Harris could be at risk of losing some snaps and/or touches out of the backfield to rookie Jaylen Warren, though offensive coordinator Matt Canada wouldn't commit to that materializing Week 10 against the Saints, Dale Lolley of the Steelers' official site reports. "I think when we're sitting here at 2-6, we're all searching and hunting for why that is," Canada said Thursday. "If you're a competitor, which Najee is, if you're a winner, which Najee is, you're a guy who wants to do all he can to help the team win, which he is, you're going to ultimately look at yourself and say, 'What can I do better?...He's a tremendous talent. Nobody's numbers are what [they would like to be.] Nobody's happy with where we are. But we're going to continue to keep going. He'll start trending in the right direction, as well."

EDGE Analysis

Canada's comments don't shed much light on how the Pittsburgh backfield will shake out in the weeks to come, but the confidence he expressed in Harris suggests that the 2021 first-round pick will continue to start in Sunday's game against the Saints even after head coach Mike Tomlin hinted Tuesday that Warren's profile on offense could expand over the back half of the Steelers' schedule. For his part, Warren told Chris Adamski of TribLive.com that he hasn't seen any increase in his rep counts during practice this week, so fantasy managers that have continued to deploy Harris in lineups amid his disappointing season have at least some reason to hope that he'll remain the preferred option in the backfield. While struggling through a Lisfranc injury in training camp and playing much of the first half of the season with a steel plate in his foot, Harris has yet to miss a game but is averaging a lowly 3.3 yards per carry on 108 totes and has found the end zone just three times. The foot injury and poor offensive line play have played a part in Harris' demise, but he's also seen his value take a hit due to a huge drop in targets. After averaging 5.5 targets per game as a rookie as one of Ben Roethlisberger's favorite check-down options, Harris is down to 3.5 per game in 2022 with either Mitch Trubisky or Kenny Pickett taking the snaps at quarterback.