Najee Harris doesn’t play like a rookie. More importantly, he doesn’t act like one.
The Steelers running back is seemingly impervious to the kind of frustrations that bedevil many young players when adversity hits like a T.J. Watt blindside sack.
“The kid never has bad body language,” former Steelers running back and ESPN analyst Merril Hoge told DK Pittsburgh Sports. “That’s the kind of stuff I look for when analyzing a first- or second-year player. How does he react when it’s not going his way?”
Whether it’s fighting for extra yardage on a carry that appears doomed for a loss or chasing down a defender following an interception to make a tackle, Harris seldom quits on a play.
That was evident again Dec. 9 in the Steelers’ 36-28 loss to the Vikings, a game in which Pittsburgh fell behind by 29 points. His motor remained revved, rushing for 94 yards on 20 carries and contributing a pair of touchdowns in the comeback. The first-round draft pick had just 17 rushing yards on six first-half attempts.
Harris approaches every task with the same resolve. In the club's 41-10 loss at Cincinnati, he tracked down Eli Apple on a first-quarter, 50-yard interception return, a tackle that helped limit the Bengals to a field goal.
“That can be the difference (in) the game, especially in the NFL,” Harris said Friday. “It’s so close and anything can happen. It’s just those little points that you think don’t matter. It matters a lot. I feel like we need more of that on this team, to be honest.”
Read that last sentence again, folks.
For a rookie to make such a statement is both refreshing and newsworthy given the state of the Steelers (6-6-1), whose playoff hopes remain on life support.
Accountability has been a buzzword in recent weeks as the club has hit a 1-3-1 skid. Chase Claypool and Devin Bush are among the players who have recently come under fire for their play or attitude or lack of urgency.
None of these issues pertain to Harris, who leads the NFL with 297 touches. He ranks sixth in rushing yards with 873 and 10th in all-purpose yards with 1,270. The all-purpose yardage establishes a new Steelers rookie record, surpassing the 1,259-yard mark set by Le'Veon Bell in 2013.
The only time Harris appears to grow agitated is when he’s asked about fatigue. And even then, he does it in a joking manner.
“You guys . . . ever since I don’t know when, maybe Week 8, that’s been the main question you guys ask,” Harris said while laughing during a Zoom conference call with reporters. “I’m alright. If there’s a problem, I will tell them, but there’s not been a problem. I think you fall into a stereotype that there’s only so many hits (a running back can take). I don’t believe in that at all. I feel like I train for stuff like this. I really train a lot to carry the load."
Harris prepares for his grueling game-day assignments week to week, and also in the offseason. Yoga, cryotherapy and dry needling, he said, are all part of his recovery process. He made mention of the millions of dollars LeBron James has invested into his offseason training.
“Will it affect me down the road? I don’t know,” Harris said of the punishment he’s absorbed as a rookie. “But right now, I will tell you that I’m perfectly fine — 100 percent fine.”
Harris rarely wastes time or energy in post-whistle scrums. The running back said he doesn’t engage in trash talk with opponents, and that he hasn’t let his temper get the best of him since high school.
He told a story of how he was ejected from a prep game in Antioch, Calif., for slugging a defender who had repeatedly hit him late.
“I had to beat this dude, had to beat his ass,” Harris recalled. “I learned from it. It affected all of us. I was even out the next game in high school. . . . Ever since then, I look back at it, I’m like ‘goddamn, it really affected the whole team.’ . . . At the end of the day, if it’s affecting the team, that’s all that matters. That’s my learning point.”
Running behind a young and patchwork offensive line has taken a toll on the rookie’s yards per carry (3.7), which is tied for the lowest among the NFL’s top-20 rushers. Harris seems unfazed by it, however, his legs constantly churning to gain every inch.
During the Vikings game, FOX Sports analyst Troy Aikman marveled at the running back’s effort on a 3-yard carry that looked as though it would result in no gain.
“Not everything is going to go your way, especially in the NFL,” Harris said. “You’ve got to be more than just a player, offensively. You’ve just got to be a complete player. You might be a complete player like catching the ball, receiving, running through holes, scoring touchdowns. But a complete player, I feel like is even doing the little extra things. Finishing the plays, finishing blocks, and even, when an interception or a fumble happens or occurs, just being somewhere in the vicinity or being somewhere to make the play.”
It’s an attitude coach Mike Tomlin hopes becomes infectious with teammates, young and old.
