Not Le’Veon Bell. Not Franco Harris. Not Willie Parker. In the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers, there has been only one running back in the proud history of this franchise to rush for at least 1,000 yards in each of his first two NFL seasons. And that running back is Najee Harris.
As a rookie, Harris came out and established himself as the workhorse for the Pittsburgh rushing offense. The sledding wasn’t always easy and it took a remarkable 307 carries.
2022 didn’t start off any better and it really felt like Harris wasn’t going to come close to 1,000 yards. Through the first eight games, Harris only had 361 yards. But thanks to a big turnaround by Harris and the offensive line, he rallied to rush for 677 yards in the final nine games. We can’t pretend that the extra regular-season game didn’t make this happen and in a 16-game season, he likely falls short.
.@ohthatsNajee22 is the first running back in franchise history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons in the NFL. 💪 pic.twitter.com/2a196p21y0
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 11, 2023
