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Najee Harris Contract Terms
The Chargers have found their answer at running back, signing Najee Harris to a one-year deal worth $9.25 million.
Fantasy Impact
Najee Harris has been an impactful fantasy football running back for four straight years, rushing for at least 1,000 yards and six or more touchdowns each season. He has also proven worth as a receiving back, with 180 receptions in four seasons. These all appear to be incredible feats, but how he gets there is, let’s just say, not fun. He has a career yards per attempt of 3.9 with a breakaway run percentage that has been outside the top 20 in his four seasons as a pro. He is a heavy plodder who slowly churns out yards and sometimes draws criticism due to his lack of explosive ability. His running style and poor Steelers' offensive line play have sometimes led to a frustrating combination in Pittsburgh. Besides one outlier season as a rookie where a noodle-armed Ben Roethlisberger seemed to want to break the record for dump-offs in a season, this lack of explosive ability has kept him outside the top tier in fantasy rankings.
In Los Angeles, we saw a similar physical running back with a lack of explosiveness in J.K. Dobbins, who had a lot of success. After a few fluky plays in the first five weeks, Dobbins settled and had a 14.7% breakaway run rate, even less than any season Harris had by about eight percentage points. He averaged 3.5 yards per attempt and was the RB18 in PPR points per game in this span. If Dobbins can put up RB2 numbers in Los Angeles with that efficiency, Harris, who was more efficient in a worse situation, could surely approach top-15 numbers. He will play with the best offensive line and quarterback he has ever had, Justin Herbert. Jim Harbaugh’s strong run-first scheme and the physicality of Najee Harris should mix very well. Assuming that J.K. Dobbins is out, Harris has a workhorse opportunity in front of him and should have some great production as a Charger. He will likely be undervalued due to his reputation and will be a potential value in fantasy drafts.
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Fantasy Fallout
This move decreases the chances of J.K. Dobbins staying in Los Angeles and, as a result, lessens the chances that he will be a starting running back in 2025. Most teams will prefer to select a rookie in a strong draft class than take a 26-year-old back with an extensive injury history. For anyone holding onto Dobbins in dynasty, it is a sell low, but getting value now might be worth it so you at least get something out of him. Quickly take advantage of anyone willing to offer a late second or a package worth that value. If you cannot really get that, just hold on and hope.
Jaylen Warren will likely be a Steeler in 2025, and now he is all alone in the Steelers' backfield. While this does increase his odds of being the lead back for the team in 2025, if someone is willing to buy high, I would sell. This aforementioned running back class in the upcoming NFL Draft is incredibly talented, and Pittsburgh will likely take one of significance. Warren is coming off a down year, where he displayed immense durability issues in a smaller 5-foot-8, 210-pound frame. While Warren will likely be involved in the offense, I doubt Pittsburgh will make him a workhorse after the season he had.
Stock Watch
Risers:
- Najee Harris
- Jaylen Warren (his stock rises, though the market may overvalue him )
Fallers:
Overview
Najee Harris comes to Los Angeles to replace J.K. Dobbins, whose future is now uncertain. Harris is in a significantly better situation in the Chargers' offense and looks to have enhanced fantasy football value heading into 2025.
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