Chargers wide receiver Tre' Harris only had four receptions for 27 yards on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. But his impact went far beyond the box score.
Harris was blocking, running routes, and catching passes. With his big role as a blocker in the run game, Harris ended up playing more snaps than either Keenan Allen or Ladd McConkey. He took advantage of his first true starter-level reps with Quentin Johnston absent due to a hamstring injury.
Harris was also pulled off of special teams because of his increased role on offense. In each of the teams' first five games, Harris played at least 4+ special teams snaps. Against the Dolphins, he was too important to pull away from the offensive side of the ball.
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh had high praise for Harris in Tuesday's media availability:
"Heck of a game. Game ball went to Tre' (Harris)," Harbaugh started. "He graded out as the highest receiver in the game. I think all nine of the longest runs were led by him or he was having a key block. And he played all three positions, which speaks volumes. So just keep building and growing. Very, very pleased with Tre' Harris."
Jim Harbaugh is clearly high on Chargers rookie Tre' Harris
Harbaugh was asked if he knew Harris could be this versatile as a run blocker this early into his NFL career:
"We knew he was strong, we knew he was tough. You could see that on the college tape," Harbaugh said. "But yeah, he's exceeded expectations-on the other hand you don't really put expectations on it. Just they have the license and the ability to do, and you let them do. But the better they do, the more they get. The more they earn. So you can see building and building for him."
In reference to Harbaugh's point about "earning" more of a role, it's clear the coaching staff is increasing their trust in Harris each game. If WR Quentin Johnston is back this week vs. Indianapolis, it'll be interesting to see how many snaps they have each of their core four wide receivers play.
At this point, the game plans that do involve a more heavy rushing attack probably will feature an increased workload for the Ole Miss product going forward.
Harris will look to build on his quality Miami tape showing this week against the Colts.