Steelers’ Najee Harris wants big workload, not worried about cumulative effects

When it comes to NFL running backs, some see it as a big problem. Najee Harris, though, views it as a problem for the “little.”

Does the pounding accumulated over the course of a career harm high-volume running backs? There’s a school of thought that elite runners only have so many touches (carries or catches) in their bodies over the course of a career – use too many when you’re young, pay for it in the way of injuries and, possibly, a shortened career.

With 165 touches – the NFL’s leader among currently active players – seven games into his rookie season, Harris would seem to be susceptible, especially after 651 touches the past three seasons in college at Alabama.

Harris isn’t buying it.

“I feel like (those who lament workhorse backs) are kind of stereotyping running backs,” Harris said Saturday after the Pittsburgh Steelers practiced at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “I feel like every running back is different. We’ve got little running backs, you’ve got bigger guys. I’m not saying a little running back can’t carry the load, but bigger running backs can carry some of the load. Over the years, I guess people have seen little running backs carry the load and they break down. I think the old-school running backs are still out there that can carry the load.”

The Steelers’ history is littered with quintessential “old-school,” big, workhorse running backs such as Franco Harris (6-foot-2, 230 pounds), Jerome Bettis (5-11, 252), John Henry Johnson (6-2, 210) and Le’Veon Bell (6-1, 225). The former three are in the Hall of Fame; Bell was a two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl honoree with the Steelers.

At 6-1, 232 pounds, Harris joined that group after the Steelers took him with their first-round pick in April. And with 128 rushes and 37 receptions through seven games (23.6 touches per game), the only player who has had the ball more often in 2021 is Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry.

But Henry’s season might be over after he underwent foot surgery and was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, two days after having 28 carries to give him 237 touches on the season.

Third on the list is Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, who has played two more games than Harris yet remains two touches behind.

Even with his bruising style, Harris doesn’t believe all the punishment will catch up to him, be it later this season or at some point down the road in his career.

“Now, we’ve got more technology,” Harris said. “The technology has changed. We can take care of our bodies a lot better than… years ago when we didn’t have certain things. We’ve got cryotherapy now. It was all this new technology they have for us to even get our bodies back 100%. All types of drinks and shakes coming out.”

Harris has modern techniques to help him avoid fates such as Willie Parker, the most recent Steelers running back to have as many as 165 touches through his first seven games of a season (176 in 2007).

Coach Mike Tomlin famously said of Parker that they’d run him “until the wheels fell off.” They did, when he suffered a broken leg in Week 15. At that point, a reigning two-time Pro Bowler, Parker’s career was over at age 29 two years later.

Bell had 181 touches over the first seven games he played in 2016 (he was suspended for Weeks 1-3). He never was the same explosive player after that.

Franco Harris had only 78 touches in his first seven NFL games. Bettis had 112 for the St. Louis Rams as a rookie in 1993, although he did have 171 over his first seven games as a Steeler in 1996 and 175 over the first seven games of the following season.

Franco Harris and Bettis each had long, productive, decorated careers. So, perhaps Steelers fans don’t need to cringe every time Najee Harris absorbs a couple dozen hits during a given afternoon.

“Najee thinks he’s fresh all the time,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said, “which is a great thing about him. And he’s kind of built for it.”

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.