Najee Harris capped off his rookie fantasy season with his best game of the year.
He cemented a fantasy legacy after running into the end zone at the end of the MNF game when he could’ve taken a knee to cement a Steelers victory instead. He chose us.
He ended the year 3rd among RBs in total fantasy points, and 5th in PPR fantasy points/game.
He showed he can handle the workload in the NFL after doing the same at Alabama. He finished with 366 touches – most in the NFL. He played the 2nd most snaps, only behind Jonathan Taylor. He led all RBs in targets and receptions.
I have no doubts that as long as Mike Tomlin is coach, Harris will be the bell cow. The dude was on the field for 85% of Steelers’ offensive snaps this year; that was the highest in the NFL.
Najee is an example of why volume trumps all. He wasn’t efficient, but still produced for fantasy. Only 3.9 YPC, but honestly, pretty good considering his shit offensive line. I hope we can put this narrative to bed: that you need a good offensive line to be an elite fantasy RB.
But yeah, he wasn’t good in a few areas. It is his rookie year, but just want to point it out… and why volume trumps all. Among all RBs with at least 50 targets, he produced 0.98 yards/route run. That ranks 15 out of 18. It’s pretty bad. As far as yards after contact, he wasn’t bad. Among all RBs with at least 200 carries, he 5th out of 10 RBs with 2.96 yards after contact/attempt. Solid.
If his offensive line (and offense) improves, we can see this volume turn into even better production in 2022.