Expectations for Najee Should be Just as High as Kenny's

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Scott Mangan. Follow him on Twitter @ScottMangan2

No player on the Steelers, or any team for that matter, has higher expectations than the QB. But something about this year and the revived offense in black and gold brings the highest of expectations for running back Najee Harris. Being that Najee was a first-round pick in a city that lives for pounding the football and breaking their opponents will, there were some high levels set out of the gate. 

Coming off a senior season at Alabama with 1,466 rushing yards, 26 rushing touchdowns and 1,891 all-purpose yards - Najee was primed and ready to carry the torch of great Steeler running backs right away. Unfortunately, year one for Najee was no walk in the park, having a bottom five offensive line did him no favors in terms of getting stuck in the backfield and having to make something out of nothing on every play. He still finished a tough year out with 1,034 yards and seven rushing touchdowns.

Year two was not much different because through the first seven weeks, Najee had to deal with a metal plate in his cleat from an injury in training camp. Coming alive at the end of the year, he finished with 1,200 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns.

We are now entering year three for Najee, and the stakes could not be higher. I truly believe that he and Kenny have the highest expectations on this entire roster. A few new faces with the likes of first round draft pick behemoth Broderick Jones, and the "6th O-lineman" Darnell Washington, should absolutely help. This is the year Najee needs to break out for over 1,300-1,400 rushing yards or people are going to start looking at him as a bust - and there may be even some dire looks from an internal point of view with Jaylen Warren seemingly trending up.

I truly believe Najee will have his breakout year in 2023, especially with how running backs are being treated in today's NFL. The powerful and motivated back wants to show the world how important he is to this team, and how he is not slowing down any time soon. With a squad that seems to be building in the trenches, it still falls on Najee’s shoulders to produce -- and going into the season the spotlight will be directly pointed on him for 17+ games to deliver.

I think he will.