When Najee Harris signed with the Jim Harbaugh-led LA Chargers his fantasy football value jumped through the roof. After all, this is a workhorse back who hasn't missed a single game in his NFL career and is now playing for a head coach who loves to run the football.
Everything that has happened around Harris and the Chargers since he signed has only decreased his fantasy value. It started when the Chargers selected UNC running back Omarion Hampton in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Sure, running back committees can still be valuable, but Harris' status went from solo bell-cow back to veteran in a committee.
Then the Fourth of July happened. Harris injured his eye in a firework mishap and was placed on the NFI list by the Chargers. Harris showed up to training camp a week late hiding his eye with sunglasses and a hoodie, bringing into question how ready he can actually be for the start of the season.
Understandably, as football fans gear up their preparation for their fantasy leagues, Harris' value has plummeted. In just one month, his ADP on Underdog's Best Ball has fallen 10 spots from 115 to 125. When he first signed with the Chargers, Harris was touted as a "high-end RB2" by fantasy experts.
Harris fall from ADP grace may look like an opportunity for value for some eagle-eyed fantasy football owners. However, we here at Bolt Beat are here to tell you that you should avoid Harris at all costs.
Why Najee Harris is not worth the gamble in fantasy football
I know exactly what you are thinking. With an ADP of 125, why not take a chance on Harris? After all, Harris will be thrust into a bell-cow role if anything happens to Hampton. Also, the eye injury may not impact his long-term availability, so taking him that late in the draft is worth the stab.
The problem with that logic is all the other talented options that will be available in that same range as Harris. Javonte Williams (ADP 118), Tyjae Spears (ADP 120), Tre' Harris (ADP 125), Colston Loveland (ADP 128), Dalton Kincaid (ADP 129), Marvin Mims (ADP 131) and Luther Burden II (ADP 133) are just a few of the options around Harris' ADP that have more upside.
While the Chargers are presenting the Harris-Hampton tandem as a committee, the team has also made it very clear how much it values Hampton, which will tilt the snaps in favor of the rookie. The Chargers had offers to trade down in the first round and accumulate draft capital but didn't do so because of how much the team liked Hampton.
Plus, once Harbaugh cements which running back he likes more he tilts the carries heavily in that favor. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards went into the 2024 season with a similar committee approach that significantly overvalued Edwards' value in fantasy football.
It didn't take the Chargers long at all to start favoring Dobbins over Edwards. Edwards went from getting 24 and 33 snaps in the backfield in Week 1 and 2, respectively, to 15 and 14 snaps in Week 3 and 4, respectively.
Edwards carried the ball a combined 29 times in the first two weeks, followed by nine combined carries the following two weeks. The most carries he had in a game after the first four weeks was 14, and that was only while Dobbins was out injured.
The Chargers quickly learned that Dobbins was more impactful to the offense and rode the hot hand. The same is likely to happen with Hampton, who has a massive head start in this offense over Harris and is in the good graces with his head coach and front office.
Will there be games during the 2025 season where Harris turns in a valuable fantasy football performance? Absolutely. But those games won't be frequent, and trying to guess now when it will happen is a total shot in the dark.
Harris may be a valuable asset in daily fantasy depending on the situation, but he is not someone you want to hitch your wagon to for the entire season. Despite his big name, Harris is naturally limited as the Chargers' clear-cut RB2, especially with the unknown severity of his eye injury.