Pittsburgh Steelers reporter Josh Rowntree has made a rather remarkable claim about running back Najee Harris that should leave fans incredibly excited. 

There are some areas of uncertainty surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, as they get ready for their first season since 2003 when they did not have Ben Roethlisberger on the roster, and having to decide between Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett as to who will be the starting quarterback.

There has also been a lot of turnover at the wide receiver position, having lost JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington, whilst bringing in George Pickens and Calvin Austin III during the NFL Draft. One position that will remain the same though is running back, where Najee Harris will remain their #1 back and he’ll look to improve on an impressive rookie season.

Building off an impressive debut

Despite being new in the league and having to work behind an offensive line that was ranked 26th by PFF last season, he still managed to rank 4th in terms of overall rushing yards with 1,200, which turned into 7 touchdowns along the ground whilst also adding in 467 receiving yards and 3 more touchdowns:

The Steelers have made some adjustments to the offensive line this offseason, bringing in the likes of Mason Cole from the Minnesota Vikings and James Daniels from the Chicago Bears, so things might be a little bit easier for him, but according to Rowntree, he might not need help from anybody else in order to get his numbers up.

Bulking up to bulldoze the opposition

Reporting from the Steelers’ OTAs and speaking on 93.7 The Fan, Rowntree claimed that he was ‘floored’ by the transformation that Harris has gone through from the 2021 season to get ready for 2022, before going on to compare him with some pretty big names that have played his position: 

Quite an ambitious claim from Rowntree and one that should get the Steelers fans excited ahead of this season. 

The team has always been able to rely on their running backs in years gone by, from Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis, Willie Parker and LeVeon Bell, so Harris might just be about to position himself to be the next great Steelers back, but the proof as always will come when the games get played and whether or not Harris suffers a ‘second-year slump’.