Tim Benz: Najee Harris on board with Steelers using 2nd back to lighten his load. But there are other ways, too

Najee Harris isn’t being territorial about how many times he gets the ball in 2022. After 381 touches in his rookie season, the Steelers running back sees value in reducing that number.

“There are some plays, if you watch my film, I’ll get somewhat tired. And those aren’t my best plays,” Harris admitted as the Steelers reported to training camp Tuesday. “But we have a good understanding of what to prepare for this year.”

How the Steelers reduce that number for Harris is up for debate. The most obvious method would be to find a second back who could absorb some of Harris’ workload.

Over his first three seasons, Benny Snell has done little to suggest that he can be counted on to thrive as a No. 2 running back. He has averaged just 3.5 yards per carry in his career. His rushing total has dipped every year from 426 yards during his rookie season of 2019 to 368 yards in 2020 to just 98 yards on 26 carries with no touchdowns a year ago. He’s also totaled only 97 yards on 15 receptions over those three years.

That’s still worlds better than Anthony McFarland. He’s managed to get just 42 touches in two seasons, dressing for only 13 games along the way.

Perhaps that’s why Jeremy McNichols was signed as a free agent, to add depth and competition to a thin backfield. The six-year NFL veteran most recently played with the Tennessee Titans, suiting up for 14 games last season and 16 the year before. The Boise State product totaled 360 yards rushing in those two seasons, and he caught 40 passes for an average reception of 7.4 yards.

Mataeo Durant, an undrafted free agent out of Duke, is also believed to have some potential. But, c’mon. These are the Steelers. With Mike Tomlin as the head coach. Mr. “run him until the wheels fall off.”

Whether it’s Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, Le’Veon Bell or James Conner, if Tomlin has had a good back enjoying a good season, that back is going to be a workhorse. And the second back on the depth chart is going to be used in specialty situations or injury relief.

So maybe the answer to lightening the load on Harris isn’t about Tomlin conning himself into believing that he can find (and will ever use) a viable second back. The better answer is probably to have the Steelers’ other offensive weapons more involved, especially in the passing game.

Remember, 74 of Harris’ touches were receptions. That’s in Bell territory, and he was renowned as a great pass-catching back during his time in Pittsburgh. In his last two years with the Steelers, Bell had 75 receptions in 2016 and 85 in 2017.

It’s great that Harris has the ability to be a reliable target out of the backfield. The difference is Harris only averaged 6.3 yards per catch, many of which were dump-offs and check-downs in the Steelers’ notoriously short, quick-release pass game during Ben Roethlisberger’s last season.

Much like when he took the ball on handoffs, Harris was often getting smacked by defenders before he had a chance to make a move. By comparison, Bell averaged 8.2 yards per catch for his career. Far more often than Harris, Bell would run designed routes where he was a primary target in open space.

If the Steelers find ways to get Harris the ball in that manner more often, wonderful. I think he’d thrive with those chances.

Still, the goal should be to get the ball downfield more often to an intriguing group of young receivers that includes Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and rookie George Pickens. Increased pass attempts to them will alleviate some of the hits on Harris’ body. Not to mention tight end Pat Freiermuth. Like Harris, the former Penn State Nittany Lion is coming off an impressive rookie season.

“We need to protect Najee as much as possible,” Freiermuth said. “But the more he gets the ball, the more plays he makes, the more electric he is and our offense is. So I think it is a little bit of both.”

After 79 targets last year, Freiermuth is optimistic that the tight end will be used even more in Matt Canada’s second year as offensive coordinator.

“We’ll find out in the next couple of days. But I think he is looking for us to be there a lot more,” Freiermuth said.

Keep these numbers in mind when evaluating the Steelers offense of 2021. That unit totaled 664 pass attempts, the fourth most in the NFL. But it averaged only 6.1 yards per attempt, the third lowest in football. In terms of the number of offensive plays, the Steelers had 1,113 — ninth most in the league. But the average yardage was only 28th, at 4.8 yards per snap.

Claypool probably offered the best solution on Tuesday. He suggested dialing up big-play attempts more. Increase the yards per snap. Shorten the number of plays needed to score. Decrease the opportunities for the opposing defenders to tee off on Harris.

“We leaned a lot on him. And we have to take some of that off of him,” Claypool said of Harris. “Making those (splash) plays happen, so we don’t have 15-play drives all the time. So it’s five-play drives and a score every now and then.”

While we are at it, dare we suggest (now that Roethlisberger has retired) an occasional quarterback scramble or designed run? After all, Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett and even Mason Rudolph all run significantly better than Roethlisberger did by the end of his career.

All that said, Harris still thinks the traditional approach of working a second back into the mix more often is the best way to diminish his own wear and tear.

“I think it should be a second back. It’s just being smart,” Harris said. “We’re just trying to find someone in the room.”

To Claypool’s point, and consistent with Tomlin’s tendencies, the method matters. The goal shouldn’t simply be to put a highly talented weapon like Harris on the bench more often, just to give a lesser back more attempts.

If the Steelers do find a worthy backup to Harris, so be it. Until that player emerges or is acquired from another team, I agree with Claypool. The best way to avoid putting Harris in harm’s way so frequently in 2022 should be to spread the ball around more frequently.

And more aggressively.

Hear our first Bella Construction “Letters From Camp” podcast from Saint Vincent College on the Steelers attempt to lighten the load on Najee Harris right here.