Najee Harris signs with the Chargers: The Dynasty Fantasy Football Impact
When Alabama running back Najee Harris posted a Senior season with 1,466 rushing yards, 26 rushing touchdowns, 43 catches, 425 receiving yards and four more receiving scores back in 2020, dynasty managers were salivating over what he could do in the NFL. Many even made him the 1.01 in rookie drafts that Spring. In the end, Harris was a first round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers and performed admirably, though he was never a truly elite running back. As such, the Steelers decided not to re-sign him this off-season and let him walk out the door today, as he agreed to a one-year deal with Los Angeles Chargers. The deal is significant and the first one of the real dominoes to fall in terms of the free agent running back market. Let’s take a look at some players whose values have been affected by the move.
Najee Harris, RB LAC
Again, Harris has been a good option in Pittsburgh but far from a dominant difference maker throughout his four-year career. His rookie year was his best as he posted an even 1,200 yards while his last three seasons have been incredibly similar as he’s recorded between 1,034 and 1,043 yards and between six and eight touchdowns in every season. Again, this is good but not great. In addition, Harris has only posted a career yards per carry average of 3.9, though his last two seasons have been a tad better as they’ve landed around 4.0. He’s also never been a fantastic receiver as he’s posted just 180 career catches for 1,149 yards with six total touchdowns in his four years with the Steelers.
In the end, Harris signed a one-year deal worth up to $9.5 million with the Chargers. This is a surprise as he certainly had to expect some decent multi-year offers out there that were more lucrative. Instead, he’s going to enter 2025 on a one-year “prove it” deal and should be motivated to post a stellar campaign. With JK Dobbins unlikely to return and Gus Edwards already released by the Chargers, there isn’t much current competition on the roster for Harris. That could certainly change, but he seems like a pretty solid fit in this offense and should have every opportunity to post a career-best season as he angles for a better deal next off-season.
As for dynasty leagues, Harris projects as a solid RB2, at least at the moment. He’s a bona fide starter who should get solid goal line chances on Los Angeles. In addition, his motivation should be there to post a solid season. In the end, his ADP drop should stop now and level out as he gets prepared for life in LA. Everything could change should the Chargers sign someone else or use the NFL Draft on an elite-level runner. However, that’s all just speculation at the moment.
Jaylen Warren, RB PIT
The Steelers chose to let Harris go and sign Warren to a second round tender offer, which equates to a $5.3 million deal. Another team could negotiate a contract with him, but they’d have to send Pittsburgh a second round pick in exchange. That seems extremely unlikely, so we should all expect Warren back with the Steelers next season. Warren has always proven to be more explosive than Harris, though it has also come with far fewer opportunities. The backfield currently belongs to him, but it’s really hard to look at this and think Pittsburgh is done addressing the depth chart there. Warren should return next season as the “1B” to a power back, but expecting him to keep his current grasp on the starting job seems to be a bit of a reach at the moment.
Justin Herbert, QB LAC
It’s never a bad thing to see a quarterback get more talent and that’s exactly what happened here. Herbert somehow threw for nearly 4,000 yards with 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions last season, despite not having players like Keenan Allen and Mike Williams to catch the ball. Having a solid running back in tow should keep defenses honest and allow Herbert to continue working with and developing his young receivers. In short, this move helps him.
JK Dobbins, RB FA
Dobbins was a revelation for the Chargers last year, posting a career-high 905 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on a healthy 4.6 yards per carry. It’s hard to see him coming back after they signed Harris, but stranger things have happened in the NFL. In the end, Dobbins is going to scour the league in search of a starting job and he’s proven to be more than capable of handling backfield duties if (and it’s a big IF) he can stay healthy. He should have a home by the end of the week, so stay tuned. If the Chargers can get anything close to what they got from Dobbins from Harris, this is a huge signing. Conversely, if a team gets anything close to what the Chargers got from Dobbins when they signed him last year, that will be a huge signing as well.
Free Agent Running Backs
This list includes the likes of Dobbins, Kareem Hunt, Nick Chubb, and Rico Dowdle. The Chargers were an obvious landing spot for a running back and they’ve now addressed it. This group is going to be looking at places like Pittsburgh, Dallas, Denver, Cleveland, and elsewhere for their next gig. We should see the rest of the dominoes start to fall shortly.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
