Najee Harris; Most exciting #1Pick since Big Ben

[feltdizz]

I've been watching a lot of film on this guy the last week. I always watch Bama but I watched a lot of his highlights the last week. He reminds me of a stronger, more powerful, and quicker L Bell.
I don't get the NFL these days. A guy like Najee can get 25 touches a game and he falls to #24. A good strong RB can carry the ball 25 times a game , but the NFL would prefer a skinnier QB who can run but doesn't have the power of a Najee Harris. The skinnier QB is going to get his knees blown out because he doesn't run with power and forward momentum. A guy like Najee can be our #1 offensive weapon ala Franco. Just like Mean Joe said " before Franco got here we weren't winning and after he got here we didn't lose".

I always felt the same way. NFL is nuts right now. Everyone wants the next Mahomes so they are elevating QB’s. I think a lot of the QB’s selected this year will be trash in the NFL.

and the way they treat RB’s is crazy right now. I want the best RB possible because they touch the rock 20 times a game, catch 2 or 3 passes AND protect the QB.

and people want to wait to draft a RB because??? Nah.. give me the best available and then let me see how good or terrible this OL really is before investing top picks to rebuild it.

[feltdizz]

The Steelers obviously believed that it was a better value to draft one of the top RB's in the 1st round.

They probably believed that the drop off from the top 2 or 3 RBs was substantial and that the drop off of potential Olinmen that they had the opportunity to draft later wouldn't be as substantial.

I believe the Steelers made the right decision to draft Harris.

yup.. and I repeat, lets see what this OL looks like this year with Najee before screaming we need the best rated C and Guard.

We may very well look much better simply because Najee doesn’t take forever to change direction.

Conner man.. that kid was making 3 point turns to change directions. If everything wasn’t perfect he just wasn’t effective.

and since his ball security was questionable he lost that stiff arm that made him a monster at PITT.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

I think the grades have more to do with:
(i) Freiermuth who seems like a luxury pick, even though he might be good. But a guy that was arguably the best C in the class was available and C was probably our biggest need. Also my understanding is that TE's usually don't do all that much in year 1; and
(ii) Green is a guy most of us hadn't really heard of before the draft. And personally, I liked Meinerz...but mostly because of the senior bowl coverage. I totally understand going with Green because he played last year (unlike Meinerz), and because he at least has a few games at C (Meinerz doesn't).

I think the reason I wasn't a big fan of the draft is because the timeline of when I think these guys are going to be able to contribute at a high level doesn't line up with the idea that we're bringing Ben back. He's only under contract for 1 year (and the contract suggests he'll retire or go somewhere else after that). But it seems like our 2nd and 3rd (4th too where we got OT help) are kind of at risk of not being able to contribute all that much. This is actually a big reason that I like the Harris pick (also because I think he was arguable BPA...which I guess is also the argument for Freiermuth).

If you believe that our biggest problem was the OL, I personally was hoping that the draft would alieviate some of the questions marks for this year.

Hopefully everything pans out because there are no do overs.

one of the funny things about the draft is that every year, we have so much excitement about the picks. The reality is, most of them won't make significant impact in the NFL.
Out of boredom, i just went back and looked at every draft since 2000. Basically, i was curious if the team did well in rounds 4-7 or if what you do in the first 3 rounds is the key to a successful draft. Below are the round 4-7 picks of any impact

Year - Player (round)
2000 - Haggans (5th)
2001 - Chukky Okobi (5)
2002 - L. Foote (4), V.Haynes (5), B.Keisel(7)
2003 - Ike Taylor (4)
2004 - no significant impact by any players
2005 - C.Kemoeatu (6)
2006 - W.Colon (4)
2007 - W.Gay (5)
2008 - no significant impact by any players
2009 - David Johnson (7)
2010 - AB (6)
2011 - Cortez Allen (4)
2012 - Kelvin Beachum (7)
2013 - V.Williams (6)
2014 - Martavis (4), McCullers 6)
2015 - Jessee James(5), Chickillo (6)
2016 - Jerald Hawkins (4), Matakevich (7)
2017 - Dobbs (4)
2018 - Marcus Allen (5), Jaylen Samuels (5)
2019 - B.Snell (4)
2020 - K.Dotson (4), A.McFarland (4)

On the one hand, you hope the team nails it with later round picks.
On the other hand, you almost wonder if O-Line was a key position, why didn't they shoot their wad fully in the first 3 rounds. Though looking at this list, there have been a handful of 4th round success stories, and a fair number of them at o-line selections.

[BURGH86STEEL]

yup.. and I repeat, lets see what this OL looks like this year with Najee before screaming we need the best rated C and Guard.

We may very well look much better simply because Najee doesn’t take forever to change direction.

Conner man.. that kid was making 3 point turns to change directions. If everything wasn’t perfect he just wasn’t effective.

and since his ball security was questionable he lost that stiff arm that made him a monster at PITT.

I think the interior of the Oline will be fine. The tackles are probably the the main concern. A solid run game from a RB with good vision could help the tackles be less of a concern.

The Steelers couldn't address every position or need. They can assess and continue to build as the team moves forward.

I am optimistic that the team can compete for the division title again.

[Northern_Blitz]

I hear you but IF this is Ben’s last year I want a great RB for the new QB.

Also think the OL will be improved this year simply because Dotson is a beast and Pouncey played past his expiration date.

It's funny. If we didn't bring Ben back I think I would like this draft a lot more than I do because I think the timelines would like up better.

But in the end, I'd still just be hoping that whoever we picked would pan out.

[Northern_Blitz]

one of the funny things about the draft is that every year, we have so much excitement about the picks. The reality is, most of them won't make significant impact in the NFL.
Out of boredom, i just went back and looked at every draft since 2000. Basically, i was curious if the team did well in rounds 4-7 or if what you do in the first 3 rounds is the key to a successful draft. Below are the round 4-7 picks of any impact

Year - Player (round)
2000 - Haggans (5th)
2001 - Chukky Okobi (5)
2002 - L. Foote (4), V.Haynes (5), B.Keisel(7)
2003 - Ike Taylor (4)
2004 - no significant impact by any players
2005 - C.Kemoeatu (6)
2006 - W.Colon (4)
2007 - W.Gay (5)
2008 - no significant impact by any players
2009 - David Johnson (7)
2010 - AB (6)
2011 - Cortez Allen (4)
2012 - Kelvin Beachum (7)
2013 - V.Williams (6)
2014 - Martavis (4), McCullers 6)
2015 - Jessee James(5), Chickillo (6)
2016 - Jerald Hawkins (4), Matakevich (7)
2017 - Dobbs (4)
2018 - Marcus Allen (5), Jaylen Samuels (5)
2019 - B.Snell (4)
2020 - K.Dotson (4), A.McFarland (4)

On the one hand, you hope the team nails it with later round picks.
On the other hand, you almost wonder if O-Line was a key position, why didn't they shoot their wad fully in the first 3 rounds. Though looking at this list, there have been a handful of 4th round success stories, and a fair number of them at o-line selections.

I think that this is a great point.

Hopefully we hit on a bunch of guys this year because we need the help IMO.

Although needing the help means that at least guys should get opportunities. That isn't always the case when the team is more established IMO.

[feltdizz]

It's funny. If we didn't bring Ben back I think I would like this draft a lot more than I do because I think the timelines would like up better.

But in the end, I'd still just be hoping that whoever we picked would pan out.

I like this years because if we need a QB next year we might have to move up to get one.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

I like this years because if we need a QB next year we might have to move up to get one.

my fear is that they really decide to go with MR instead of QB in the 1st next year....

[SteelerOfDeVille]

I think that this is a great point.

Hopefully we hit on a bunch of guys this year because we need the help IMO.

Although needing the help means that at least guys should get opportunities. That isn't always the case when the team is more established IMO.

Makes me dislike Loudermilk a little more... there were a LOT of 4th rounders in that list that were successful, but not many 5th rounders. I'd rather have a next year contributor than a this year "cut" (i know they won't cut the guy they traded up for)...

[Northern_Blitz]

Makes me dislike Loudermilk a little more... there were a LOT of 4th rounders in that list that were successful, but not many 5th rounders. I'd rather have a next year contributor than a this year "cut" (i know they won't cut the guy they traded up for)...

I also think that next year's draft will probably have a higher hit rate in late rounds because there will be more eligible players. I think the NCAA allowed guys to have an extra year of eligibility this year.

So there were fewer eligible players this year and will be more next year.

It seems to me like that adds up to next year's picks (particularly mid to late picks) being more valuable than this year's.

But either way, I think 4th and 5th rounders are long shots no matter what. If the team saw something special in him, that's a good thing I guess.

[feltdizz]

my fear is that they really decide to go with MR instead of QB in the 1st next year....

I would be fine with that.. a gap year before getting the next QB is fine by me.

I also believe MR won’t be as bas as some believe if he just plays game manager and throws deep to Claypool all day after PA.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

I also think that next year's draft will probably have a higher hit rate in late rounds because there will be more eligible players. I think the NCAA allowed guys to have an extra year of eligibility this year.

So there were fewer eligible players this year and will be more next year.

It seems to me like that adds up to next year's picks (particularly mid to late picks) being more valuable than this year's.

But either way, I think 4th and 5th rounders are long shots no matter what. If the team saw something special in him, that's a good thing I guess.

I hope they're right... the funny thing - if they had traded up and taken Shaun Wade(DB, OSU), or Tedarrell Slaton (NT, Florida) we all would have been ok with it...

That's not necessarily a familiarity thing, but for those who we don't know, we trust the scouts. If 10 scouts, say one thing and the team goes outside the norm - "they can't all be wrong can they?"

[SteelerOfDeVille]

I would be fine with that.. a gap year before getting the next QB is fine by me.

I also believe MR won’t be as bas as some believe if he just plays game manager and throws deep to Claypool all day after PA.

i could see him as .500 with this team... my problem is, i'm not sure that some guys will want to stay around without a legit QB

[Northern_Blitz]

I hope they're right... the funny thing - if they had traded up and taken Shaun Wade(DB, OSU), or Tedarrell Slaton (NT, Florida) we all would have been ok with it...

That's not necessarily a familiarity thing, but for those who we don't know, we trust the scouts. If 10 scouts, say one thing and the team goes outside the norm - "they can't all be wrong can they?"

It would have been interesting to see what people would have thought (including me) in the alternate universe where we traded up to get Shakur Brown.

A guy that feels like a steal now maybe loses some of the shine if we needed to spend extra draft capital to get him.

[feltdizz]

i could see him as .500 with this team... my problem is, i'm not sure that some guys will want to stay around without a legit QB

I think we will be better than .500 with Mason. He throws a nice deep ball and he is cheap as hell. So that means we can spend more money elsewhere.

Also have to remember he has never entered camp at the number 1 QB so he would get all the reps and a playbook that should be tailored to his strengths

I see us throwing the ball 30 times or less most weeks with Mason.