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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris and Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton are the NFL’s Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Month, respectively, the league announced on Thursday.
The pair, both former SEC standouts at Alabama and Missouri, respectively, had equally impressive stretches in the month of October.
Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Month! (October)@ohthatsNajee22 | @_nickbolton2 pic.twitter.com/GiVZaAXUK8
— NFL (@NFL) November 4, 2021
Harris, taken in the 1st round of last year’s NFL Draft by the Steelers, has continued to grow into the Steelers’ offense as the year has gone on. Over his most recent 4-game stretch, Harris had 88 carries for 356 yards (4.0 yards per carry), and 3 scores. He also added 17 receptions for 124 yards and another score. Harris had touchdowns in every game during the month of October, a run that helped the Steelers go 3-1. According to a release from Pittsburgh, the tailback’s 356 rushing yards ranked 5th overall in the NFL over the month of October and his 480 scrimmage yards ranked 8th.
As for Bolton, a 2nd round pick of the Chiefs—but their first player selected as a team—the former Tiger had perhaps his best month yet as a rookie, punctuated by his best overall performance in a losing effort to the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 24. Bolton had 15 total tackles and 4 tackles for loss while helping to limit Tennessee star running back Derrick Henry to just 86 yards on 29 carries and breaking a string of 5 straight 100-yard performances.
Pittsburgh has responded nicely after a 1-3 start with 3 consecutive wins. Harris and the Steelers play the Chicago Bears at 8:15 p.m. ET Monday in Pittsburgh. Bolton and the Chiefs play the Green Bay Packers at home on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET hoping to move back above .500 on the year for the first time since their season-opening win over Cleveland.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
