First Call: A team that may draft Najee Harris before Steelers pick; Alex Ovechkin sidelined; Josh Bell struggles

Wednesday’s “First Call” clues us in on a team that may steal Najee Harris in the first round of the NFL Draft before the Pittsburgh Steelers get a chance to pick him.

Steelers Hall of Famer Alan Faneca throws his support behind a potential top-5 draft choice for a very personal reason. Josh Bell’s struggles with his new team are getting bad.

And a former Penguin is picking up the slack in Washington as Alexander Ovechkin remains sidelined.

South Beach before the North Shore?

If the Steelers really are targeting Alabama running back Najee Harris, he may not be on the board by the time they pick at No. 24 in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night.

Both Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer and CBS’ Jason La Canfora have recently said they think the Miami Dolphins have a real interest in selecting Harris at pick No. 18.

That makes sense. The Dolphins’ top returning running back is Myles Gaskin, at 58 yards per game. But they did just trade left guard Ereck Flowers to Washington. So perhaps Miami is looking for a lineman there instead.

La Canfora made his comments Tuesday on 93.7 The Fan. He also said that the Steelers may not be able to nab Tulsa inside linebacker Zaven Collins, who they also seem to covet. He thinks the Arizona Cardinals, Washington or the Las Vegas Raiders may take him.

La Canfora added that if the Steelers were determined to draft a running back, it may well be North Carolina’s Javonte Williams instead of Clemson’s Travis Etienne. And he inferred the franchise has an interest in Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, perhaps on Friday.

A vote of confidence

Former Steeler Alan Faneca was also on 93.7 The Fan Tuesday to talk about choosing former teammate Hines Ward as his Hall of Fame presenter.

But while he was on, he put in a good word for Justin Fields. The Ohio State quarterback is someone who has been handling epilepsy since his childhood. And some are worried that the disease may affect his draft stock.

There is a sense Fields, a potential top-5 pick in the draft, may slide down the board, perhaps in part due to that health concern.

Faneca was diagnosed with epilepsy during high school, but it didn’t impact his career in college or the NFL. Faneca said that it “irks” him that some in the league — or prognosticators around the draft — may be devaluing Fields’ potential because of fears of the disease. He went so far as to call it “dirty” that such narratives are coming out this close to Draft Day.

The former All-Pro said he has taken two pills three times a day, every day, since he was 15 years old. And the affliction never negatively impacted his playing career, nor does he have seizure problems unless he fails to properly take the medication.

“He is gonna be fine,” Faneca insisted. “He has been fine. He wouldn’t have been able to do the things he did in high school and college had he not had ownership of it and taken care of it himself.”

Faneca said in his experience at the combine, the big thing teams wanted to understand was if he had a good handle on the disease and how he could care for himself on a daily basis.

The two players have never met or spoken. But Faneca said he’d welcome the chance to do so.

Ovechkin out

Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin missed his second consecutive game Tuesday night.

He’s been dealing with a lower body injury. That’s significant for a few reasons. First of all, the Penguins visit Washington for two games on Thursday and Saturday.

Secondly, the Capitals (68 points) lead the Pens by one point atop the East Division standings. That is because while the Penguins were losing 3-1 at home to the Boston Bruins Tuesday night, the Capitals managed to beat the New York Islanders 1-0.

Former Penguin Daniel Sprong scored the lone goal.

Less than 2 mins in Sprong on the board! pic.twitter.com/clVuCWaczQ

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 27, 2021

That was Sprong’s 10th goal of the season. The Caps also beat the Islanders 6-3 in the previous game Ovechkin missed on Saturday. Sprong had two goals in that one. Washington has now won three in a row.

With the Islanders loss, their hold on third place over Boston is down to just one point. They have 63, and the Bruins are up to 62 after their victory at PPG Paints Arena.

The New York Rangers (58 points) kept pace with the Bruins for the final playoff spot in the division by beating the Buffalo Sabres 3-1. So they remain four points back in fifth place.

Bell bombing

Josh Bell’s first month with the Washington Nationals has been a bust.

The former Pirates first baseman went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Tuesday night during the Nats’ 9-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bell is now hitting .109 (5-for-46) with just a .192 on base percentage. Bell only has one home run and three RBIs. His strikeout to walk ratio is 17:4.

Washington is struggling as a team, too. The Nationals are in last place of the NL East at 8-12.