bijan-robinson-3-1400-us.jpg
USATSI

Steelers running back Najee Harris has had a weird start to his NFL career. Since being drafted 24th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, he's finished third and 14th in PPR scoring in Fantasy, and yet most Fantasy Football analysts (and probably most players, too) view him as a pretty significant disappointment.

Or, maybe that's not the right way to phrase it. Harris has, for the most part, lived up to expectations in Fantasy Football. The problem is, he just hasn't seemed like a particularly good real NFL running back. Since his debut, he ranks 26th among 26 running backs with at least 300 carries in yards per carry; among 117 players with at least 100 targets, he ranks 116th in yards per target.

Playing behind porous offensive lines in stagnant offenses hasn't helped, but that didn't seem to slow Jaylen Warren down. Warren, an undrafted free agent from last year's class, averaged 4.9 yards per carry last season, more than a yard better than Harris' average; he also bested Harris in yards per target by more than two with his 6.5 average. He did those on significantly smaller workloads, obviously, but it's raised the question: Is Najee Harris even the best running back on his own team?

Warren's 62-yard touchdown run in last week's preseason game brought that question back to the light, and I listed Harris as a loser coming out of the season preseason game, largely as a result of those concerns. And even though Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada "unequivocally" named Harris the RB1 for the Steelers in recent days, it's hard to know how much to believe that. The Steelers have playoff aspirations, and will they really continue to give massive work to the least productive running back on their roster?

If they do, Harris is probably going to end up being a borderline RB1 in Fantasy this season by default, just like he was last season. But if Warren's role continues to grow, things could get ugly very quickly for Harris, because he just hasn't shown the big-play ability you'd want to see to make up for any lost volume – Harris has just seven carries of 20 or more yards on nearly 600 attempts in his NFL career. 

Harris continues to trend down for me, and I dropped him to RB20 in my latest rankings update, which you can see below. I'm not projecting Warren to take over as the starter, but I do think the chances of that happening at some point continue to rise, and Warren has now entered the RB3/4 range for me. I don't think Warren is going to be a slam dunk starting RB in Fantasy by Week 1, but he could get there by Week 10. It's not necessarily the likeliest outcome for the Steelers backfield, but it's become a real possibility. 

Here are my updated RB rankings as of Sep. 2:

2023 RB Rankings

  1. Christian McCaffrey, 49ers – $36
  2. Austin Ekeler, Chargers – $33
  3. Josh Jacobs, Raiders – $26
  4. Bijan Robinson, Falcons – $25
  5. Saquon Barkley, Giants – $25
  6. Derrick Henry, Titans – $22
  7. Nick Chubb, Browns – $21
  8. Tony Pollard, Cowboys – $21
  9. Joe Mixon, Bengals – $14
  10. Travis Etienne, Jaguars – $13
  11. Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions – $13
  12. Alexander Mattison, Vikings – $13
  13. Miles Sanders, Panthers – $12
  14. Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots – $12
  15. Dameon Pierce, Texans – $11
  16. Kenneth Walker, Seahawks – $11
  17. Aaron Jones, Packers – $11
  18. Javonte Williams, Broncos – $10
  19. James Cook, Bills – $10
  20. Najee Harris, Steelers – $9
  21. David Montgomery, Lions – $8
  22. Rachaad White, Buccaneers – $8
  23. Breece Hall, Jets – $8
  24. J.K. Dobbins, Ravens – $7
  25. James Conner, Cardinals – $7
  26. Cam Akers, Rams – $7
  27. Dalvin Cook, Jets – $5
  28. Alvin Kamara, Saints – $4
  29. Khalil Herbert, Bears – $4
  30. Jonathan Taylor, Colts – $4
  31. Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs – $4
  32. AJ Dillon, Packers – $4
  33. Antonio Gibson, Commanders – $3
  34. D'Andre Swift, Eagles – $3
  35. Brian Robinson, Commanders – $3
  36. Samaje Perine, Broncos – $2
  37. Raheem Mostert, Dolphins – $1
  38. De'von Achane, Dolphins – $1
  39. Jaylen Warren, Steelers – $2
  40. Zack Moss, Colts – $2
  41. Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks – $2
  42. Devin Singletary, Texans – $1
  43. Jerick McKinnon, Chiefs – $1
  44. Jamaal Williams, Saints – $1
  45. Kendre Miller, Saints – $1
  46. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs – $1
  47. Rashaad Penny, Eagles – $1
  48. Roschon Johnson, Bears – $1
  49. Ty Chandler, Vikings – $0
  50. Deon Jackson, Colts – $1
  51. Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles – $1
  52. Ezekiel Elliott, Patriots – $0
  53. Zamir White, Raiders – $0
  54. Chuba Hubbard, Panthers – $0
  55. Jeff Wilson, Dolphins – $1
  56. Elijah Mitchell, 49ers – $0
  57. D'Onta Foreman, Bears – $0
  58. Tank Bigsby, Jaguars – $0
  59. Rico Dowdle, Cowboys – $0
  60. Deuce Vaughn, Cowboys – $0
  61. Tyjae Spears, Titans – $0
  62. Damien Harris, Bills – $0
  63. Kyren Williams, Rams – $0
  64. Tyler Allgeier, Falcons – $0
  65. Jerome Ford, Browns – $0
  66. Gus Edwards, Ravens – $0
  67. Chase Edmonds, Buccaneers – $0
  68. Kene Nwangwu, Vikings – $0
  69. Joshua Kelley, Chargers – $0
  70. Keaontay Ingram, Cardinals – $0