Fantasy Football: What is Najee Harris’ value as a rookie with Steelers?
Najee Harris will almost surely be the top running back for the Steelers as a rookie but does that mean he’s going to be a fantasy football stud?
The Pittsburgh Steelers had a clear need at running back as they entered the 2021 NFL Draft and they wasted little time addressing it. General manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin used the organization’s first-round pick, No. 24 overall, on Alabama running back Najee Harris. And upon that selection, Harris almost immediately became the RB1 in the Steel City.
With the departure of James Conner in free agency this offseason, the Steelers were left with Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland Jr. as their top options in the backfield. While both guys can be role players for the Steelers, neither offers the complete package that Harris can.
It also makes sense as to why Pittsburgh is enamored with the Crimson Tide star. Possessing a big frame, great patience, elusiveness and the ability to burst through holes in an instant, Harris is not dissimilar from Le’Veon Bell. And as we know, Bell enjoyed an exceptionally productive career with the Steelers.
Subsequently, the question fantasy football managers want answered is how highly should Najee Harris be valued? Is he going to be Bell 2.0? Will he not live up to his first-round pick status? Well, the conclusion has several layers to it.
The Steelers offensive line will put a cap on Najee Harris’ fantasy football value.
For starters, we know that Harris is going to get a lot of work. According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic (subscription required), Harris could be in line to get roughly 275 touches as a rookie. Any back getting that type of substantial workload is going to have fantasy football value.
At the same time, not all touches are created equal, which is what makes Harris with the Steelers such a befuddling situation. Most people would’ve said the smart move was for Pittsburgh to address an offensive line needing to replace three starting-caliber players from last year in the first round. Instead, they drafted the running back.
While the Steelers may have Kendrick Green coming in and could be banking on younger players to step up as they step into bigger roles, the simple truth is that the offensive line is likely to be substantially worse in 2021 than it has been in years past. That’s bad news for Harris given the correlation between running back productivity and the offensive line.
To be sure, Harris will still have good fantasy football value, especially in PPR leagues. He proved his merit as a pass-catchers at Alabama and the Steelers love to pass to their backs. However, the potential issues with the offensive line put a cap on what the rookie can do in Pittsburgh this season. It’s hard to imagine he has the blocking necessary to be a top-tier running back in most leagues.
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Harris is currently being valued as a top-20 running back but, given the situation, that’s a bit rich for my taste. I would take guys such as Chris Carson and Josh Jacobs ahead of him. Moreover, if you’re taking the Steelers rookie in the top 40, you’re doing your fantasy roster a disservice.