Tim Benz: Based on expectations, Najee Harris is Steelers' biggest disappointment at halfway mark

During the Pittsburgh Steelers’ bye week, a lot of column space and talk-show air time has been dedicated to conversations about what aspect of the team’s performance has been the most disappointing in 2022.

The offensive design, play calling, or quarterback execution? Offensive line play? The defense — especially the pass rush — without T.J Watt?

Nah. We knew what those things were going to look like. If we are being literal about the phrase “disappointment,” that means you had to be expecting something good and instead have seen results less than what was expected.

So that means my answer is running back Najee Harris.

Not the Steelers’ run game in general. I’ve been used to that level of ineffectiveness since Le’Veon Bell left.

No, I’m talking about Harris specifically.

And before you roll your eyes and click away because you think you are getting another “I told you so” column about drafting a running back in the first round, that’s not what this is.

I admit to being in the other camp. There was no bigger fan of the Harris selection in the 2021 first round than me.

That’s why I’m disappointed. Because right now, I’m looking pretty dumb.

After Harris’ rookie year, I felt pretty good about that draft choice. I thought he ran hard and did the most he could with the little blocking he got. He made something out of nothing more times than not. After all, Harris had 1,200 rushing yards, fourth in the NFL.

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Yet, of the top five rushers in the league, Harris’ blocking and (and the run play designs for him) were so bad he was only able to average 1.7 yards per rush before contact. That was by far the worst of the bunch. By late December of last year, Harris was hit at (or before) the line of scrimmage on a horrid 41.4% of his carries.

He ran with such conviction, though, that Harris seemed to make the most of whatever chances he got.

That’s not how things look this year. In fact, in 2022, for as little blocking as Harris may be getting, it doesn’t appear that he is maximizing the chances he has to get positive yardage.

Take a look at these numbers from the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

• Of 49 qualified running backs (at least 45 attempts), Harris is 48th in the NFL when it comes to ROE% (rush percentage over expected) at 28.6. That’s the percentage of runs where a ball carrier gained more yards than expected.

• At minus-0.88, Harris is also second to last in RYOE/Att (rushing yards over expected per attempt): That’s the difference between actual rushing yards and expected rushing yards per rush attempt.

• He is last in the NFL in RYOE at minus-93. That’s the difference between actual rushing yards and expected rushing yards on an individual play or series of plays. The next closest runner is Denver’s Melvin Gordon at minus-57.

It looks like Harris is still ailing from his foot injury in training camp. Or he is gun-shy after last year. Or he isn’t carrying around that extra muscle he put on during the offseason as well as he assumed he would.

I’ll vote for all three.

“I can’t make a hole. I can’t do everything,” Harris said last week after the team’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Well, actually, Najee, you can. Some of the best backs in the league can occasionally make their own holes. In fact, you did a lot of that last year. But those numbers suggest you aren’t doing enough with the holes you are getting in 2022.

That’s the disappointing part. Because I always envisioned Harris being an absolute beast if he even got marginal blocking — which it appears he occasionally has now. And he is not maximizing it.

“Everyone thinks that (stuff) is going to get better the next day,” Harris bemoaned. “But it’s like a statue. You have to keep crafting. Keep working.”

A statue? At this point, Najee, Steelers fans don’t need Michelangelo’s “David.” I think they’d settle for a claymation “Mr. Bill.”

“Obviously (the media) want answers right now. But that’s not how things work around here,” Harris continued. “Questions don’t get answered the next day. Things don’t get fixed the next day. It takes time. You guys are doing your job, which is (to) create a story — figure out what’s wrong already. But we understand that great things take time. Look around the league. Any team that was good had their rough times. Right now, we have a lot more season to go.”

Eh, you’ve got about half the season to go. And after the first half of the season, you’ve only got two wins. Just one team in the AFC has fewer.

Oh, and as far as the concept goes of teams taking time to gel and a run game taking time to form, the Steelers haven’t had a playoff win in over five years. That’s a post-Immaculate Reception record.

Regarding the run game, it’s been in the bottom five of the NFL every year since the start of 2018. It’s fourth from the bottom this year.

That’s not too quick for fans and the media to ask for answers. They’ve been plenty patient on that front.

Granted, we should be patient with Harris too. Hey, Jerome Bettis slid backward in his second year with the Rams. As well as his third.

But “The Bus” needed to go to a second team before truly discovering his Hall of Fame self in Pittsburgh.

The hope here is that Harris won’t have to leave Pittsburgh to do the same.

He just better start running better than “a statue” soon.