Najee Harris Fantasy Outlook Craters After Jaylen Warren News

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris came into the season with lofty expectations after putting up huge numbers as a rookie this year, but he has fallen well short of those expectations in his sophomore campaign. His numbers are all down across the board, disappointing fantasy managers who invested an early-round draft pick in him.

His fantasy value took another hit this week, however, as it sounds like he's going to have more competition in Pittsburgh's backfield.

Najee Harris Fantasy Outlook

An expanded role for rookie RB Jaylen Warren is bad news for Harris fantasy managers, as his volume was already trending in the wrong direction. Harris is coming off a season-low 8 carries in Week 9 and is averaging just 13.5 attempts and 45.1 rushing yards per game — well below last year's totals of 18.1 and 70.6.

The Steelers seem open to giving Warren a heavier workload after he ran for 50 yards on just 6 attempts in Week 9. Harris finished with 18 fewer rushing yards despite receiving 2 more attempts.

Pittsburgh has already made a change at quarterback this year and has some freedom to experiment with a 2-6 record. Harris hasn't been getting the job done, opening the door for Warren to get more opportunities.

Still, this is a frustrating development for Harris managers, who thought they were getting an RB1 when they drafted him. Now he looks more like an RB3 / FLEX option if he and Warren are going to split carries going forward.

Harris currently checks in as the RB26 in The Duel's Week 10 PPR rankings, but that ranking could be generous based on Warren's growing role. Consider fading Harris this week if you have better options available.

As for Warren, he's still not start-worthy yet, but his stock is certainly on the rise. Fantasy gamers should consider stashing him on the bench and seeing if his playing time continues to increase, especially if they already have Harris on their roster.

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