Could Najee Harris become the face of the Pittsburgh Steelers once he takes the football field in 2021? Le'Veon Bell got a lot of recognition during his time with Pittsburgh, but you have to admit he was not as good as Harris was in College. Najee Harris could be so dominant on the football field in Pittsburgh as a rookie that he could become similar to how Mean Joe Greene was during his first years with the team at least according to one website that writes about the Pittsburgh Steelers. They even feel Najee Harris could overtake Ben Roethlisberger as becoming the face of the franchise at least in the eyes of the fans.
Those are some big words endorsing a rookie who hasn't even taken a snap in the NFL yet. There is no doubt that Harris can become dominant on the football field in Pittsburgh, but I think we need to start slowing down the expectations and allow him to produce on the field before we start comparing him to the likes of Joe Greene or Franco Harris.
John Luciew of Penn Live feels this could be a change of guard type of season in regards to Ben Roethlisberger. No one has ever taken his spot in Pittsburgh, but Luciew feels no rookie has ever taken the spotlight in Pittsburgh from Ben Roethlisberger, but Najee Harris is set up to become the face of the franchise if all things go according to plan.
Luciew on Najee Harris overtaking Ben Roethlisberger: "Sure, Big Ben will be the Steelers' starting QB for at least one more season," he wrote. "But as far as the face of the franchise goes, it's looking like a rookie running back will finally surpass Roethlisberger as the signature Steeler in the eyes of most fans."
Harris has the talent to become the face of the franchise, but I believe Chase Claypool has a ton of talent on the football field too. Especially coming short from a 1,000-yard season in his rookie year. You can thank Randy Fichtner and Mike Tomlin for slowing him down. If Matt Canada releases the Kraken in 2021 with Claypool look for him to become a star in Pittsburgh as well, but I believe Harris is set up best to become the face because of the amount of workload the Steelers are going to ask from him.
Ben is looking to leave Pittsburgh in a few years and Najee Harris is just starting his career. The Steelers will need to look for a new quarterback, but I believe they could let Mason Rudolph take the reigns in Pittsburgh for a few years. Especially if the Steelers do well this season I believe Ben Roethlisberger could be back for one more year. If the Steelers end up having a losing season for the first time in 17 years it might be time to look at adding a franchise quarterback in the offseason. Either way, Najee Harris will own the backfield all to himself for the foreseeable future and has the best chance to become the face of the franchise.