By my calculations - and these are unofficial - Willie Parker has gained more yardage in his first three NFL seasons, with the Steelers, than any other back in franchise history.
In spite of rushing for only 186 yards as a rookie, the undrafted free agent gained 1,202 and then 1,494 in the next two seasons to put his three-year total at 2,882 rushing yards.
Le'Veon Bell gained 2,777 in his first three and Franco Harris gained 2,759.
Someone tweeted that Najee Harris needs 700 yards to top them all, and so I'll believe it.
However, the Steelers may not have 600 carries to give him.
After watching practice yesterday, another day of unimpressive running by Harris II, I dubbed him "1.1."
So, at 600 carries, he's gaining 660 yards, and, yes, still enough to break Parker's current standing.
One point one?
Am I some kinda smart aleck?
Well, yes. But still, the numbers struck me because it's half Harris II's jersey number and a bit over the lone yard he seems to gain per carry against the first-team line. His obvious strain to get that yard is represented in the extra tenth.
Yesterday, the Steelers donned pads for probably the last time at St. Vincent College this summer, and it came as little surprise that Mike Tomlin wanted to hit hard one last time before Saturday's dress rehearsal preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.
"I just wanted to focus on physicality in the line of scrimmage run game," Tomlin said after a practice in which he ran Harris II twice in 7 Shots at a first-team defense that included Cameron Heyward, Isaiahh Loudermilk, T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Kwon Alexander, Cole Holcomb, Damontae Kazee and Minkah Fitzpatrick. There was no nose tackle. Nickel back Chandon Sullivan was in the slot.
Harris II took the handoff on the first snap to Kenny Pickett and was tackled for a loss by Alexander.
Harris II took the second handoff and was stopped by the entire line.
Tomlin inserted last year's undrafted rookie Jaylen Warren, in place of the 2021 first-round pick, and he hit the hole like a cannon shot and scored easily.
Warren - cousin of the aforementioned Parker and gainer of 379 yards (at 4.9 per carry) as a rookie - scored another easy TD against the second team.
Anthony McFarland, against the second team, scored after a late surge facilitated by a pair of pistons that refused to stop firing.
Into the team scrimmage, this time with nose tackle Montravius Adams, Harris II continued his 1.1 style that's come to symbolize his third training camp.
I say style because it might just be that Harris II isn't going all out. The thinking behind that theory - as explained yesterday on sports talk radio - is that Harris got hurt trying too hard in camp last year and that injury dampened the first half of his season, in which he averaged only 3.3 yards per carry.
In the second half, after the bye had theoretically healed his foot injury, Harris II averaged 4.1 per carry.
It gave hope that his first-half sluggishness was all about health, and it's afforded him some breathing room while Warren repeatedly runs harder at this camp.
But I have to question the continuation of any such breathing room.
Is it the O-line?
That's what Harris II implied last year when he snarled at another reporter to "watch the tape" during the struggles of his first half.
But Warren doesn't seem to be having any such trouble. He runs hard, gets low, and fires into tacklers like a human bowling ball. He's increased his size this season through weight training, and it shows.
Kinda like the running back Chuck Noll wanted to draft in the first round of the 1972 draft, Robert Newhouse, instead of the tall running back he was talked into drafting instead, Harris I.
Franco Harris was a different breed of tall back, though. He had the power and acceleration and could cut at full speed.
But Najee Harris seems instead like the type of back Noll railed against, the tall runner without great speed who provides a large target for tacklers.
Noll was wrong about Harris I, but in Harris II perhaps we better understand his thinking.
Maybe I'm all wet here. But it's not because Harris snarls at me whenever I ask for an interview. I could not care less about that.
What I care about is this: As an analyst watching camp and providing insight to readers, I would be remiss in not reporting that I view Warren as the better running back. I believe he can put the Steelers' running game back on its foundational franchise pedestal.
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