PITTSBURGH — The Steelers have picked 79 players in the first round of the NFL draft.
Bill Dudley, Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Rod Woodson, Troy Polamalu and Alan Faneca made the Hall of Fame, as did Len Dawson, the team's No. 1 selection in 1957, who had his greatest success with the Kansas City Chiefs. Ben Roethlisberger is sure to join the others in Canton. Maurkice Pouncey and T.J. Watt have a chance.
What a fabulous history.
I can't wait to see where Najee Harris ends up ranking among the Steelers' No. 1s.
Has there ever been a Pittsburgh athlete who broke in here with more hype and facing greater expectations than Harris?
Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby? Absolutely.
Barry Bonds? I'll give you him.
But among Steelers rookies? I can't think of one. Not even the great Woodson or the incomparable Polamalu.
It's not just Harris' wondrous athletic ability that puts him so much in the spotlight. His fame also is a product of his media exposure, both traditional media and social media.
Greene is regarded as the best player in Steelers history, but no one knew of him when he came out of North Texas State in 1969. His draft selection was greeted with "Joe Who?" headlines.
Quarterback is the sexiest, most glamorous position in all of sports, but who really had a chance to watch Bradshaw at Louisiana Tech before he was picked No. 1 overall in 1970? Or even Roethlisberger at Miami of Ohio before he went in the first round in 2004?
Harris played at Alabama, college football's marquee program. Its games are on television every week. It plays for the national championship almost every season. Harris' extraordinary highlights were featured on SportsCenter virtually every Saturday.
Everybody knows everything about Harris.
So what if Harris hasn't had an NFL carry yet? He already has drawn rave reviews from those who watched him at Steelers OTAs and minicamp.
"He is a sharp guy," Mike Tomlin said. "He is a football guy. You can tell he is passionate about football."
"Once he gets it and it clicks and he goes full-speed, man, it is going to be something to see," Roethlisberger said.
"I think he's going to have a tremendous season and a tremendous career because of his skillset, his work ethic and his football intelligence," Matt Canada said.
It's no wonder so many expect Harris to heal everything that's been wrong with the Steelers' running game, which was the worst in the NFL last season. Tomlin loves a "bell cow" as his primary ball-toter. Harris will get the most touches on the team as long as he stays healthy. Canada will use him often as a pass catcher.
Harris has everything you want in a running back. The Steelers consider themselves fortunate to have been able to select him with the 24th pick in the April draft. He is the leading candidate to be the NFL's Rookie of the Year among non-quarterbacks. Talk about big expectations.
As for that red-hot spotlight?
Harris seems to thrive under it. He was a huge part of Alabama teams that won the national championship in 2017 and last season and finished second in 2018. He even looked comfortable walking to the mound to throw out the first pitch before baseball games this summer at PNC Park and at Oracle Park in San Francisco. He is from the Bay Area and was honored before a Giants game because of his admirable work with the homeless in California. He was homeless for a time as a youth and had a draft-night party at a Bay Area homeless shelter where he stayed as a child.
It's a good thing Harris is so comfortable with attention. All eyes will be on him when the Steelers open training camp Thursday.
And they will be on him all season.
