Since being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021, Najee Harris has become the first running back to hit the 1,000 yard rushing mark each of his first three seasons. With one of Harris’ best abilities being his availability, he has not missed a game since putting on the Black & Gold uniform. Although Harris has been limited on a few occasions due to in-game injuries, he’s taken multiple snaps in every contest.

On the most recent episode of the Steelers Stat Geek podcast, I dove into some of the numbers in Najee Harris’ first three years with the Steelers. Not only was Harris the only player to hit 1,000 yards in each season, he’s the only Steelers running back who, in the first three years of their career coming in Pittsburgh, went over the 3,000 yard plateau. When looking at the players first three NFL seasons being with the Steelers, here is the list of the top five running backs in terms of yards:

1. Najee Harris 3,269 yards
2. Willie Parker 2,882 yards
3. Le’Veon Bell 2,777 yards
4. Franco Harris 2,759 yards
5. Rashard Mendenhall 2,439 yards

As I must constantly remind everyone, these numbers need a little bit of context. Franco Harris put up these numbers in 14 game seasons when he started with the Steelers in 1972. As for Najee Harris, he has had the luxury of an extra game each of his first three seasons.

From the above list, three of the five players were first-round draft picks with Le’Veon Bell being a second-round pick. What is very impressive is the undrafted Willie Parker landing in the second spot, especially after only having 186 rushing yards in his first season.

When it comes to Najee Harris, part of the success of his numbers is the workload he has been able to withstand. As mentioned before, his availability has been one of his best attributes. To what extent has this benefited Najee Harris? Here are the top five numbers in carries by running backs during the first three seasons in the NFL spent with the Pittsburgh Steelers:

1. Najee Harris 834 carries
2. Le’Veon Bell 647 carries
3. Willie Parker 624 carries
4. Rashard Mendenhall 585 carries
5. Franco Harris 584 carries

Seeing Najee Harris have 834 carries through three seasons is quite a feat. Harris is 13 carries shy of having a 200-carry lead on the next closest running back in the first three seasons with Pittsburgh, and holds exactly 250 carries more in three seasons than Franco Harris.

One area where the increased carries in yardage has also benefited Harris, but not as much as one might think, is when it comes to rushing touchdowns. Here’s the top five list once again for rushing touchdowns for the first three seasons:

1. Najee Harris 22 TDs
2. Rashard Mendenhall 20 TDs
3. Le’Veon Bell 19 TDs
4. Franco Harris 18 TDs
5. Willie Parker 17 TDs

The most interesting thing I find is that in these three categories, it is the same five names that land in the top five. Just to see how things would switch up, I looked at one last category which is yards per carry (YPC) for a running back’s first three NFL seasons which were with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In order to give a better indication of these things, I had to set a threshold for number of carries. Perhaps setting the bar a little low, I went with 150 carries through a player‘s first three seasons . Interestingly, here were the results:

1. Jaylen Warren 5.1 YPC
2. Warren Williams 4.8 YPC
3. Franco Harris 4.7 YPC
4. Willie Parker 4.6 YPC
5. Barry Foster 4.6 YPC

It’s no surprise that Najee Harris was not on this list because of his overwhelming volume of carries. What is surprising is that in only two seasons Jaylen Warren is the only player who has more than a 5.0 YPC. It’s not surprising that others do not, but that Warren has been so successful in his first two seasons. What will be interesting to see if he can keep this elevated number through year three in 2024.

Additionally, it should be noted how both Franco Harris and Willie Parker still managed to be on this list with a high number of yards per carry.

Taking these numbers into account, and the relatively low number for Najee Harris fifth year option which is less than $6.7 million, it seems to be a no-brainer that the Steelers will pick up this option for 2025. With the deadline not until May 2 following the 2024 NFL draft, there is really no rush for the Steelers to say they are investing in Harris for another season. But, knowing the Steelers, having Harris play under his fifth-year option probably isn’t their ultimate goal. As long as Harris holds up for the 2024 season, the two sides will likely be looking to extend his career in Pittsburgh beyond his first five seasons with a new contract.