Two years ago, Najee Harris emerged as one of the best running backs in the entire league. The then-Pittsburgh Steelers rookie had an incredible first year, being one of the main reasons for the team's playoff berth. However, in his sophomore year, Harris' stats took a bit of a nose dive. Some people attributed Harris' struggles to an ailing offensive line. However… former Steelers player Trai Essex thinks otherwise. (via Steelers Depot)

“Najee(Harris) oftentimes – he improved upon it, especially the last year-he'd try to take too much upon himself. He would predetermine where he was doing with the ball, and it made the (Steelers) offensive line look worse than what they were doing last year.. That's frustrating as an offensive lineman. As he got healthier and as the o-line would start to build that chemistry and he started to trust the o-linemen to open up the holes the way the play was supposed, to go, he started following his blockers”.

The run game is dictated by both the offensive line AND the running back. The offensive line tries to open up specific gaps that the running back can pick and choose from. A good running back trusts his offensive line to give him the hole he needs to burst through. It seems like Harris struggled with the during the start of his Steelers career.

However, Essex acknowledged that Harris became much more trusting of his offensive line, which worked wonders. The Steelers will need Harris and the offensive line to continue that trust in the 2023 season. With teams like the Ravens, Bengals, and their other AFC peers, the team will need to squeeze every ounce of offense they can get from the run game.