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RB Damien Harris, BUF (1 Viewer)

The reasons I will let others spend waiver money on Harris:(in no particular order)

Coach Bill

Rex Burkhead

James White

Sony Michel

Cam Newton

JJ Taylor

 
Rubi said:
The reasons I will let others spend waiver money on Harris:(in no particular order)

Coach Bill

Rex Burkhead

James White

Sony Michel

Cam Newton

JJ Taylor
Click to expand...
Agreed. It's basically rinse and repeat every year trying to decipher the Pats backfield to no avail.

It does seem like Harris is the first guy in awhile that has a true three-down skill set, although I don't see Bill morphing from his mix and match usage of RBs. 

 
He was just dropped in my 16-team league. If i can land him cheap, i'll roll the dice. RBs are going down far too frequently this year. 

 
zamboni said:
Agreed. It's basically rinse and repeat every year trying to decipher the Pats backfield to no avail.

It does seem like Harris is the first guy in awhile that has a true three-down skill set, although I don't see Bill morphing from his mix and match usage of RBs. 
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We still don't know if Harris can pass protect or catch, which are both primary components to having a three down skill set. Cam is still going to steal the majority of goal line looks and a decent number of carries. White is still going to be their primary receiving back, and Burkhead is still a Swiss army knife that can do a lot of things. If I had to guess, Harris most likely wont see as much work in a "normal" game with Cam, a healthy OL, and a full stable of RBs. But it was a decent first game overall.

 
Teezee said:
That's bc he is different. Harris has the best pedigree of any rb NE has rostered in a very long time

Feet dont lie
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i get history... and it could very well repeat.

but this fact is a fact. like i said earlier, if you watched harris in college, you KNOW who he is. Bill does too. hence the pick

 
I'll be dropping Harris tonight to claim Tonyan off the WW.  I have depth at RB, so it's either drop Harris or Devonta Freeman.  I'm choosing to drop Harris because of the following (just echoing what others have already said here):

I'm in a PPR league, and Harris doesn't look like he'll have much pass catching opportunity

NE has the most crowded backfield in the NFL, and you can't predict who Belichick will feature week-to-week

Cam is a massive goal-line vulture, and he'll be back very soon

Regardless how everyone "feels" after Harris's one game, I can't ignore all of these negatives.

 
In the new era of board protocol on citing sources, radio personality and reporter for Patriots Weekly Andy Hart has a unique perspective. His hot take is that Sony Michel is NOT injured and the Patriots put him on IR to give Harris a chance to win the starting RB job in NE. His perspective is the Patriots are done with Michel and it’s Harris’ job moving forward and they won’t look back. To clarify, Hart is the only one floating this and his lack of support for Michel is well documented. For the record, I have not been a fan of Michel running the football in the past, but his blitz pickup has been stellar, which makes him valuable. And he seems to have done a little better running this season. I still think it will be RBBC moving forward if everyone is healthy. 

 
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Anarchy99 said:
In the new era of board protocol on citing sources, radio personality and reporter for Patriots Weekly Andy Hart has a unique perspective. His hot take is that Sony Michel is NOT injured and the Patriots put him on IR to give Harris a chance to win the starting RB job in NE. His perspective is the Patriots are done with Michel and it’s Harris’ job moving forward and they won’t look back. To clarify, Hart is the only one floating this and his lack of support for Michel is well documented. For the record, I have not been a fan of Michel running the football in the past, but his blitz picking has been stellar, which makes him valuable. And he seems to have done a little better running this season. I still think it will be RBBC moving forward if everyone is healthy. 
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...which is super weird timing coming off of Michel's best game in a year.  :unsure:

Color me skeptical of this narrative. The timeline just doesn't add up. 

 
After last night, I can say that as someone skeptical of Harris but who rosters him in dynasty that he looked twice as good as I thought he would have. He's ready to be New England's 1A, which comes with all the caveats of the posters before me, and the caveat of my own, which is that what I think is not necessarily what the NEP think. But I think his consistent forward progress after contact and his forty-one yard run should have won him the job for the time being. He can actually move a pile instead of getting driven back at the point of contact like Michel. Michel's gallops last week were so slow and loping that they looked almost embarrassing.

I'm not a scout, so take that with a grain of salt. But for this Harris non-believer, last night went a long way towards cementing his as part of my club. 

 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
...which is super weird timing coming off of Michel's best game in a year.  :unsure:

Color me skeptical of this narrative. The timeline just doesn't add up. 
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Thats probably the issue. It was his best game in forever. They know what he is. He has good games way too infrequently. It took him 32 games to pop a run over 40 yards. Harris did it in his first game. The timeline is that Harris was eligible to come off the IR.

 
zamboni said:
Agreed. It's basically rinse and repeat every year trying to decipher the Pats backfield to no avail.

It does seem like Harris is the first guy in awhile that has a true three-down skill set, although I don't see Bill morphing from his mix and match usage of RBs. 
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If I had to put them in order...

Coach Bill
Cam Newton
Damien Harris (rushing)
James White (receiving)
Rex Burkhead (there when you need him)
Sony Michel (IR)
JJ Taylor (gadget; depends on Michel's status)

 
Cobbler1 said:
Thats probably the issue. It was his best game in forever. They know what he is. He has good games way too infrequently. It took him 32 games to pop a run over 40 yards. Harris did it in his first game. The timeline is that Harris was eligible to come off the IR.
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We’ll see. I remain skeptical. 

 
He's better than Michel right now in their careers.  Michel has dealt with some unfortunate injuries.

That being said, I watched the Pats/Seahawks game and that goal line option with Cam is unstoppable where he lines up right next to a full back (forgot his name).  Ball snaps to Cam, full back hits a hole, Cam follows.  It's like a cheat code Tekmo bowl TD that's never going away.

Then White and Burkhead gets all the catches with Burkhead sprinkling in on goal line packages.

I think Harris' emergence makes the entire team better.  With the goaline opps going to Cam and receiving opps to White and Burkhead, Harris is a low end RB2/flex in standard.  Not bad at all if you held onto him.  Not a league winner.  Best of luck.

 
Cobbler1 said:
I’m skeptical too about the reporter’s speculation but I’m equally skeptical that one good game would have changed the Patriots opinion of Michel if that were the case.
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Who knows. It’s the Patriots. Next week Harris will get 6 carries and Burkhead will go 107 yards on 16 carries with 5/40 with 2 TDs. :shrug:  

 
I think many are still underestimating his ability and opportunity here. Just wait til Cam gets on the field. It's going to open things up a lot for Harris. 

I think some people may not realize but we've never seen what a Belichick scheme will look like without Tom Brady. It's only been a quarter of a season and I think we may be getting a little ahead of ourselves as to what they want to do philosophically. You had a transcendent talent in Brady at QB, you naturally want the ball in his hands. They haven't felt the need to draft or bring in an elite level rb since Corey Dillon. They didn't need to run 30 times a game. So give Brady some dink and dunk mid-level talent guys in the backfield, a 1A possession receiver and Gronk and let Brady go win with his arm.

With Cam, I'm asking myself how are they going to move the ball down the field consistently knowing Cam has deficiencies in the pass game? I mean I smell they want to run. Some are concerned with how many passes or touchdowns will be available bc they are so used to seeing a Belichick/Brady scheme where the ball is spread around too thin for any fantasy consistency outside of three guys (Brady, Edelman, Gronk). Although that could be true, we have to acknowledge that the variables have changed from Brady to Cam. So a)Bill's tendencies and b)fantasy onlookers perception needs to adjust as well. I don't think they are too confident with Cam passing on first and second down much Consistently over the course of an entire NFL season. That ball ain't going to throw or run itself and they have a young horse who is ready to help them move piles and convert third downs. I'm also confident Bill and old pal Saban had a conversation or two about Harris for them to draft him in the third round post-Brady.

Harris is not an elite level talent but he is head and shoulders above Michel or any other rb on the roster when it comes to pure, natural ability of running the ball. Coming out of college Michel was one of the most polished and ready to contribute rbs but he didn't have the raw talent as other guys. Michel was a one year rental (when you have Brady you play for today not 2-3 years down the road and wait for talent to develop), Bill knew his knees were shot coming out of Georgia. And the late-first round tender paid off quickly bc Michel helped them win the Super Bowl his rookie season. But one thing Bill does better than anyone is that he will give up on you before it's too late. Better a year early than a year late. Michel's shelf life in the NFL won't be for long and I believe drafting Harris post-Brady was definitely made with his plan to move on from Michel eventually.

Yes, Cam will get his at the goal line, Edelman, Burkhead and White will catch some passes. Some have reserved skepticism and envision Harris as a one trick pony between the 20's guy but I believe in the talent and Bill's intention to establish his guy moving forward to win games. Bc to be honest they don't have anybody else in the offense capable of coming out of nowhere and succeeding at a high level consistently week in week out with this current roster. They want Harris to be the guy through and through.

 
Teezee said:
Harris is not an elite level talent but he is head and shoulders above Michel or any other rb on the roster when it comes to pure, natural ability of running the ball.
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Herein lies the big question. A lot more goes into football than just natural ability to run the football. People hate on Michel for not being a great runner (myself included). But he is as reliable as they come in blitz pickup, he can even block defensive lineman, and he can do that on his own and not part of a tag team blocking scheme. He doesn't chip rushers . . . he locks them up and has been giving Cam a lot more time and creates running lanes. Michel also holds onto the football, basically only coughing it up once roughly every 200 touches.

We don't know what we don't know. Can Harris block? Can Harris figure out who to block? Can he catch? Can he hold onto the football? Can he stay healthy? I am not going to try to answer any of those, because so far in the NFL we don't have an answer to any of those (although he is just coming back from an injury). Those are essentially all unknowns at the NFL level.

Historically over the last 10-15 years, NE has almost always been a RBBC. Usually a two down back, a 3rd down / receiving back, sometimes a short yardage back, and usually someone that gives everyone a breather. The only exception to that has been the big year Blount had (but that was hugely influenced by injuries). But they usually use them all and rotate them all (in addition to having wildly different game plans from week to week).

White is still going to play on 3rd downs and passing downs. Burkhead has been doing very well. Michel had the best regular season week of his career before he went on IR. When Newton is QB, he takes away carries and TD opportunities from everyone else.

Bottom line, I don't really see Harris coming in and completely disrupting the workload of everyone else. I would guess Harris could have some decent weeks (mostly off of rushing yardage), but I am not sure he will be consistent fantasy wise.

To be clear, I am not suggesting people to roster Harris, I am only wondering aloud how much fantasy impact he will have. For people with injury, bye week, or COVID issues, Harris certainly would be a decent option. But I am not ready to suggest that he will be a plug and play RB2 moving forward.

 
^ I love your Patriots take my man but due to injuries and byes coming up he is sliding into my starting slot based on sheer necessity.  Glad I held on to him and I am sure there are others in the same spot and glad the timing is working out

 
I grabbed Harris this week.  Standard 12 team non-PPR league redraft.  At this point he would not be one of my starters if I wasn't in a bye week. 

A Jones, Mixon, Conner, Edmunds (also taken off waivers this week) Harris and Mattison.  So not sure what if anything to do with him although he might be flex this week.  I confess I am surprised what is falling to me as I pick 12th.  Might start Harris over Deebo or CeeDee or Tonyan or Jonnu.  Kind of in a quandary but too soon to decide.

 
pantherclub said:
^ I love your Patriots take my man but due to injuries and byes coming up he is sliding into my starting slot based on sheer necessity.  Glad I held on to him and I am sure there are others in the same spot and glad the timing is working out
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Like I just posted, necessity is the mother of invention. If you need a warm body, Harris is about as good an option there is if you are out of options and the waiver wire is bare. He was always more of a lottery pick than a sure thing, and I saw him drafted all over the place in redraft leagues. He will most likely be part of the RB mix in NE. So maybe he's an upgrade to Michel and gets 10 or 12 carries for a little more yardage . . . but probably not a lot of red zone opportunities or receiving targets. That probably puts him the RB3 / flex range. Obviously some weeks better, some weeks worse. If Michel stays hurt or someone else gets hurt, then you will be on to something (provided Cam gets back in the line up soon).

 
Anarchy99 said:
To be clear, I am not suggesting people to roster Harris, I am only wondering aloud how much fantasy impact he will have. For people with injury, bye week, or COVID issues, Harris certainly would be a decent option. But I am not ready to suggest that he will be a plug and play RB2 moving forward.
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Against conventional wisdom, I am sticking my neck out and saying he will be. I am more of a proactive than a reactive guy, I shoot my shots

 
Sorry no link but i had read where NE beat reporters were praising Harris for his pass catching ability in camp.   Can anyone confirm? 

 
The Finist said:
Sorry no link but i had read where NE beat reporters were praising Harris for his pass catching ability in camp.   Can anyone confirm? 
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Not that I am aware of. I do know Burkhead had the most passes and chemistry with Cam. Maybe someone had something on Harris and I missed it. 

 
The Finist said:
https://www.rotostreetjournal.com/2020/08/22/damien-harris-2020-fantasy-football-sleeper-patriots-training-camp/
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I would suggest that this article tells a piece of the story but not the whole story. For example, multiple players for NE did not suit up at the beginning of training camp, so someone suggesting Harris was the most targeted player the first 4 practices doesn't really mean a whole lot. Edelman missed the start of camp but ended up the most targeted player. Burkhead was the most targeted RB. As I have mentioned several times, NE uses camp a little bit differently than other teams. They frequently have guys get a lot of work just to get some practice, so they can better evaluate players, and limit the workload of the actual starters. Once Michel came back, after a couple of shared practices working with the starters, Harris went back to working with the second unit and Michel took over regular work with the first team offense. And I will hold fast on my assessment that most of training camp was not full contact, and it's pretty easy to catch 5 yard swing passes when there's no tackling and no pass rush. Did Harris by most accounts have a good camp? Yes. Does that mean he jumps to the front of the line and grabs a ton of touches? Maybe . . . but maybe not.

The other thing that has mostly gone undiscussed is that NE hasn't utilized Michel much as a receiver, but that may not mean he can't catch the ball. For example, Michel had 64 receptions with a 9.7 YPR average in 47 college games. Harris had 52 catches with a 7.8 YPR average in 54 college games. In last week's game, NE did get Michel 2 receptions for 23 yards. Burkhead already has 12 receptions and White has 10 (missing two games). Harris will probably get a few looks and some receptions, but I doubt he will send White or Burkhead to the bench. I still think Harris will get worked into the mix but BB will continue to split the workload between 4-5 backs (and Cam). That's a lot of mouths to feed.

 
Not to be the “if not for that long run...” guy, but it’s worth noting that if not for that long run, Harris had a pretty mediocre night. 

As FBGs pointed out in the follow-up email, he got what the blockers gave him & not a lot more. 

On one run I recall he got a lot less because someone hooked him with an arm tackle & he went down like a sack of potatoes. There was a mile of green grass ahead of him. 

With Burkhead & White I’m just not seeing a league-winner for 2020. 

If things change in the offseason, maybe he’s that guy for Dynasty, but a lot of the commentary I’m reading in here sounds like wishful thinking. It’s the Pats. They love their committee. I don’t see them handing the reins to make Harris the next coming of Corey Dillon. :shrug:  

maybe I’ll be wrong. It’s hard to get excited about a Patriots RB. 

 
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Anarchy99 said:
In the new era of board protocol on citing sources, radio personality and reporter for Patriots Weekly Andy Hart has a unique perspective. His hot take is that Sony Michel is NOT injured and the Patriots put him on IR to give Harris a chance to win the starting RB job in NE. His perspective is the Patriots are done with Michel and it’s Harris’ job moving forward and they won’t look back. To clarify, Hart is the only one floating this and his lack of support for Michel is well documented. For the record, I have not been a fan of Michel running the football in the past, but his blitz picking has been stellar, which makes him valuable. And he seems to have done a little better running this season. I still think it will be RBBC moving forward if everyone is healthy. 
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A little tongue and cheek but I do believe there is truth in this- Michel's ability to pick up the blitz's was MUCH more valuable when they had Tom Brady than now.  I don't put that aspect into the equation nearly as much as before. 

 
Shutout said:
A little tongue and cheek but I do believe there is truth in this- Michel's ability to pick up the blitz's was MUCH more valuable when they had Tom Brady than now.  I don't put that aspect into the equation nearly as much as before. 
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Because Cam is better at evading the pass rush, or because they don't care if Cam gets hit?  :unsure:

I've never heard of a team not prioritizing blitz pickup for a RB. I can recall a number of otherwise talented backs getting less use, getting benched outright or having shorter careers for lacking that ability.

The Pats have long had a short leash for RBs who failed to pick up the blitz. I always assumed that was a BB thing more than a TB thing. 

 
The last time I tried to get excited about a NE RB (and it was purely because I had a ww guy that I believed in and was trying to catch lightning in a bottle) was Dion Lewis.  And it worked and looked beautiful...until it didn't. And then it was gone fast.  And that's the point. Harris MAY be awesome...but as soon as he's hurt...or as soon as he fumbles two times in a game....he will be worthless for the rest of the year and then who knows.   

The Patriots are just not going to Hitch their wagon to a RB , ever.  

 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
Because Cam is better at evading the pass rush, or because they don't care if Cam gets hit?  :unsure:

I've never heard of a team not prioritizing blitz pickup for a RB. I can recall a number of otherwise talented backs getting less use, getting benched outright or having shorter careers for lacking that ability.

The Pats have long had a short leash for RBs who failed to pick up the blitz. I always assumed that was a BB thing more than a TB thing. 
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Yes.  To both.  

Honestly, with TB12, it was priority 1,2, and 3 to keep him safe and able to do what he did.  With anyone else, it's just not as important.  With Cam, who is as likely to use his legs as almost anyone, the importance is not as "important" if he's not in the pocket anyway.  

Now, of course, blitz pickup is a fundamental important thing to any team but since it's not TB12, I think if the HC sees a talented player, he is more willing now than before to say " let's put him out there" and be willing to teach as they go a bit more than they would be if it were Brady back there.  

Important, but less so, given the situation.  

 
Shutout said:
The Patriots are just not going to Hitch their wagon to a RB , ever.  
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I have posted the actual production numbers and the salaries for the NE backfield over the years. RBBC has worked exceptionally well in NE (usually Top 5 in RB production) and cost wise (usually not near the top in amount paid to RBs). That is basically about as good as you can get in terms of outcomes. That being said, if a RB shows up that is leaps and bounds better than the other options and can pass protect, hold onto the football, catch passes, and stay healthy, then BB might consider giving that player a much bigger workload. But for years now I don't think Bill has been looking for that out of a RB. The rest of us may find that odd, but to BB, that seems to be a normal approach to team roster construction.

 
I did hear a lot of the same “they just will always want an rbbc” talk about the Eagles, and now Sanders is a workhorse.

Belichick is a smart coach, and if a back is head and shoulders above the rest they’ll likely play. I just don’t know whether Harris is that guy or not

 
Shutout said:
Yes.  To both.  

Honestly, with TB12, it was priority 1,2, and 3 to keep him safe and able to do what he did.  With anyone else, it's just not as important.  With Cam, who is as likely to use his legs as almost anyone, the importance is not as "important" if he's not in the pocket anyway.  

Now, of course, blitz pickup is a fundamental important thing to any team but since it's not TB12, I think if the HC sees a talented player, he is more willing now than before to say " let's put him out there" and be willing to teach as they go a bit more than they would be if it were Brady back there.  

Important, but less so, given the situation.  
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I will give you maybe "slightly less important", but I would say it's still really, really important. Cam got pummeled at times in CAR. If a QB drops back to pass and gets mauled by a completely missed blocking assignment, I don't care who it is, that QB is at risk of an injury. Cam might be able to avoid the first blitzer better than TB12, but I think Brady might be better avoiding bad hits than Cam has been. Tom on occasion dropped to the ground for phantom pass rushers and may have taken some sacks that he may not have had to. Cam seems like he will fight harder to keep the play alive and perhaps leaves himself more exposed than Brady did. Either way, teams won't get far if they leave guys running full speed unabated to the QB.

 
EthnicFury said:
I did hear a lot of the same “they just will always want an rbbc” talk about the Eagles, and now Sanders is a workhorse.
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Except Pederson came out in the off-season and said he wanted to feature Sanders. So I'm not sure who was still saying that. They were misinformed. 

Belichick is a smart coach, and if a back is head and shoulders above the rest they’ll likely play. I just don’t know whether Harris is that guy or not
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These things are mutually exclusive. BB can be a smart coach, and BB can still not use a RB the way you think he should or want him to. it is what it is. He hasn't for years and it's produced spectacular numbers. A smart coach also doesn't stop doing what's worked. 

The last time BB featured a RB was when they got Corey Dillon for a song as a "reclamation project" - he fit into the budget @Anarchy99 mentioned above. 

Harris looked ok, He didn't look "head & shoulders" above anyone. He kinda looked like JAG, but with some quicks in the open field. I certainly didn't see anything that would cause the Pats to stop using White as a receiver or Burkhead as a short yardage back (or a rusher or receiver or end-of-game guy)

Time will tell. I expect more of the same. Harris floor is what you saw without that 1 ~40 yard run. A 60 yard running back who loses receptions to one dude & GL to another. And when his QB comes back, that's another GL vultture. 

Not a wagon I'd want to hitch my pony to. 

 
Anarchy99 said:
I will give you maybe "slightly less important", but I would say it's still really, really important. Cam got pummeled at times in CAR. If a QB drops back to pass and gets mauled by a completely missed blocking assignment, I don't care who it is, that QB is at risk of an injury. Cam might be able to avoid the first blitzer better than TB12, but I think Brady might be better avoiding bad hits than Cam has been. Tom on occasion dropped to the ground for phantom pass rushers and may have taken some sacks that he may not have had to. Cam seems like he will fight harder to keep the play alive and perhaps leaves himself more exposed than Brady did. Either way, teams won't get far if they leave guys running full speed unabated to the QB.
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I believe we are talking about different things.  I agree that pass protection is important..very.  but the underlying point is Bill can win in many ways.  Tom Brady was a unique situation in terms of perceived loyalty and building a team around him because, well, he's Tom Brady.  But EVERYONE else...bill just says "whatev" and moves on.  He would like his qb to stay upright but he's not married to a 30+ year old, first year qb with injury history that wasn't on the team until late.  If Bill can find better TEAM value by playing a player who happens to not be Ann all-pro pass protector, he's going that way.  Like the bigmRussian said "if he dies, he dies". Lol. 

Bill has never been shy about making a change that didn't benefit a perceived good player, especially all those defenders over the years. And when something like Aaron Hernandez happened, they used him despite him not being the best blocker on the team which would have benefited Brady.  And when the other side of Aaron Hernandez happened, even though the pats had an unsolvable formula with those TEs at the time, Bill went another way. 

I'm just saying I'm not about to let conventional football wisdom put me in a box on what Bill will do given how he approaches team football.  

 
Anarchy99 said:
I will give you maybe "slightly less important", but I would say it's still really, really important. Cam got pummeled at times in CAR. If a QB drops back to pass and gets mauled by a completely missed blocking assignment, I don't care who it is, that QB is at risk of an injury. Cam might be able to avoid the first blitzer better than TB12, but I think Brady might be better avoiding bad hits than Cam has been. Tom on occasion dropped to the ground for phantom pass rushers and may have taken some sacks that he may not have had to. Cam seems like he will fight harder to keep the play alive and perhaps leaves himself more exposed than Brady did. Either way, teams won't get far if they leave guys running full speed unabated to the QB.
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This. Brady also had/has that 6th sense - he "feels" pressure. His mental clock is legendary. Dude just senses when defenders are getting close. It has at times appeared almost supernatural how he takes a 1/2 step forward just out of the grasp of a blitzer & completes a pass. 

Cam Newton has never had that ability, so I completely agree. Cam does have a good clock, but he's looking to tuck & run, not shift in the pocket to buy his receivers time. And sometimes Cam tucks and runs right into a blitzer, where Brady just sorta goes into the fetal position - which has been effective at keeping him healthy. 

I disagree with the premise that the Pats have de-prioritized pass pro in their RBs. If Harris sucks at protecting the QB, he's gonna find himself on the bench in a hurry. 

 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
Except Pederson came out in the off-season and said he wanted to feature Sanders. So I'm not sure who was still saying that. They were misinformed. 
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To clarify I was referencing the off-season after sanders was drafted, not people still saying that this past offseason. My point was more, that’s only ever the pattern until they get a guy worth making it not.

To the rest of it: yes, to some degree you can expect Belichick to keep doing what works. In the short term that probably still includes at least James White stealing something receptions. I’m less convinced a separate goal-line back is a given. But even in that time, much like with the eagles, there have been games that indicate he doesn’t have a problem giving a back a full workload; they have just gotten hurt or wound up in the doghouse after and never been seen again. Which obviously is a risk here. Remember that random 200 yd 4 td Jonas Gray game? I wonder how history would look if Gray hadn’t immediately missed a meeting.

Blount was a league-winner for me that one year also. A ~60% committee role could still be very valuable here. I understand that this is a smattering of random thoughts not necessarily driving to an overarching point 

 
EthnicFury said:
I did hear a lot of the same “they just will always want an rbbc” talk about the Eagles, and now Sanders is a workhorse.

Belichick is a smart coach, and if a back is head and shoulders above the rest they’ll likely play. I just don’t know whether Harris is that guy or not
Click to expand...
The following is not the best illustration,  as a better comparison would be to list things by coaches and offensive coordinators, but that would take way too long (and this will essentially show what I want it to show, so it will do). Number of RBs since 2005 to have 250 or more touches in a season (15 total seasons).

14 times: CHI, LAR
10 times: BAL, BUF, DAL, PIT, TEN
9 times: HOU, MIN, SF
8 times: ATL, CIN, IND, JAC, LAC, NYJ, PHI, SEA, WAS
7 times: DEN, KC
6 times: CAR, CLE, GB, LV, MIA, NO, TB
5 times: ARI, NYG
4 times: DET
3 times: NE

BB doesn't seem like he has searched to find an every down back. Even the three guys on this list were not involved in the passing game . . .

Stevan Ridley (2012) - 290 carries, 6 receptions
LaGarrette Blount (2016) - 299 carries, 7 receptions
Sony Michel (2019) - 247 carries, 12 receptions

 
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