Najee Harris poised to replace Ben Roethlisberger as ‘face of the Steelers’

Rookie running back Najee Harris isn’t just the new kid on the block, but a Steelers savior the likes of which we haven’t seen since Mean Joe Greene was installed as the cornerstone building block of all those 1970s Super Bowl teams. Najee was the guy Steelers Nation coveted in the draft. The Alabama basher and dasher fills a huge need after the Steelers, a team that once prided itself on running the football, just could not get it done in 2020. Meanwhile, Big Ben came up small in 2020, as his short-pass-crazy offense got stifled, and an 11-0 Steelers start disintegrated into one-and-done in the playoffs. In the ashes, Roethlisberger looked every bit his 39 years. Sure, Big Ben will be the Steelers’ starting QB for at least one more season. But as far as face of the franchise goes, it’s looking like a rookie running back will finally surpass Roethlisberger as the signature Steeler in the eyes of most fans. No one else has ever come close to besting Big Ben as Alpha Steeler. But this is a changing-of-the-guard season. And no Steelers’ rookie has been as heralded nor as well-positioned to steal the Steelers’ spotlight as Najee Harris is coming into 2021. It’s all there for Najee’s taking. He looks to be the guy to take it. And he’s not the only new Steeler looking to step up. We do a deep dive on the sky-high expectations, along with the more reality-based assessments, for what this new-look Steelers team is capable of this season. The first practices are in the books, and we have all the best analysis for what the future holds in this Pittsburgh prognostication edition of the Steelers Update Podcast. Listen up, Pittsburgh fans!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices