Steelers Najee Harris 'a pedestrian back who doesn’t have any juice' according to legendary NFL films analyst

The 2022 season began poorly for Harris, he was hurt the first day of contact in training camp and he hasn’t looked right ever since. It was rumored that he has a Lis Franc injury, and he has had very little burst so far in the regular season. Greg Cosell , the nephew of the great Howard Cosell has carved out a nice career in film study for NFL Films. He discussed Harris at length with the One Bills Live YouTube channel prior to the Week 5 matchup.

“They (Steelers) are not that good a running team,” Cosell began. “I may be in the minority, and this is all from film study, I think Najee Harris is kind of a pedestrian NFL back. He’s big, he’s powerful, but he doesn’t have any juice. He can’t reaccelerate in a confined space.”

Harris is a workout warrior and anyone who sees him live knows he is an impressive physical specimen. His time at the University of Alabama was no coincidence, as he followed nicely in the mold of NFL superstar Derrick Henry. Last season, he was often breaking tackles in the backfield and that may have stunted his growth in finding and hitting existing holes this season. Harris has more often tried to be Barry Sanders than Henry and just explode through the hole.

“No, it’s not a great O-line,” Cosell continued. “A lot of people say if he played behind a good line, I think the point is that most backs can play behind a good offensive line. I think that Najee Harris is a powerful, physical, competitive, grinder. There is no real explosive big play element to his running style. He’s not a bad back but I’m not sure he is a true foundational back that you can lean on for 20 carries.”

Cosell came to this conclusion after watching seven games from last season to assess Harris. Even if Harris is hurt, which seems likely based on his performance, the veteran analyst was not high on him when he was healthy. The second-year back from Alabama was anointed the leader of the offense in the preseason by Mike Tomlin which seems to be a wildly inaccurate statement at this point. Especially in light of Jaylen Warren’s effectiveness as an undrafted free agent.

Andrew Fillipponi from the  PM Team W/ Poni & Mueller , has often stated his disagreement with the Harris pick. The bombastic host made used his platform on 93.7 The Fan Tuesday afternoon as an opportunity to be extremely critical of the running back’s performance.

“If that was someone watching tape and it was a blind criticism,” Fillipponi started about Cosell’s criticism. “I would of thought he was talking about James Conner a couple of years ago. Steelers fans were frustrated with James Conner because he could not stay healthy, and he was not a home run hitting back. We spent the 24^th pick of the draft on this.”

Fillipponi often engages in hyperbole but based on Cosell’s statements he has a point. Conner had a dynamite season for the Arizona Cardinals last year scoring touchdowns, but they were often near the goal line. He did not become explosive in Arizona, they just maximized his ability by putting him in situations in which he could succeed. Something that seems to be a foreign concept to Matt Canada.

Jerome Bettis was a plodding power back, but he had a punishing running style. In his prime he would start out with 10 carries for 25 yards and then by the middle of the third quarter he was ripping off five to seven yards per carry because the defense was tired of tackling him. He would occasionally burst through a hole for a big gain, but he did not shy away from contact, and he struggled with the Los Angeles Rams before coming to the Steelers with some of the same issues Harris has currently.

Harris is not even halfway through his second season and there is plenty of time for him to settle into his role and be the back that the Steelers intended him to be. Some one-on-one coaching from a fellow big back like Bettis, if he is willing would be a good idea.  The Steelers under Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher did a good job bringing former Steelers back to help coach young players. Tomlin brings former players to training camp but outside of Joey Porter, they have not landed on the coaching staff. Maybe that needs to change.