Faust
MVP
Last edited by a moderator:
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.
RB Najee Harris, PIT (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Faust
- Start date
I love Brugler but I disagree on Harris's receiving ability. Bama doesn't throw to its RBs consistently but when they threw to Harris he looked pretty comfortable as a receiver to me. I can't speak to his route running but in terms of hands and adjusting to the ball he looks fairly fluid. He was also efficient this year when they threw to him (e.g. 3-51 against MS State; 3-44 against LSU; 4-48 against TN; 5-87 against South Carolina).
To me the tougher part of evaluating Harris is that he doesn't have a prototypical build or running style compared to a lot of contemporary NFL backs (tall and upright, long legs and torso).
To me the tougher part of evaluating Harris is that he doesn't have a prototypical build or running style compared to a lot of contemporary NFL backs (tall and upright, long legs and torso).
Last edited by a moderator:
kittenmittens
Footballguy
Yeah, I have heard a lot of other scouts and analysts comparing him to Steven Jackson precisely because he has a similar build and athletecism, yet does not have to come off the field for 3rd downs.
JackReacher
Footballguy
5-star prospect, who can do it all. Strong runner, catches everything. Took over games this year. Go re-watch the LSU game. He was the main reason they stayed in it. Hard to put a comp on him, but he can be a volume guy in NFL, much like Henry and Jacobs. I do thinks he has much more talent than Damian Harris.
JackReacher
Footballguy
cloppbeast
Footballguy
Zyphros
Footballguy
Harris is much better laterally than Henry is, at least to me. Plus he cuts quickly off those moves for a guy his size. Henry takes a second to push off, but his feet are so good he makes it work well.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
Yes, the NFL stands for "Not for Long". Harris is a bigger back and bigger backs seem to fade quicker than smaller backs.
The win by Tenn over NE via Derrick Henry may wake up some GMs to the fact that its not a bad thing to have a big back that is hard to tackle and run him 25-30 times a game. It was clearly evident that TENN was really good with Henry in there and not much at all with Lewis in there.
Ilov80s
Footballguy
Not a bad thing at all but still it only lead to 14 points, 2 more minutes of time of possession, 1 more first down, 2 less plays and 35 less yards of offense. If Brady and the Pats offense had been even slightly better, the pound the ball to Henry strategy would have been a losing one.
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Obviously it's his decision but I don't get why a RB would subject himself to one more year of wear and tear and also add a full year of age towards getting his second NFL contract.
Its possible(likely?) that he was informed he wasn't likely to be a high enough pick for his liking, and felt he could improve upon that standing with another season.
Personally, Harris doesn't impress me much, but maybe he'll have a huge senior season. I felt he was the 3rd most talented RB on the 2018 team. I don't see the Jackson or Henry comps at all. He has nowhere near the big play ability Henry has, or the receiving ability Jackson had. Chris Ivory would probably be a more fair comparison for me.
Ilov80s
Footballguy
Yeah, very risky move on his part. I get that this year has a lot of strong RBs but even next year it's hard to imagine Harris surging into the first round.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
I don't get it at all. Even if he did sneak into the end of the 1st round next year that would mean he'd be 28 by the time he's eligible for his 2nd contract, which basically means he has no chance of ever getting a big payday.
If he comes out this year he will be eligible for that all important 2nd deal at 26.
If he comes out this year he will be eligible for that all important 2nd deal at 26.
Interseptopus
Footballguy
At least we can put to bed the fallacy that he belonged in the same conversation as Swift, Dobbins, ETN, Taylor
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
I don’t think he can enhance his stock much for next season with all the RB depth at Bama - I know that was your point as well. And agree, there’s not any argument that it isn’t a really terrible financial decision. Hopefully he has his reason and is at peace with it.
Last edited by a moderator:
Faust
MVP
This stat proves Alabama football’s Najee Harris is criminally underrated (FanSided article with autoplay video)
rockaction
Footballguy
This is gonna be crazy when these guys don't get a year of tape for the scouts. I feel badly for them.
rockaction
Footballguy
ETN doesn't belong in the same conversation as the others either
As for Harris, his saving grace is how well he catches passes for his size
But make no mistake: he is not Henry is will likely run a 4.6+ at the combine without the elusiveness needed to make up for it
Fantastic college player but I am not liking the chances at getting a top RB in 2021 and trying to stock up this year if I have a chance at the top 4+Akers
Zyphros
Footballguy
ETN was highly regarded as a top RB class compared to 2020 rookies. But that’s not the point.
Najee is a better prospect than Henry was rather easily to me. He’d be in that mix of the top RBs for 2020 too. Not super special but still very solid or above average prospect.
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Well, there still has to be 32 first round players, 32 second round players....and so forth.
rockaction
Footballguy
Yes, there does. I'd bet the draft capital we often speak of gets a little negated by the lack of a season though. And you were right upthread about Harris. Not sure why he didn't come out in the draft given the uncertainty of everything and considering he'll be twenty-three, which is getting ancient in league terms and therefore FF terms. I read a fascinating and great article about fantasy football finishes and running backs being under 25 when it happens. Over the past six-seven years, the majority of top twelve finishers and a large percentage (about eighty-five percent) of top twenty-four finishers are between the ages of 21-25, with 26 and 27 bringing up a surprisingly low percentile rear.
And yet...both chose to return to college rather than compete against the 2020 RBs
Najee is a better pass catcher than Henry which is significant, but he has got nothing on him as a runner: slower, less powerful, worse contact balance
Zyphros
Footballguy
Najee is a bit weird because he's a big bruiser guy but his game is not about power. He has some power but not a whole lot, and there's a lot of finesse in his game that I feel make him the better prospect, but sometimes it gets him in trouble because his body is so big that he can't do those things. That plus he's a way better pass catcher like you said. He'd be considered a top RB for 2020 as well. I think it's a big red flag that he and ETN chose to return to school though. Maybe it has something to do with Alabama and Saban? Just speculating and thinking out loud.
Weird to me too. Both have already won national championships and RB shelf lives are so short. Najee in particular will be 23 by the time of the draft. Not a Chuba fan either personally. If I had to rank them I’d say Etienne, Najee then Chuba but there are guys like Max Borghi, Journey Brown and Kylin Hill that I could argue over all except Etienne
CFB not being played also would eliminate the chance of a Jacobs/CEH type riser
The WR class looks similar or only slightly worse than 2020 and QB/TE look great
The decision though: could have been Saban or just not getting the draft grade he expected. I know Etienne got a 2nd round grade though so no clue on his reason for returning beyond just strength of class or maybe personal reasons like enjoying college life.
Even if it is just something minor it still makes them worse prospects than they would have been this year just due to age and (if CFB is played) then workload concerns
