When LA Chargers fans demanded the team make a big move at the start of NFL free agency they weren't talking about signing former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris.
Alas, that is exactly what the Chargers did.
The Chargers are signing the former first-round pick to a one-year deal worth up to $9.5 million. Harris entered free agency after the Pittsburgh Steelers declined his fifth-year rookie option, which is never a great sign for a player who is meant to be the bell-cow back next season.
Harris is a rather big name as a former first-round pick and it is easy to point out things to like about him. After all, he has recorded 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons and has only fumbled five times on over 1,200 touches. The negatives, unfortunately, outweigh the positives.
Najee Harris signing may come back to bite the Chargers
The No. 1 counterpoint to Harris' 1,000-yard streak and his five fumbles in over 1,200 touches is the fact he has averaged just 3.9 yards per carry in his career and has never been someone who has elevated a rushing attack.
Harris is serviceable if he has a great offensive line in front of him but he is not someone who is going to reinvent a team's running game. The former first-round pick finished with a rushing success rate of just 43.7% last season, which was lower than Austin Ekeler's rushing success rate in 2023.
It's fair to question the Chargers' decision to commit monetary resources when the team had a better in-house option and a stacked draft class to look forward to. Despite his flaws, J.K. Dobbins still averaged 4.6 yards per carry last season and proved he can be the engine of this Chargers' offense.
Signing Dobbins for cheaper and drafting a running back early in the 2025 NFL Draft, perhaps UNC's Omarion Hampton, could have been a much better use of the Chargers' resources. Instead, the Chargers let valuable free agents sign elsewhere so they could save for a first-round pick whose own team didn't even want him back.
Dobbins was able to create chicken salad out of the Chargers' awful interior offensive line situation last season. Harris hasn't proven in four years he could elevate bad offensive line play in the same way as Dobbins.
And because the Chargers were seemingly prioritizing Harris, the team didn't make any marquee offensive line additions. There's still time to add to the offensive line, but chances are there still will be holes that Harris won't be able to fix himself.
Maybe the Chargers will still bring Dobbins back and run a two-man committee, spurning the draft altogether. Perhaps an early-round running back is on the board. Either way, the Chargers could have gotten as good, if not better, results just by saving the money spent on Harris for other players.