Najee Harris (RB, PIT): 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target Around ~70 Overall

CURRENT ADP: ~73

ANALYSIS:  Most fantasy managers will likely want no part of Harris after his past two seasons, but that would be a mistake. The Steelers have made many big improvements to their offense this season. First and foremost is the addition of Russell Wilson. He’s not the guy from Seattle anymore, but he’s a whole lot better than Kenny Pickett, that’s for sure.

On top of that, the Steelers drafted left tackle Troy Fautanu in the first round and center Zach Frazier in the second round. These were the two biggest holes in their offense and they filled them with two highly regarded prospects. The offensive line should take a big step forward this season. The combination of Wilson under center and those offensive line upgrades will be huge for Harris’ efficiency and touchdown potential.

Pittsburgh had a lot more offensive weaponry than Denver had last year, but Denver scored three more points per game because it had Wilson -- or maybe it was because it didn’t have Pickett. Five percent more of Denver’s drives got points, and it had 16 more red-zone trips. Wilson has better receivers, running backs, and offensive line than Denver. This offense should be considerably better in 2024.

Think sneaky offseason winners are #Steelers RBs:

* Run-game hardo Arthur Smith hired as OC
* QB position improved/stabilized
* Draft yielded LT Troy Fautanu (20th overall), C Zach Frazier (51st overall), OG Mason McCormick (119th overall)

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) April 29, 2024

Last year, Harris was among the few players who finished with more than 14.7 touches per game but failed to finish as a top-24 running back in PPR PPG. He finished as the RB30 on 16.7 touches. In 2022, he finished as the RB20 on 18.4 touches, indicating Harris has been one of the most inefficient running backs over the past two seasons.

Inefficient or not, he’s been a top-20 running back in two out of three seasons and has finished with 284 or more touches in every season of his career. He’s also had 1,200 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns in every season of his career. It’s not a stretch to say that this Pittsburgh offense will be the most talented one Harris has ever been on.

He’s not suddenly going to become this super-efficient running back, but maybe if he were to improve his efficiency just a little bit with the kind of volume he’s going to get, Harris could be a nice buy this season. He’s a virtual lock to surpass our 14.7 touch-per-game total.

UPDATE: Jaylen Warren is nursing a hamstring injury that could bleed over into the first week or two of the regular season.

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