Najee Harris has been the featured running back since the moment the Steelers selected him in the first round of this year's NFL Draft and opened training camp atop the team's depth chart.
Center Kendrick Green, a third-round pick, was named the starting center by Mike Tomlin last week, even though J.C. Hassenauer remains atop the depth chart entering the preseason finale Friday night against the Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.
Second-round pick Pat Freiermuth also is pushing hard for a starting spot. The tight end remains No. 2 on the depth chart behind veteran Eric Ebron, but he caught a pair of touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger in last weekend's 26-20 preseason win over the Lions.
You don't have to squint real hard to see a scenario in which all three are in the starting lineup when the Steelers open the regular season Sept. 12 against the Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Three rookies in the starting lineup?
For the Steelers?
To quote Slim Pickens, "What in the wide, wide world of sports is a goin' on here?"
Heck, Roethlisberger didn't start his regular season opener. Neither did recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Troy Polamalu, Alan Faneca or Donnie Shell. But salary cap constraints due to the pandemic and old age caught up to the Steelers, opening doors that had previously been shut to rookies.
Harris will take over for James Conner, who left in free agency after the Steelers made no attempt to re-sign him, while Green is in line to step in for retired center Maurkice Pouncey. Freiermuth is benefitting from a retirement, as well, taking the spot of Vance McDonald, who split time with Ebron a year ago while starting 12 of the 14 games in which he appeared.
Throw in fourth-round pick Dan Moore, who has steadily climbed the depth chart and now appears entrenched as the team's swing offensive tackle, and it appears this rookie class is set to make a major impact.
"Man, with this rookie group, we get better every day. Coming in, a lot of us had a good opportunity to play as a rookie," Harris said. "This rookie class, we drafted a lot of offensive players. We don’t usually draft a lot of offensive players. To get better every day as rookies, it was really emphasized because a lot of us will play early. I’m glad and and happy to see Pat and KG and Dan out there making plays and doing a good job. It’s exciting."
Exciting and nearly unprecedented.
The Steelers aren't a team that typically has one, let alone two, rookies in their starting lineup. In fact, they haven't had two rookies in their opening game lineup since 2017, when linebacker T.J. Watt and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster got the nod in the opener against the Browns. And for three rookie starters on opening day, you'll have to go back half a century to 1971, when they dropped a 17-15 decision to the Bears in their opener at Chicago. Defensive lineman Dwight White and safeties Glen Edwards and Mike Wagner started that game and were regular starters during the season. The team's second-round pick, future Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Ham, didn't start the opener, but did so in the remaining 13 games.
The 1989 Steelers had three rookies -- running back Tim Worley, guard John Rienstra and safety Carnell Lake -- start the opener in Cleveland that season. But Rienstra was quickly out of the lineup. That was one of just two starts for him that season.
The difference between then and now was that Chuck Noll's 1970 Steelers had gone 5-9 and were still building a team that would go on to become one of the NFL's great dynasties. The 1989 team was coming off a losing season and lost that opener, 51-0. This current group went 12-4 last season.
But there will be four new starters on the offensive line, at tight end and one in the backfield on offense. And the defense was one of the best in the NFL a year ago, despite also seeing some veteran departures, most notably linebacker Bud Dupree and cornerbacks Mike Hilton and Steven Nelson. So the Steelers focused primarily on their offense in this year's draft. It marked the first time since 1984 the team selected offensive players with its first four picks.
Needless to say, the expectations are high for this group, both among fans, the coaching staff and themselves. All three were announced as starters at the Steelers' preseason game against the Lions and admitted to either not knowing what to do or just plain being nervous before coming out of the tunnel when their name was announced. But the cheer for Harris was as loud as any, including Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster, two of the team's established stars.
Harris said he and Freiermuth were next to each other before the announcement and things didn't go as expected.
"He was scared as hell in the tunnel," said Harris, who claimed to have no idea what was about to happen. "He knew better than me, but he was just scared. I was like, ‘Pat, calm down. I don’t know what I’m doing, but you’re making me scared. I’m out of place right now.’"
Green admitted to being in a similar state.
"I kind of blanked out I was so nervous," Green admitted. "I’ve got a video of it. It was a lifelong dream. Here I am."
Here they are. But can they stay?
The trio is being counted on to help bolster an offense that finished 25th in total yards in 2020 and dead last in rushing at just 84.4 yards per game. Harris obviously is the main focal point of that, but Freiermuth and Green also can play an important role, as well. Both Freiermuth and Green had "welcome-to-the-NFL" moments early in this preseason. Freiermuth was called for holding on his first snap in the Hall of Fame game against the Cowboys, while Green allowed a sack in Week 1 against the Eagles.
They were teachable moments that neither is forgetting.
"The first play of this preseason, I definitely felt like a rookie," Freiermuth said. "There are adjustments I have to make in my game to get acclimated to the NFL. It’s the same thing when I got to Penn State. They said I didn’t act like a freshman with my preparedness and how I handled myself off the field. My parents have raised me unbelievable in that aspect."
That ability to learn and willingness to compete is something that has been apparent, especially to Tomlin.
"They run to the competition, not away from it," Tomlin said in regard to what he looks for in rookies to know things aren't too big for them. "You guys have seen us work enough that you know what that looks like. You never have to look for (Harris) in competition periods. Not only does he seek reps, but he seeks the most competitive reps. That's what you're looking for. You're looking for guys that run toward the competition."
Tomlin could have just as easily been describing Freiermuth, Green or even Moore, as well.
They've been an impressive group and one that promises to help deliver some big moments.
"Yeah, absolutely," Green said. "That’s what we’re here for though. We’re here to compete. Najee, Pat, Dan’s playing pretty well too. Speaking on the offensive side, we’re coming every day to compete. That’s what you expect."