PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – No one in the NFL had more touches last year than Steelers running back Najee Harris. He told us Tuesday that will change.
"I will be on the field a lot, but on certain downs I'm not going to be on the field," Harris said after mini-camp practice on Tuesday.
He touched the ball 381 times in 2021, but said the coaches have talked to him about limiting extra hits and taking shots. He said they are still discussing it because he wants to play and contribute as much as possible.
"I want to be out there anytime I can, but I also want to be smart," Harris said.
The 24-year-old first-round pick set team rookie records with 1200 yards rushing and also caught 74 passes for 467 yards totaling 10 touchdowns.
"Last year, no other offensive rookie was put in the position I was put in," Harris said. "No other offensive player really had to come in and be the head honcho of a team. Be the vocal point of the team, a lot leaned on the one person."
"I took that in, I knew it was going to be a long season. Ben (Roethlisberger) was finishing up his career, so a lot leaned on my shoulders."
"If anytime they gave me the crown to be that type of guy. I'm going to take that and run with it."
Learning
As good as the total numbers would be, Harris rushed for only 123 yards in his first three NFL games with no rushing touchdowns and rushed for 28 yards in his last game. He was first to admit he needs to get better.
"You want to take the film from last year and you want to put all the good runs and bad runs together," Harris said. "The good protections and the bad protections. See what you can do better, what you can work on. Take your film from last year, take all of the bad stuff and try to improve on it."
Leading
Steelers running backs coach Eddie Faulkner said Harris is working to be more of a vocal leader, not just for his position group, but the entire team.
"I always lead by example," Harris said. "That's the best thing I can do. I do need to talk more, but I like to lead by example. That's going out there and playing and getting them in the mood to play."
