Najee Harris may be the most polarizing Pittsburgh Steelers player. Some fans love him, others hate him. He doesn’t have the burst of Jaylen Warren, but he has some traits that many running backs don’t have. Fans who expected Harris to be a long outlier should have themselves to blame. He is not and never has been, not even in Alabama.

“Steelers running back joins elite company”

By reaching the 1,000-yard mark in Week 17 against the Chiefs, Harris became the fifth running back in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards in his first four seasons. He joins NFL legends Ladanian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Clinton Portis and Chris Johnson as the only running backs to achieve this feat. These guys are legends in NFL circles, but Harris is massively disrespected.

With the help of his buddy Jaylen Warren, Harris positioned himself at a table full of NFL legends. The two are a great one-two punch, but the Steelers face contract decisions for both. Pittsburgh didn’t pick up Harris’ fifth-year option, something they may now regret.

Thriving in a bad environment

It’s important to step back and look at Harris’s thriving environment. Since arriving in Pittsburgh, the offensive line has been atrocious. It is a lowest unit. A defensive lineman gets to him on most of his touches with the ball before he’s even back at the line of scrimmage. He dealt with Matt Canada’s terrorist offensive. When a player struggles with those odds, amassing over 4,000 yards in his first four seasons is impressive.

The Steelers put Harris to work on the first day. In his rookie season, Harris led the NFL with 381 touches. He rushed for 1,200 yards and caught 74 passes for 467 yards, reaching the end zone 10 times. He made the Pro Bowl, was named to the NFL’s All-Rookie team, and ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing yards and all-purpose yards. Harris thrived in the passing game with the old Ben Roethlisberger. Since retiring, his goals have fallen off a cliff.

Harris didn’t lead the league in rushing in his second season, but he was still a workhorse. He threw the ball 2,272 times for 1,034 yards and caught 41 passes for 229 yards. He again scored 10 touchdowns, seven on the ground and three through the air, the same as his rookie season. At this point it was clear that the Steelers had a running back.