Steelers' Najee Harris ranked ninth among running backs for 2022 season

Theoretically speaking, it would be easy for one to argue that Pittsburgh Steelers second-year running back Najee Harris will soon be regarded as one of the elite players at his position. 

Harris ended his rookie season fourth in the NFL with 1,200 rushing yards and second with 307 carries. He also contributed seven rushing touchdowns to go along with 74 receptions for 467 yards and three additional scores. 

Now in his second pro training camp and coming off the retirement of quarterback and future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger, Harris made it known last month he is willing to "get 500" touches during the upcoming campaign if doing so will help the Steelers notch victories. Clearly, not everybody thinks that's a great idea for reasons that go beyond the 24-year-old's health. 

Former offensive lineman and current analyst Ross Tucker generated buzz when he said in June that he "was not overly impressed" by Harris last season, and a Pro Football Focus piece later claimed Harris was not among the most "elusive" backs from the previous campaign. Those criticisms aside, a different individual has Harris in the bottom half of his top 10 players at the position ahead of the preseason portion of the calendar. 

For an article published Thursday, NFL Network personality and former running back Maurice Jones-Drew ranked Harris ninth out of 32 ball-carriers. 

"With a player not named Ben Roethlisberger under center on a permanent basis for the first time since 2003, the Steelers' offense is primed to go through No. 22," Jones-Drew noted. "He had an outstanding rookie campaign with zero fumbles on 381 regular-season touches. He's durable and poised to lead the unit in the run game and provide a big boost in the pass game in Year 2." 

Unless the Steelers shock the football community and acquire a proven commodity before Week 1, free-agent signing Mitchell Trubisky is the favorite to open the regular season atop the team's depth chart at quarterback. It's a safe bet Trubisky will look for Harris early and often this fall even when he's not handing the ball off.