Steelers Daily Links: Najee Harris Underrated; Blame Canada?

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris made Good Morning Football’s All-Underrated Offense.

“My running back, I got Najee Harris,” former NFL defensive tackle Malik Jackson said. “Has been a 1,000-yard rusher the last two seasons. I think he’s really a workhorse for (the) Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s who I have right now. I think when you hand him the ball he’s electric. He’s going to get those hard yards, make defenders feel him and punish them.”

? Matt Harmon of Yahoo Sports thinks Matt Canada is to blame for the Steelers’ wide receivers poor efficiency stats.

“It’s a lot of go routes and like hitch routes,” Hamon said of Canada’s passing concepts. “Curls, little inside breaking. Some short comebacks, stuff like that. That’s all they were doing those outside receivers. There’s just so little diversity there. You’re just drawing dead against Cover 2. Like these two-high defenses right now that so many teams are running. These zone shells and stuff.”

? Pat Freiermuth ranks sixth all-time in tight end receptions (123) over the first two years in the NFL. Freiermuth is behind the likes of Aaron Hernandez, Jimmy Graham, George Kittle, Rob Gronkowski and Keith Jackson.

? Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith had his third annual Alex Highsmith Family Foundation youth football in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina.

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? Happy Birthday to former Steelers wide receiver and Hall of Famer John Stallworth, born on July 15, 1952 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Stallworth, who was selected in the fourth round out of Alabama A&M in the 1974 NFL Draft, won four Super Bowl titles with the Steelers in the 1970s and held the all-time franchise record in receptions (537), receiving yards (8.723) and touchdowns (63) until Hines Ward passed him. Stallworth was known for coming up big when it mattered the most, as his touchdown receptions in Super Bowl XIII and XIV are some of the most iconic moments in Super Bowl history. Stallworth was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Also, Happy Birthday to former Steelers defensive back Carnell Lake, born on July 15, 1967 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Lake made five Pro Bowls and was named second-team All-Pro four times in the 1990s. He was named first-team All-Pro in 1997. Lake is a member of the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team, the Steelers All-Time Team and the Steelers Hall of Honor. Lake was a defensive backs coach for the Steelers from 2011-2017.

? In honor of former Steelers linebacker Chad Brown’s birthday on Wednesday, Steel City Star posted a highlight clip of his impressive performance against the Indianapolis Colts in the 1996 wild card game. Brown record three sacks in the Steelers’ 42-14 victory over Indianapolis at Three Rivers Stadium.

AROUND THE NETWORK

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry says he’s healthy after an injury-plagued year.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: The Pirates have transferred right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras to their Florida Complex League team at Pirates City in Bradenton.

Pittsburgh Sports Now: Secondary ACC football and basketball games will move from regional sports networks to The CW, starting with Pitt vs. Cincinnati.

West Virginia Sports Now: Neal Brown will once again be handling the play-calling duties for the WVU offense.

Nittany Sports Now: Penn State waited too long to make an offer to keep Micah Shrewsberry, he said in an interview with CBS.

Pittsburgh Soccer Now: Albert Dikwa scored his 10th goal of the season as the Riverhounds stayed unbeaten since April with a 1-0 win over Louisville City.