Pittsburgh Steelers: Trade-up targets in the 2021 NFL Draft
By Jonah Hovis
Running back
In the 2020-21 NFL season the Pittsburgh Steelers were last in many areas of rushing categories. This led to an older Ben Roethlisberger who had to throw away more than he should have off a serious injury.
As mentioned earlier James Conner, who has been the starting back ever since Le’Veon Bell left town, is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Running back is a replaceable position and can be dealt with in later rounds, but if they feel like the top back in this year’s class is worth it do not be surprised if a move up occurs for him.
That running back is arguably Najee Harris, who is an absolute freak on the football field. Harris is a big, powerful guy standing at 6-foot 2 and weighing around 230 pounds. Even though Harris is a bigger back, he has nimble feet with big play ability.
Also, many questions his ability to catch the ball he proved to many of the doubters that he does have the capability to be a three-down back. With great size and overall ability, Harris is a prospect a lot of teams would like to get their hands on.
When it comes to the runners coming back next season for the Pittsburgh Steelers you have Benny Snell, Anthony McFarland, and Jaylen Samuels.
Snell showed some potential this year with Conner dealing with an injury, but also flat-lined towards the end of the season. McFarland did not get enough snaps to look back on tape and see if he could potentially be a starting back in this league. Also, all these guys seem to be very one-dimensional in their respected games, which makes Najee Harris even more enticing for them.
Harris is projected to go from the Dolphins’ second pick in the first round at 18th to later in the first round. If the Steelers feel they need to add a dynamic player like Harris to their team a trade-up would most likely be necessary.
With James Conner being a free agent with a past of injuries and a low production at the position last year, Najee Harris makes sense as a trade-up target for the Pittsburgh Steelers.