As a rookie, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was a plodding back who struggles to accelerate and deal with legitimate NFL speed. He fixed that by shedding some fat and rebuilding his physique to handle the rigors of the NFL.
When Bell was on the Steel Here Podcast, he offers the same advice to current Steelers running back Najee Harris. Lose some weight.
At the beginning of the offseason there was some debate about just how heavy Harris played as a rookie. The Steelers site lists Harris at 242 pounds. By comparison, Bell played at Michigan State at 237 pounds and after his rookie struggles, slimmed down to closer to 220 pounds and turned into one of the best all-around backs in the NFL.
Harris struggled to get going last season but saw big improvements in the second half of the year. Was some of it because Harris trimmed down during the year? Perhaps but it felt like it was as much about a change in running style and didn’t rely so much on quickness and agility, which Harris just didn’t have.
