Najee Harris, Pat Freiermuth can help quickly on offense; how other Steelers will see snap counts impacted

May 18—Sure, it's great that the Steelers got Ben Roethlisberger some new toys by spending their first two draft choices on Alabama running back Najee Harris and Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth.

Unfortunately for Big Ben and new offensive coordinator Matt Canada, NFL rules still dictate that there can only be 11 helmets on the field per team.

Although based on how the offense looked in Pittsburgh by the end of 2020, one could argue that the Steelers still may have struggled even if they were allowed to play with 13.

Canada and head coach Mike Tomlin have some decisions to make based on schemes and personnel usage. Because if you count five offensive linemen and Roethlisberger on every snap, that's six guys.

If Harris is truly the Le'Veon Bell-esque three-down back the Steelers seem to think he is, those are seven spots on the field spoken for more often than not.

That leaves six remaining weapons for four spots. Freiermuth and starting tight end Eric Ebron, plus the team's four-man receiving core — JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool.

Not to mention return specialist Ray-Ray McCloud who might serve in a gadget or slot kind of role in Canada's offense — similar to how he got Quadree Henderson involved when those two were at Pitt together.

Oh, make it eight with all those snaps for Derek Watt at fullb...

Eh, who am I kidding? I couldn't even finish typing that with a straight face. I gave up pounding the desk for more fullback usage the minute the team let Dan Kreider leave town.

The point is, some players aren't going to get as many snaps as they enjoyed last year. That's probably a good thing. I believe that fielding four or five receivers as often as the Steelers did hurt them by the end of the season.

All four of those receivers could boast being on the field at least 44% of the time in 2020. Having a back capable of staying on the field more often will make the Steelers less predictable in how Harris is used compared to James Conner and Benny Snell last year.

Being able to utilize Freiermuth as a blocker with (or instead of) Ebron will also assist Canada in offsetting Vance McDonald's retirement. And Freiermuth should prove to be a more dangerous receiving option than McDonald was by the end of his career.

However, if we see more snaps for Harris and more two-tight end looks for Ebron (69 % snap count rate in 2020) and Freiermuth, then that could mean more times when we only see two or three wide receivers on the field. This might be what Smith-Schuster was getting at last week when he was talking about leaving the slot to go outside more often. Perhaps that'll leave Johnson in the slot more, thus resulting in Washington splitting snaps with Claypool as the other outside receiver.

That said, I was hoping for more snaps for Claypool this year (62% in 2020), not fewer.

Tomlin sees arranging all those chess pieces on the board as a work in progress.

"I don't think that we are there yet," Tomlin said during the team's rookie minicamp last weekend.

"As the days and weeks continue to unfold and we get a sense of how they learn and the up-close perspective on their talents, those will be more significant questions. I think the blending of the rookies with the veteran guys (in practice) is a big component of that."

Where Harris' running ability and Freiermuth's blocking should come into play immediately are in short yardage. FootballOutsiders.com keeps track of a stat called "power success rate." That's the percentage of runs on third or fourth down with two yards or less to go, that achieve a first down or touchdown. It also includes runs on first-and-goal or second-and-goal from the two-yard line or closer.

The Steelers ranked 30th in that category at 56%. FootballOutsiders.com statisticians also track "stuffed rate." That's the percentage of runs where the back is tackled at — or behind — the line of scrimmage. At 18.9%, only four teams had a worse percentage than the Steelers.

"I don't call the plays," Harris said Saturday. "I'm here, I guess, to help that. But I'm not the coordinator, the head coach, or GM, so I don't worry about those things. I just worry about what I can control. And I can control what happens when I get the ball. And if I'm put in short-yardage situations, I'll make the most of it."

The two new rookies should also contribute in the red zone, where the Steelers may have been better than you think in 2020. The franchise finished eighth in red-zone touchdown percentage. But they were 23rd in red-zone attempts (52). So it's important the Steelers get six points as often as possible when they are down deep.

Freiermuth hopes he and Ebron will get lots of looks as a tandem close to the goal line.

"Ebron is an awesome guy and helluva football player," Freiermuth said Friday. "So I'm excited to learn from him and see what's tasked for us in 12 personnel (one running back and two tight ends) as to what we are asked to do. I'm excited to see that stuff."

Tomlin's challenge of massaging the egos of the players involved isn't my concern. Tomlin's challenge of getting the right guys into the right position for success is.

However, of all the many problems facing the Steelers in 2021, this is one of the few that's good to have.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.