Najee Harris has the 7th-best odds to lead the NFL in rushing in 2021

The Steelers first-round draft pick is the only rookie projected to be in the mix to be the NFL rushing leader.

Now that we know the Steelers will be reporting to training camp less than a week from now, we are definitely in the final moments of the 2021 NFL offseason. Before teams start to show their product on the field during the preseason, the betting odds for season-long categories are some of the biggest betting action going on with the NFL.

After outlining Ben Roethlisberger’s odds to lead the NFL in passing, next up is the 2021 NFL rushing leader.

After spending their first-round draft pick on running back Najee Harris out of Alabama, the Steelers are hoping to have a resurgent run game in 2021. As for the oddsmakers, they may be getting in on the Najee Harris hype as well. Currently at 12/1 odds to win the rushing title, Harris is tied with Cam Akers of the Los Angeles Rams and Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys as the seventh likely player to bring home the rushing title.

The best odds in the NFL to lead the league in rushing is Tennessee’s Derrick Henry at 3/1. Bringing home the title the last two seasons, it’s not surprising to see Henry leading the pack. The second highest odds belong to the Vikings’ Dalvin Cook at 5/1 followed by the Browns’ Nick Chubb at 7/1. The only other players with better odds than Harris to win the rushing title are the Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey 8/1, and the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor and Giants’ Saquon Barkley at 9/1.

In looking for players from the AFC North, Harris has the second-best odds only behind Chubb. The Bengals’ Joe Mixon is next on the list at 16/1 followed by the Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson and 33/1 and running back J.K. Dobbins at 40/1.

The Steelers will also be facing off against the three best odds to win the rushing title in the NFL. The Steelers are scheduled to go against Derrick Henry the Sunday before Christmas while looking to stop Dalvin Cook on Thursday Night Football earlier in December. The Steelers are scheduled to see Nick Chubb twice as they face the Browns both in Week 8 and Week 17.

While having a player win the rushing title would be fantastic for the 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers, jumping all the way from the league’s worst rushing attack in 2020 to having the league’s best rusher a season later is a lot to ask. More importantly would be to see rookie Najee Harris run the ball efficiently and effectively in order two help the Steelers stack victories this season.