Two carries, six yards, and a lot of question marks in between.
Where has Najee Harris been in this preseason?
The Steelers' starting running back has totaled that stat line in two preseason games. With the final regular-season dress rehearsal coming Thursday at Atlanta, it is yet to be revealed how much of a workload the Steelers' starting offense will receive in that game.
One thing that's nearly assured by this point is a scant presence of No. 22.
This concept has raised questions of "why." Why is Harris, a former first-round pick and a two-time 1,000-yard rusher, not commanding attention from within Matt Canada's offense? Why has Jaylen Warren looked more like the Steelers' RB1 than Harris, the perceived RB1, has? Why is the buzz so quiet around a physically imposing player who oozes potential as Harris does?
The answer can be boiled to this: Harris is receiving some extra maintenance in the build-up to the season, and that includes with taking on fewer carries and preserving his workload.
"A lot of it is keeping him fresh for the season," Canada said in his press conference before Monday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "You look at what we've asked Naj to do the last couple years. I mean, you guys talked about it after his Year 1, how many touches he had, how many times he was on the field, he amount of plays and all those things, and last year we reference after the bye, we ran the football quite a bit and Najee was a big, big part of that. Not that Jaylen wasn't. So, your body can only take so much. We feel like he's done a lot, and we're going to continue to -- we're going to get him to the show and get him ready to go play for us, so it's been a systematic plan to keep him upright and at the same time get him ready to play, and that's a fine balance for everybody."
It's easy to recall one year ago when Harris sustained a Lisfranc sprain in the Steelers' first padded practice of the summer. He was able to play with a steel plate in his shoe, but was not the same runner that had posted 1,200 rushing yards the season prior. He had night-and-day halves to his 2022 season, in which he totaled 361 yards and 3.34 yards per carry with one touchdown pre-bye week and 673 yards and 4.1 per carry with six touchdowns post-bye. The Steelers had one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL in the second half with 146 yards per game, an average that was two yards more than the most yards rushed for in a single game as a team through the first eight games before the bye week.
Harris improved along with the offense as the season progressed and the Steelers recovered from a 2-6 start. Yes, Kenny Pickett's maturity had a great deal to do it that, but Harris was a major reason for the 7-2 close to the year. He rushed for 78.6 yards per game in those seven wins, compared to the 61.5 averaged in the two losses after the bye.
After Saturday's 27-17 victory over the Bills in the second preseason game, Harris maintained there was a plan discussed with Mike Tomlin entering training camp to help limit his workload and emphasize maintenance throughout training camp. This also came with an increased opportunity for Anthony McFarland Jr. to carve a role as the team's third running back.
“We came in with a plan,” Harris said. “I talked to Coach T at the start of camp. I am following Coach T. Whatever he says goes."
He later doubled down on that idea, while emphasizing the backs behind him are being given opportunities throughout the preseason.
"Of course I want to play more," Harris said. "I want to get my feet wet, too. There’s always a plan but, also, these young guys we have got experience and these reps. Like, a guy like Ant, this is the best he’s looked since he’s been here for four years.”
Meanwhile, Warren broke off an impressive, explosive, and highlight worthy 62-yard touchdown run on the sixth play from scrimmage to further the conversation about the status of the RB1 role in Pittsburgh. Warren has taken three additional carries for 13 yards this preseason, which included a 10-yard scamper in the opener against Tampa Bay. In an all-encompassing perspective, Warren has looked like the best running back in Steelers camp.
Canada, however, reinforced the room is Harris' to run with the lion's share of carries.
"Najee's our 1,” Canada said. “There's no doubt about that. I think we're protecting him to that point. I would never want to -- you guys know, we're never going to lock ourselves into any kind of 'what-it's-going-to-be' or 'how-it's-gonna-go,' I don't think that's fair to anybody. That's certainly -- we're planning on Najee being Najee when we start the regular season."
