Najee Harris had a strong rookie year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, rushing for 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns on 307 carries, along with 74 catches for 467 yards and three touchdowns.
The former Alabama star was drafted with the 24th overall pick in the 2021 Draft by Pittsburgh, as they looked to replace James Conner with a new bell cow in the backfield. That worked out well in Year 1, as Harris played in all 17 games and no one else on the Steelers had more than 36 carries (he also had the second most receptions on the team as Ben Roethlisberger was eager to check the ball down all year).
On Draft night in 2021, Harris didn’t learn he was heading to Pittsburgh from the usual phone call with the team, but instead by getting a call from Steelers superfan Snoop Dogg, who somehow had the information and called Harris before Mike Tomlin and the Steelers did, as he told Bryant McFadden on the All Things Covered podcast.
"Who was the first voice you heard on the phone [when you were drafted]?"
Najee Harris: "I talked to @SnoopDogg before I talked to the Steelers" 😂😂
You gotta hear this @ohthatsNajee22 from @ATCoveredPod@BMac_SportsTalk | @steelers pic.twitter.com/qtO13x094Y
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) July 26, 2022
Harris still isn’t sure how Snoop knew he was being drafted by Pittsburgh, but noted they’re pretty tight now — a perk of being a Steelers star. He also explained that when Tomlin and the Steelers did call, they hung up on him initially because his family was being too loud — as Harris recalls, they were too drunk off Patron and Hennessy — and had to call back once Harris walked outside to deliver the news officially.
