, is ready. Then, when Fautanu steps in at right tackle, Jones is expected to flip to the left side. That process was complicated and likely delayed by Fautanu’s preseason knee injury. At the same time, Jones’ health is also in question, as he’s dealing with an elbow issue that has forced him to wear a cumbersome brace. The moving pieces and injuries make this young, talented tandem more concerning than their pedigree as first-round picks might suggest.

Leal’s re-emergence could be real

Demarvin Leal came into camp in the best shape of his professional career. He looks like the player who showed flashes as a rookie, with the versatility to play inside as a four-, five-technique in the base defense or outside as a linebacker in a pinch. He also has inside/outside versatility in sub packages. On a defense facing a considerable drop-off after the starting three defensive linemen — Heyward, Benton and Larry Ogunjobi — production off the bench will be critical.

Freiermuth set to bounce back?

A contract season in 2023 turned into a frustrating one as the Penn State product tallied a career-low 32 receptions for 308 yards. Smith, who coached tight ends in Tennessee before he was promoted to offensive coordinator, should change that. But to what degree? In the 2022 season, Freiermuth was within field goal range of the Pro Bowl, finishing sixth in receiving yards and receptions at the position. How much can he improve on those numbers in an offense without a clear-cut No. 2 receiver and a coordinator who wants to get Freiermuth the ball?

Trice could follow JPJ’s path to playing time

Rather than throwing everything onto Porter’s plate right away, the Steelers broke him in slowly and situationally as a rookie. Last year, he played in dime before earning a full-time starting role in the base defense. Cory Trice, who lost his rookie season to injury, could follow the same route early in his first season of NFL experience. He’s been working inside as a dime linebacker in that sub package. It will be interesting to see how he develops as part of a young position group where he’s currently next man up at outside corner.

(Top photo: Justin Berl / Getty Images)