Najee Harris was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft which is pretty rare for the organization to go offensively in the first two rounds. Normally the Steelers love to draft defensively over the years, but this year they realized the running game is in desperate need of being fixed. Najee Harris may be playing offense heading into the 2021 season, but the Steelers defense is excited for him to join the team just as much as the offensive side of the ball.
Cam Heyward agreed with the Steelers pick in the first round this season. Although it was a running back he is still excited to see the Steelers gain Najee Harris's services in Pittsburgh. It makes sense because now the Steelers should be able to eat away at the clock a little bit more with a running game and allow the defensive side of the ball to catch a break. It seemed like in 2020 the defense could not get off the field at times to catch their breath before going back out onto the field for another round of football.
Heyward acknowledged the Steelers lost their balance between the defensive and offensive side of the football in 2020. One of the biggest issues was the offensive side of the ball couldn't sustain offensive drives and the defense failed to get off of the football field. He thinks with the Steelers bringing in Najee Harris will make the offense run the ball better which would then give the defense much more rest.
Cam Heyward on Najee Harris: “I think as a defender, we’re most excited to have him” Heyward said. “Having a guy like that that can tote the rock 30 to 40 times a game really puts an ease for the defense. He can do multiple things. I think the investment in our offense this year has been huge.”