DK's Daily Shot of Steelers: No fretting over Najee Harris

[Music] oh man thank heaven something came along to quell all that giddiness good morning to you good Friday morning I'm D kovachich of DK Pittsburgh sports this is daily shot of Steelers it comes your way bright and early every weekday if you're into hockey Andor baseball I also offer daily shots of penguins and pirates in the same place that you found this the Steelers did not exercise their fifth year option on Naji Harris's contract they also did not exercise Justin Fields fifth year option and these things put together or taken separately mean next to nothing especially in the case of Naji if you're new to this show I'm going to share something here that I've been sharing with listeners for years now and that is that Mike Tomlin loves Naji loves loves loves Naji on the field off the field in every way thinks the world of him treats him like a son he is going exactly nowhere after this coming season regardless of the fifth year option status and I'm not just telling you this because we heard last night at DK K Pittsburgh sports that the Steelers have every intention of at least attempting to sign him to a longer term extension this summer thus rendering the fifth year option and everything else related to it completely Moot and I got to be honest with you I don't actually have a whole lot to say about this other than what I just did but I feel comfortable pointing out that a lot of the same people who were ready to carve a bronze statue of Omar Khan outside the gate C marker suddenly seemed to think that he got really dumb in the span of just a handful of days the Steelers know who they want to sign they target those players and they go and get them and yes there are exceptions to this because I made the same claim quite often actually going back to this winter regarding Mason Rudolph Whenever there were signals including vocal signals all the way up to Art Rooney that they had every intention of keeping him and in fact never ended up even making an offer but that is very much the exception and not the norm just as Naji is the exception and not the norm when it comes to having a head coach like this everything Tomlin ever said about Rudolph appeared to come through gritted teeth why because he didn't know want to Mid he was wrong for 5 years or whatever who cares water under the bridge at this point but with Naji he wants to write poetry and now that the running game finally did get going in that final month of this past season thanks in large part to Rudolph and then the Steelers go out and get Arthur Smith as their coordinator and draft not one not two but three additional offensive linemen you think even for a split second those of you who were upset by this news yesterday that the Steelers are just gonna say to Naji ah we'll see you I mean look he's not gonna run forever nobody at that position does he's 26 years old though that's not crazy old for a running back it just isn't in fact you'll see most of the uh more pronounced or more significant drop offs meaning the ones that take you from a starter to a backup with an irreversible decline those will come closer to age 29 or 30 you're not going to see it at 26 you're not going to see it at 27 you're not going to see it at 28 now In fairness naji's miles are harder than most people's miles we all know that we've all come to respect that I think but that doesn't mean he's about to be done and that doesn't mean that after all of this that you do for a running game for a power running game for a punishing running game that you're just going to say hey see you no no don't think for a second that they haven't already explained all this to him and you know what as long as I'm at it I'd have a it's not to this extent but I'd have a hard time picturing that the same thing won't happen with Fields now Fields is a much more difficult signing from both perspectives cuz I'm positive that that young man believes that he's still starter capable in the NFL and he should there's no reason for him to be giving up on himself after three years in Chicago no quarterback should do that but how much would you offer that isn't insulting how much would you offer that keeps him here how much would you offer while taking into consideration that let's say you have Fields signed I'm just going to make this up for the next three years after this coming one three-year contract and you guarantee him I don't know basically the equivalent of backup money okay because that's that's what he is right now that's the status to which he was relegated following this past season for the Bears do you take that if you're him do you bet on yourself and do you take it before this season when you haven't had a chance really to prove anything to anybody and you're not going to be the starter for the opener you're just not Russell Wilson is much more than in pole position he's going to be the starter and then I look at this from the team perspective and I say to myself if I'm Omar Khan do I really want to keep going into every off seon without any quarterbacks do I really want that type of uncertainty over the organization do I really want every quarterback who comes in to have to learn a completely new playbook and he might just say heyy you know we value What fields can bring certainly in terms of his athleticism the sort of thing that doesn't go into a slump and we're ready to make a commitment to him and we're ready to do so while also understanding that you know he might want to become a starter but making sure that that possibility at least exists in Pittsburgh in other words Wilson stays but Fields is here as well and there's just kind of an understanding that there will be some sort of ascent or climb or at least an opportunity it might be a better situation than he'd find somewhere else I don't know I I I it's dangerous getting too specific into hypotheticals but I wouldn't mind seeing the Steelers try to work out something with Fields I really wouldn't I don't believe that it's to anyone's advantage to just keep changing quarterbacks year after year after year and there's no way they can assure themselves [Music] of being able to get Wilson back if Wilson's as successful as everybody hopes he'll be when we come back j1q Luxenberg garbett Kelly and George LG kg is a personal injury law firm in Western Pennsylvania that represents people hurt in car accidents or who need help with workers comp or medical Mal practice when the attorneys at lgkg make you a promise they keep it they've been keeping prom prises in our region for over 80 years LG kg's been AV rated the highest rating a law firm can receive and they've been designated Super Lawyers that's actually a thing for over 15 years it's a rare combination lgkg has offices in Cranberry Newcastle Beaver Falls Butler and Elwood City learn more about them by visiting LG kg.cm [Music] kg today's j1q comes from Donald who says DK I know we have some Talent on the defensive line but how do you get the most out of it it's that's tough that's tough I'm going to tell you where my mind flashes first when you say this I know almost everybody's going to think about you know first making sure that cam Hayward is you know the best version of Cam that he can be at his age that Larry ogunjobi is still making things happen and that keano Benton makes that second-year leap that mike tomlin's always imploring his seconde guys to make in fact he's doing more than imploring if you hear him around the facility when it comes to that specific subject but I'm going to answer the question differently I want to see somebody off of this line and I'm not even going to disclude cam okay let's throw him into the mix as well I want to see somebody on this line become enough of a consistent threat to penetrate to the quarterback that pass rushing up the middle can become a thing again for this defense without stunting without sending linebackers without blitzing off the corner or anything like that I'm talking about just plain old me versus you up the middle I'm going to beat you and I'm going to make life either very very difficult for your quarterback or I'm at least going to force him to go in a direction that he doesn't want to go in per his own script you see what I'm saying here the last time the Steelers had that nonam okay and I'm going back to like what what I'm thinking of of Cam I'm thinking of that season opener in Cincinnati a couple of years ago where Cam was just all through the Bengals and made everything hell for Joe burrow and burrow was flushed out he'd run right into TJ watt or Alex heith or whatever that's when this defense is really really rolling when you can get that kind of penetration the only player the non-cam player that I can think of in recent wow anything who was doing that was Javon Hargrave and I know I'm going back a bit for that handful of years and that's not okay that is not a way for a defense to function in the National Football League in the year 2024 you've got to have I me it doesn't have to be Aaron Donald okay but it can be it has to be somebody who's making consistent Havoc happen up the middle I hope that's Benton Benton has shown signs of it but for the most part what you hear from the Steelers brass when they sing songs about him and they do it's way more about something as basic as his ability to get off of blocks and make the tackles that he's supposed to there has to be more there has to be more now going to your question a little bit more directly the names that are currently on this list meaning players who are behind the three that I've already mentioned cam Larry and Keanu you're talking about demarvin Lal who I don't even know is going to be on the roster come the end of training camp I really feel like that's the position that he should be put in entering this Camp you either step up or see you cuz we don't know exactly what you are right now foko is probably right there too everybody kept saying put foko in put foko in and guess what they never did and I'm going to guess there's a reason for that they added Dean Lowry uh as a free agent this season to offseason I should say uh in an attempt to bolster the room we'll see how that goes they drafted Logan Lee they seem to like him but sixth rounder isn't guaranteed a spot either and before I forget him the same way you were about to Isaiah milk is still in the fold and he's got to develop into something other than a decent run stopper and that's what he is he's a decent run stopper not necessarily a good one certainly not a great one he's decent and he does not get to the Back Field he does not get to the quarterback and then there's my guy montravius Adams is still here and when mod Adams is healthy when he's feeling it he gets back there he does different things I love him in in a supporting role a supporting role on this defensive line doesn't mean coming in when somebody else is hurt it means rotating it means being part of the regular scheme to an extent I don't want cam out there for 75 snaps you don't want him out there that many to be honest I don't want that out of Larry O either Benton yeah if he can handle it if he can't there's support at hand it's not an exciting group it would be if Cam was 25 as opposed to his mid-30s but this is where they are if they can find a way or find some people or find some methodology to get more pressure up the middle it can be solid not spectacular just solid but that's you know that's better than where it's been over the past couple of years for the most part I appreciate the question I appreciate everybody listening to daily shot of Steelers we'll be back Monday with another one

Channel: DK Pittsburgh Sports | Steelers

Views: 16,049

Keywords: pittsburgh, sports, steelers, dk pittsburgh sports, dejan kovacevic, NFL, NFLDraft, HereWeGo, mason rudolph, kenny pickett, mike tomlin

Id: pRswzd9q4Sw

Length: 14min 47sec (887 seconds)

Published: Fri May 03 2024