Hyperbole on steroids: This guy is the “next Franco Harris,” has “hall of fame potential,” “could bring the Steelers back to the playoffs.” Duh.

This is what they needed; Alan Faneca, first round pick, 2021 NFL Hall of Fame inductee

… the next Rashard Mendenhall?

In 1972, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted running back Franco Harris to be the key running back in what Coach Chuck Noll built into a trapping offense that highlighted the guy who always found himself in Joe Paterno’s doghouse. 

Steeler fans who watched the team draft Mean Joe Greene and Terry Bradshaw in Noll’s first two years, guys who found their way into the NFL Hall of Fame, were incredulous. Penn State’s premiere running back was Lydell Mitchell. 

Shortly after that, my high school friend and teammate, Danny Bender, who was living and working in Pittsburgh, asked me during a break in our playground basketball,

“Why didn’t they draft Lydell Mitchell?”

I simply said, “Just you wait.”

And Franco was worth the wait.

Franco is still the greatest running back in Steelers history with four Super Bowl rings and a membership in the NFL Hall of Fame. 

I bring that up because of some of the absolutely worst hyperbole I have read in a while. 

SI: Compared 2021 first-round Steeler pick to Franco

The obviously horrible area for the Steelers right now is the offensive line. So, instead of going after a pick like the two who have built great numbers for Steeler running backs over the past decade, first round picks Maurkise Pouncey [now retired] and 31-year-old David DiCastro, to block for a young running back and for an over-the-hill QB, they went for a running back who is not used to running behind a decrepit OL. 

I am not surprised. However, I immediately thought about the Steelers 2021 Hall of Fame pick, Alan Faneca, the best lineman of the past three decades. 

Again, a first-round pick. I will write about him later, but he was arguably the best lineman since Mike Webster, taking nothing away from Dermonti Dawson. 

Remember, the Steelers had the 32nd running attack in the NFL last year, and it was not simply because of the running backs. It was because of woeful coaching and woeful offensive blocking. 

So, here is the SI hyperbole that projected Najee Harris  as a future hall of famer, rookie of the year, and the key for a return to the playoffs,

“The Steelers are getting their next great back—Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis, and now Najee Harris. Harris has Hall of Fame potential, and the Steelers addressed their most prominent need. Harris is an elite pass-catcher, can pass block, and is the best ball carrier in the draft. He has rookie of the year written all over him and could help bring the Steelers back to the playoffs.

“This was the best pick for Pittsburgh's current roster. The offensive line class is excellent, and there will be value in the 2nd round. With the lack of talent later on in the draft at the running back position, the Steelers are getting a true three-down back. This is one of the best picks so far.” JB

“2021 NFL Draft Tracker,” Sports Illustrated, April 29, 2021

Analysis

First, the Steelers were in the playoffs last season, albeit a horrible performance. But, calling him a hall of fame back? The AFC offensive rookie of the year?

Please.

That is unfair to the running back, who ran in front of an NFL type of OL in the college game. 

Maybe he will be all of these. I hope to see improvement in the running game, but there is one difference between Franco Harris and this Harris: Franco was fast and powerful and could catch too, but he had moves and did not try to run people over in his career. 

This guy sound more like a Bettis-type runner.

However, another major difference: The Bus ran behind a powerful offensive line to build up his numbers.

“Steelers have ignored the offensive line in the NFL Draft for far too long”

Maybe this will turn out to be a premiere pick, more like T.J. Watt than Jarvis Jones or Artie Burns. 

It is just a questionable one if you have no one up front to block for you. 

However, I read a piece on one of the Steeler blogs that made sense and made the selection of Harris a red flag,

Many fans and analysts pointed to the lack of a rushing attack as the reason for the decline. The Steelers finished dead last in the league in both rushing yards and yards per attempt, and this clearly played a factor. However, instead of putting the weight of the blame on the offensive line, many want to blame the running backs. In fact, a large majority of fans seem to think that taking Najee Harris or Travis Etienne in the first round is magically going to solve all of their problems running the football.

While I’ll be the first to admit that the Steelers could use a big upgrade in the backfield, this is far from their biggest issue. Pittsburgh needs to get to the root of the problem, and that is their disgraceful neglect of investing in the offensive line. Over the past 8 years, the team has spent just 5 total picks on the offensive line, according to Pro Football Reference, and not 5 of the best either:

2013: (0 picks)

2014: 5th

2015: (0 picks)

2016: 4th

2017: (0 picks)

2018: 3rd 

2019: 7th

2020: 4th

Tommy Jaggi, Still Curtain

Only time will tell whether the hyperbole of SI was actually hyperbole or spot-on analysis. 

Or whether Harris will be more like Rashard Mendenhall, whom they settled for when they had a fabulous runner in Willie Parker [longest run from scrimmage in Super Bowl history] and who turned out to cost them a chance at a SB win against the Packers in the 2010 Super Bowl.