Najee Harris' fifth-year option was not picked up by the Steelers in large part because Pittsburgh wanted to see how the former Pro Bowl running back fits inside new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's system. Based on this past Sunday's game and Smith's subsequent comments about Harris, it appears that the Steelers may already have their answer.
Smith went as far as to compare Harris to one of his former players who rushed for over 2,000 yards when Smith was the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. Smith's comparison was made in reference to a stiff arm Harris delivered during Pittsburgh's season-opening win over the Atlanta Falcons.
"That reminded me of some of the Derrick Henry runs that he finished off," Smith said, via The Athletic.
The success of Pittsburgh's offense has largely been predicated on Harris' production since his rookie season back in 2021. If Harris has a good game, the Steelers' offense is usually productive, thus typically resulting in a Pittsburgh win. Conversely, the Steelers have rarely had success if Harris isn't a factor.
That fact was on display in last Sunday's 18-10 win. With Harris consistently able to get yards on the ground, Pittsburgh's offense out-gained Atlanta while having an 11-minute time of possession advantage. The Steelers' running game churned out 137 yards on 41 carries, with Harris accounting for more than half of those yards.
"We wanted to control the line of scrimmage," Smith said, via PennLive. "It was a little blunt force trauma that made it ugly. It wasn't pretty at times depending on your perspective. ... We were able to possess the ball 36 minutes."
If you're a Steelers fan, there was nothing ugly about it. Really, that's the style of football the Steelers and their fans have long embraced, from John Henry Johnson in the early 1960s to Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier during the Steelers' 1970s dynasty and into this century with Jerome Bettis, Willie Parker and Le'Veon Bell.
That's the type of football Smith embraces, which is one of the reasons why Harris has a chance to have his best season to date. If that happens, it could very well lead to the former first-round pick staying in Pittsburgh beyond this season.