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Najee Harris, RB
So what say you? Who do you see making the roster this year?
- Obviously his position isn’t up for debate. The investment they made secures his role for the foreseeable future. And we’ve seen what he can do behind a terrible OL. Give him marginally better blocking and we could see a top rusher. Biggest concern here is longevity. I feared that they would ride him til the wheels fell off and they tried. 307 rushing attempts & 74 receptions. That’s good for 2nd in rushing attempts, and he had similar receptions to the likes of Mike Evans, DK Metcalf & George Kittle. I don’t suspect they will tone down his usage though. New system, new QBs, new pieces on OL… They’ll lean on him early & often to give those new pieces time to gel.
- We suspected he was the de facto #2 heading into last season. Coaches were high on him. Although he can be disappointing & limited I think the #2 role still suits him pretty well. He’s a punishing runner, but too often does he think he has the lateral quickness to move east-west. He has proved capable in the passing game so that adds to his allure to the coaches.
- I really wanted this kid to take off last year but sadly injuries keep derailing & slowing his progression. Once he was finally healthy he couldn’t beat out Ballage. I fear it may be too late this year for him to carve out a role, but there is some hope now that Matt Canada has full control of the offense.
- Serviceable guy that nobody seems interested in when he falls to the PS. They like keeping him around. He’s Benny Snell-lite. Not a bad depth piece to stash away every year.
- Dark horse candidate for the 53 this year. SteelersDepot has been pumping this kid up as a probable camp favorite, and a possible RB2. Lofty prediction for someone that couldn’t even crack 7 rounds of the draft. I could see him sneaking onto the roster over McFarland, but not buyin the RB2 hype.
- Not sure if he’ll belong in this group but his gadget role fits nicely into Canada’s system and he could see a fair share of totes behind the OL if he carves out that role. Let’s consider him another dark horse candidate for RB depth, or maybe FB? Maybe he could even replace Snell or D-Watt. I like Heywards chances. Kid plays with heart regardless of the situation. Colbert recently said they had a 1st Rd grade on him at some point in time. Will be interesting to see how they deploy him. I suspect he’ll show up well in preseason.
- Criminally underused for how much they’ve been paying him. I get it though. OLineman routinely getting blown off the ball into the backfield just makes a FB one more obstacle for a RB. FBs are more effective if they can block at the LOS, not behind it. Watt’s real value was on ST. But it’s ridiculous to pay someone that much just for that role. If Heyward doesn’t challenge for FB then Watt’s role is secure.
So what say you? Who do you see making the roster this year?