There isn’t a lot of debate about the fact that second-year running back Najee Harris is going to be the most important player on offense this year, the first season of the post-Ben Roethlisberger era. That is the expectation, that the offense is going to have to go through him, on the ground and through the air, for the unit to have success.
But that also extends beyond the field. The Alabama product has actually spoken at length, even going back to last season, about his preparations for stepping into a leadership role, steps toward which he has taken this offseason, and which Cameron Heyward, the team’s defensive captain, believes needs to be in full bloom this year.