by Brandon Walker, For New Pittsburgh Courier
Najee Harris has the potential to be the next great running back in a long line of running backs to wear the Black and Gold.
The offensive line has holes, but they have the potential to congeal during the later part of the season.
The secondary is clearly the weak link of the defense, particularly the cornerback position.
Linebacker Alex Highsmith has the ability to fill the shoes of Bud Dupree, who departed this offseason in free agency to the Tennessee Titans.
Drops by the wide receivers are still an issue.
These are what my eyes have shown me so far as I’ve attended training camp and witnessed the first preseason game of the season last Thursday, Aug. 5, the Hall of Fame Game for the Steelers against the Cowboys.
COURIER PHOTOGRAPHER BRIAN COOK SR. was in Canton, Ohio, for the Aug. 5. contest between Pittsburgh and Dallas, a 16-3 Steelers win. In the top photo, it’s Steelers rookie running back Najee Harris, and in the bottom photo, Steeler Nation welcomes their team onto the field.
Harris has been a shining star so far during training camp with the ability to run with speed and he runs violently.
Harris is listed at 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, but teammates say that he is closer to 240. I observed a run at a recent practice that displays all the skills you need as an NFL running back. Harris took the handoff from Mason Rudolph, got met three yards in the backfield by Cameron Hayward, made a couple of defenders behind the line of scrimmage miss and willed himself to a five-yard gain. As for the Aug. 5 game, he rushed for 22 yards on seven carries, but he displayed the ability to hit the right hole and run north and south with three runs of over five yards behind a young offensive line.
As for the offensive line, the unit that lost four starters from last year’s team looked better in the first preseason game than I saw in practice recently; probably because they were not lining up against Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and T.J Watt. The line, which started a rookie at left tackle (Dan Moore Jr.) and at center (Kendrick Green) held their blocks in the running game for Harris, Anthony McFarland Jr. and Kalen Ballage, whose four-yard touchdown gave the Steelers a 6-3 lead in the third quarter against Dallas. What was more impressive—the line only allowed one sack and that was more of a mistake by quarterback Josh Dobbs than to the offensive line. Offensive lines need continuity and repetition to succeed, and offensive line coach Adrian Klemm will need to find his best five players to complement the young, talented skill players in Matt Canada’s offense.
One player that I was impressed with in camp and on Aug. 5 was second-year edge rusher Highsmith. The Charlotte product has been unlockable at times during camp and on Aug. 5 recorded a sack of Garrett Gilbert in the red zone on the first drive of the game that forced a field goal. On the second drive, Highsmith stuffed Rico Dowdle for a two-yard loss. The Steelers recorded four sacks overall against Dallas. However, there were instances that they gave up chunk plays from Gilbert and Cooper Rush. The Steelers gave up 174 yards passing, 13 first downs, and allowed the Cowboys to convert over 50 percent of third-down conversions.
One last thing that the Steelers need to improve is cutting down on the dropped passes, notably Chase Claypool’s drop on the second drive of the game, and James Washington’s drop on a drive near the end of the first half. Dropped passes played a critical role in the slump at the end of last season and they don’t have as much room for error this season with question marks along other areas of the offense.
The Steelers had some good moments and things they need to work on just like every other team in the league after a week of camp and one preseason game, and we will see how they fare as time goes along and their next preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday night, Aug. 12.
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