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Factoid

Najee Harris

Is Steeler back overrated or underrated?

I'm a Najee Harris fan, and at times when I talked him up here it was commented that he was overrated. It's true that holes can be poked in his rookie season; perhaps he's not as good as I think he is. Perhaps.

Certainly, Harris didn't take over games or anything. He averaged just 3.9 yards per rushing attempt, which is lousy. He also averaged just over 70 rushing yards per game. Among all rookie running backs to play in at least half their team's games since 2000, that doesn't even crack the top 30 in that regard. Another rookie, sixth-rounder Elijah Mitchell, was considerably better than him in that area this season. (Search tools at pro-football-reference.com used in compiling this table.)

ROOKIE RUSHING PER GAME, 2000-PRESENT (8+ GAMES)
YearPlayerTmRu/GGGSAttYdsY/ATD
2016Ezekiel ElliottDAL108.7151532216315.115
2004Julius JonesDAL102.4871978194.27
2012Alfred MorrisWAS100.8161633516134.813
2007Adrian PetersonMIN95.814923813415.612
2002Clinton PortisDEN94.3161227315085.515
2000Mike AndersonDEN92.9161229714875.015
2012Doug MartinTAM90.9161631914544.611
2019Josh JacobsOAK88.5131324211504.87
2016Jordan HowardCHI87.5151325213135.26
2021Elijah MitchellSFO87.511102079634.75
2007Marshawn LynchBUF85.8131328011154.07
2000Jamal LewisBAL85.3161330913644.46
2015Todd GurleySTL85.1131222911064.810
2001Anthony ThomasCHI84.5141027811834.37
2005Cadillac WilliamsTAM84.1141429011784.16
2017Kareem HuntKAN82.9161627213274.98
2008Chris JohnsonTEN81.9151425112284.99
2018Saquon BarkleyNYG81.7161626113075.011
2008Steve SlatonHOU80.1161526812824.89
2017Leonard FournetteJAX80.0131326810403.99
2013Eddie LacyGNB78.5151528411784.211
2020Jonathan TaylorIND77.9151323211695.011
2010LeGarrette BlountTAM77.513720110075.06
2008Matt ForteCHI77.4161631612383.98
2001LaDainian TomlinsonSDG77.3161633912363.710
2020James RobinsonJAX76.4141424010704.57
2004Kevin JonesDET75.5151424111334.75
2001Dominic RhodesIND73.6151023311044.79
2003Domanick WilliamsHOU73.6141023810314.38
2005Samkon GadoGNB72.8851435824.16
2018Sony MichelNWE71.61382099314.56
2021Najee HarrisPIT70.6171730712003.97
2014Jeremy HillCIN70.316822211245.19
2013Zac StacySTL69.514122509733.97
2018Phillip LindsayDEN69.115819210375.49
2011DeMarco MurrayDAL69.01371648975.52
2006Joseph AddaiIND67.616022610814.87
2013Le'Veon BellPIT66.213132448603.58
2018Gus EdwardsBAL65.31161377185.22
2019Devin SingletaryBUF64.61281517755.12
2018Kerryon JohnsonDET64.11071186415.43
2015Thomas RawlsSEA63.81371478305.74
2014Tre MasonSTL63.81291797654.34
2007Ryan GrantGNB63.71571889565.18
2012Trent RichardsonCLE63.315152679503.611
2011Ben TateHOU62.81521759425.44
2018Nick ChubbCLE62.31691929965.28
2020Clyde Edwards-HelaireKAN61.813131818034.44
2015T.J. YeldonJAX61.712121827404.12
2008Kevin SmithDET61.016122389764.18
2005Ronnie BrownMIA60.515142079074.44

Looking at that, you can say, eh, Harris was OK, but he wasn't that great a rookie running back.

But in fantasy football, it was a different story. Harris wasn't just great -- he was one of the very best rookie running backs this century.

In addition to his 1,200 rushing yards, Harris caught 74 passes for 467 more yards. He scored 10 touchdowns, he didn't leave the field very often, and (with the new 17-game season) he played one more game than any running back in previous years. That helped him rack up 300.7 PPR fantasy points -- the 7th-best total by a rookie running back since 2000. (Table shows the top 50 rookie running backs, using PPR scoring.)

ROOKIE RUNNING BACKS, 2000-PRESENT (PPR POINTS)
YearPlayerTeamGRunAvgNoRecTDFF
2018Saquon BarkleyNYG1613075.09172115385.8
2016Ezekiel ElliottDAL1516315.13236316327.4
2017Alvin KamaraNOR167286.18182614322.4
2002Clinton PortisDEN1615085.53336417322.2
2012Doug MartinTAM1614544.64947212313.6
2008Matt ForteCHI1612383.96347712306.5
2021Najee HarrisPIT1712003.97446710300.7
2017Kareem HuntKAN1613274.95345511297.2
2000Mike AndersonDEN1614875.02316915280.6
2006Maurice Jones-DrewJAX169415.74643616279.7
2001LaDainian TomlinsonSDG1612363.75936710279.3
2008Steve SlatonHOU1612824.85037710275.9
2006Reggie BushNOR165653.7887429272.7
2012Alfred MorrisWAS1616134.8117713258.0
2007Adrian PetersonMIN1413415.61926813257.9
2020Jonathan TaylorIND1511695.03629912254.8
2012Trent RichardsonCLE159503.65136712254.7
2020James RobinsonJAX1410704.54934410252.4
2008Chris JohnsonTEN1512284.94326010251.8
2013Eddie LacyGNB1511784.23525711244.5
2003Domanick WilliamsHOU1410314.3473518233.2
2016Jordan HowardCHI1513135.2292987232.1
2000Jamal LewisBAL1613644.4272966231.0
2017Christian McCaffreyCAR164353.7806517230.6
2017Leonard FournetteJAX1310403.93630210230.2
2006Joseph AddaiIND1610814.8403258228.6
2001Dominic RhodesIND1511044.73422410226.8
2013Giovani BernardCIN166954.1565148224.9
2018Phillip LindsayDEN1510375.43524110222.8
2019Miles SandersPHI168184.6505096220.7
2013LeVeon BellPIT138603.5453998218.9
2015David JohnsonARI165814.73645713217.8
2014Jeremy HillCIN1611245.1272159214.9
2008Kevin SmithDET169764.1392868213.2
2015Todd GurleyRAM1311064.82118810210.4
2020Antonio GibsonWAS147954.73624711206.2
2001Anthony ThomasCHI1411834.3221787202.1
2010Jahvid BestDET165553.3584876198.2
2009Knowshon MorenoDEN169473.8282139198.0
2007Marshawn LynchBUF1311154.0181847196.3
2004Kevin JonesDET1511334.7281806195.3
2018Nick ChubbCLE169965.22014910194.5
2020D'Andre SwiftDET135214.64635710193.8
2019Josh JacobsRAI1311504.8201667193.6
2013Zac StacyRAM149733.9261418185.4
2005Cadillac WilliamsTAM1411784.120816181.9
2020Clyde Edwards-HelaireKAN138034.4362975176
2005Ronnie BrownMIA159074.4322325175.9
2019David MontgomeryCHI168893.7251857174.4
2011Roy HeluWAS156404.2493793168.9

Maybe Harris will burn out quickly. Pittsburgh has thus far made only modest improvements to its offensive line, and they have a pretty big question mark at quarterback. But I remain a Harris fan, and I expect I'll have him on some teams this season, too.

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index