Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said last week that the team’s path to a better running game went beyond adding personnel, but the team showed that personnel is part of the puzzle on Thursday night.
As many predicted in the weeks leading up to the draft, the Steelers used the 24th overall pick on former Alabama running back Najee Harris. After the pick Tomlin said the intention behind the selection is “to improve our running game” and shrugged off those who think it’s a bad idea to use a first-round pick on a running back.
“You know, we don’t subscribe to the theory that you mentioned,” Tomlin said, via Mark Kaboly of TheAthletic.com. “He was a player that we really valued. We were ecstatic that he was there, and we took him and we took him pretty quickly with little to no dialogue. We’re extremely happy with where we are this evening.”
With three starting offensive linemen gone from last season, the Steelers likely aren’t done adding personnel with an eye on making progress on the ground. They have the No. 55 and No. 87 picks heading into Friday night.