Player
Najee Harris
RB
Four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in the 17-game era is a workhorse signature: Harris was the only RB to play all 17 games in each year from 2021-2024, a durability profile that the Steelers leaned on as their unquestioned RB1.
Four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons in Pittsburgh (2021-2024) — workhorse usage every year. Then the LAC trade in 2025 cut things short.
TrendHarris regular-season production by year
| Year | Tm | G | Att | Yds | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | PIT | 17 | 307 | 1,200 | 7 |
| 2022 | PIT | 17 | 272 | 1,034 | 7 |
| 2023 | PIT | 17 | 255 | 1,035 | 8 |
| 2024 | PIT | 17 | 263 | 1,043 | 6 |
| 2025 | LAC | 3 | 15 | 61 | 0 |
Rushing yards by year
| Season | Yards |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 1200 |
| 2022 | 1034 |
| 2023 | 1035 |
| 2024 | 1043 |
| 2025 (3 G) | 61 |
Why it matters. Four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in the 17-game era is a workhorse signature: Harris was the only RB to play all 17 games in each year from 2021-2024, a durability profile that the Steelers leaned on as their unquestioned RB1.
Najee Harris is the only running back to play all 17 games in every season from 2021-2024 — a perfect attendance record across the entire 17-game era.
RareHarris vs other workhorse RBs: games played 2021-2024 (regular season)
| Player | 2021 G | 2022 G | 2023 G | 2024 G | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Najee Harris | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 68 |
| Josh Jacobs | 15 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 61 |
| Derrick Henry | 8 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 58 |
| Joe Mixon | 13 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 58 |
| Saquon Barkley | 13 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 59 |
Why it matters. Durability is the rarest skill at running back: even Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley missed multiple games over the 2021-2024 window. Harris's perfect-attendance streak across four 17-game seasons is genuinely unmatched among workhorse RBs.
Harris had 1,097 carries across his 4 Pittsburgh seasons — the 2nd-most by any Steelers RB in any 4-year window since 1999, trailing only Willie Parker.
SplitBest 4-year carry totals by a Steelers RB (1999-present)
| Player | Max 4-yr carries |
|---|---|
| Willie Parker | 1,138 |
| Najee Harris | 1,097 |
| Jerome Bettis | 1,067 |
| Le'Veon Bell | 1,014 |
| Rashard Mendenhall | 845 |
Harris PIT career totals (regular season)
| Stat | Total |
|---|---|
| Carries | 1,097 |
| Rushing yards | 4,312 |
| Rushing TDs | 28 |
| Receptions | 180 |
| Receiving yards | 1,149 |
Why it matters. Steelers RB usage has been steadily declining toward committee backfields since Bell's 2014-2017 peak. Harris's volume puts him in the same tier as the franchise's modern workhorses, even if his per-touch efficiency lagged.
Harris's 3.93 career YPC is one of the lowest among modern-era workhorse RBs — about 0.37 below the league RB baseline since 2021.
ComparisonCareer regular-season totals through 2025
| Stat | Total |
|---|---|
| Games | 71 |
| Carries | 1,112 |
| Rushing yards | 4,373 |
| Rushing TDs | 28 |
| YPC | 3.93 |
Lowest first-4-year YPC among RBs who debuted 2015-2022 (min 800 carries)
| Player | Carries | Yards | YPC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leonard Fournette | 803 | 3,148 | 3.920 |
| David Montgomery | 927 | 3,640 | 3.927 |
| Najee Harris | 1,097 | 4,312 | 3.931 |
| Melvin Gordon | 914 | 3,668 | 4.013 |
| Joe Mixon | 812 | 3,359 | 4.137 |
Why it matters. YPC at this level usually signals scheme limits or vision constraints; in Harris's case the Steelers' interior O-line ranked in the bottom third of run-block win rate for most of his tenure, capping per-carry upside even while volume stayed elite.
Harris went to the playoffs three times — and lost all three in the Wild Card round by an average margin of 19.7 points.
SplitHarris playoff appearances
| Year | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | at KC | 42-21 | WC L |
| 2023 | at BUF | 31-17 | WC L |
| 2024 | at BAL | 28-14 | WC L |
Why it matters. Postseason scoring margin reveals the gap between Pittsburgh's regular-season identity (smashmouth, top-10 defense) and what travels in January: when forced to throw to catch up, the Steelers offense Harris anchored couldn't keep pace.
After the offseason trade to LAC, Harris fell to 5th on the Chargers depth chart — just 15 carries through Week 3 of 2025, ending the 1,000-yard streak.
AnomalyLAC RB usage, 2025 regular season
| Player | G | Att | Yds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimani Vidal | 13 | 155 | 643 |
| Omarion Hampton | 9 | 124 | 545 |
| Jaret Patterson | 6 | 41 | 159 |
| Hassan Haskins | 11 | 17 | 47 |
| Najee Harris | 3 | 15 | 61 |
Harris 2025 game log
| Wk | Opp | Att | Yds | Rec | Rec Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KC | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | LV | 8 | 28 | 2 | 20 |
| 3 | DEN | 6 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
Why it matters. The Chargers used a 2025 first-round pick on Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal had emerged as the lead back, leaving Harris as a veteran depth piece rather than the RB1 he had been every year in Pittsburgh — a role change, not just a performance dip, ended the 1,000-yard run.
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