Chargers Nab Najee Harris — Fantasy Impact

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After four straight 1,000-yard seasons in Pittsburgh, 2021 first-round RB Najee Harris left the Steel City Monday to sign with the Chargers on a one-year deal worth up to $9-plus million.

Despite the success of four straight seasons over 1,000 yards and WR2-or-better finishes, Harris has not really been a difference-maker in fantasy since his rookie season. He’s under 4.0 yards per carry for his career, with a career best of 4.06 in 2023. In other words, Harris’ greatest value has been his availability, as he has never missed a game in his career — among backs with at least 400 PPR points the last four years, Harris’ 68 games played leads the way, just ahead of Samaje Perine (66), Devin Singletary (64) and Ezekiel Elliott, Antonio Gibson, Chuba Hubbard and Tony Pollard (64). And he’s been the starter all four of his years, well ahead of the others on the list. Limit it to starts, and Harris’ 68 is seven ahead of second-place Josh Jacobs and Joe Mixon, at 61 apiece.

Harris had 74 receptions on 94 targets in his rookie year of 2021, when he finished as the PPR RB3, but the emergence of Jaylen Warren in Pittsburgh cut his receiving work down dramatically, and Harris hasn’t topped 41 receptions in a season since. The Steelers declined Harris’ fifth-year option last offseason, basically cementing his departure.

Listen: Jeff Ratcliffe Reacts to the Move

The Chargers released Gus Edwards earlier this week and have 2024 lead back J.K. Dobbins entering free agency, so there’s a huge opening for a bell cow in Los Angeles. Harris promises to take that role — though it’s worth noting the team only gave him a single year, so this in no way prevents them from finding more backfield help later in the offseason, perhaps in a loaded RB draft class.

If Harris does make it to the regular season with the lead role in the backfield all to himself, another 1,000-yard season on the ground shouldn’t be a big ask. That said, he’s still not likely to be a big contributor as a receiver — Chargers running backs totaled 43 receptions last year, with Dobbins getting 32 of those looks. This is not an offense that targets running backs much. In short, Harris can easily be a low-end RB2 in 2025 if the team doesn’t make any more additions, but he has very little chance of reaching the RB1s.