In 2024, Najee Harris finished as RB20 in standard half-PPR scoring. Since then, Harris moved his talents from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Los Angeles Chargers, another run-first team with a run-first coach. Why is he being ranked as RB34, you might ask? Read on to discover why 2025 Najee Harris will be the steal of your fantasy draft!
Najee Harris 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook
Explaining What Happened in 2024
Before we look into Najee Harris’ future, it’s important to look into the past! Last year in Pittsburgh, Harris eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the fourth consecutive year by hitting 1,043 yards on 4.0 yards per carry. He had six rushing touchdowns, a career low, and was minimally involved in the receiving game, having 283 receiving yards on 36 catches.
In many fantasy circles, people call Harris’s 2024 campaign a bust. In reality, Harris had about the same year that he always has. Taking out his rookie campaign numbers (his best year), he has been shockingly consistent. In those three years, Harris has played in 17 games each year, had 1,034 and 7 touchdowns, 1,035 yards and eight touchdowns, and 1,043 yards and six touchdowns, respectively. You can’t be much more consistent than that.
Despite this consistency, Harris never did live up to the promise of his rookie campaign. This has led to the narrative that Harris is not a great fantasy asset. Just remember, Harris finished as the RB20 in 2024. He’s a perfectly fine fantasy player; people just need to set realistic expectations for him.
A Change of Scenery with Some Competition
Partially due to the shine wearing off in Pittsburgh, and partially due to the league’s deemphasis on the position, Harris now finds himself wearing a different uniform in 2025. He signed a one-year deal with the Chargers this offseason, betting on himself that he can earn a bigger contract next year. The Chargers make sense for this, as they ran the ball the 13th-most times in the league last year. There’s just one tiny thing that might get in the way…
With the 22nd pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the Los Angeles Chargers select: Omarion Hampton, running back out of UNC! When Harris signed in LA at the beginning of March on a prove-himself contract, it’s hard to believe he expected his new team to draft a player at the same position as him in the first round! This certainly puts a damper on any upside Harris might have from a change of scenery, but don’t give up on Harris just yet!
The NPI crew dug into the Chargers in our latest episode!
Why I’m Excited for 2025
Yet again, it’s all about setting the proper expectations for the fantasy player. Yes, Omarion Hampton was drafted high enough that he will undoubtedly see the field a bunch as a rookie. He’s going off the board as RB20 at the moment, signaling drafters’ expectation that he’s the no-doubt starter in Los Angeles. Harris is going as RB34, being drafted among other presumed backups on their respective teams.
In fantasy, it’s all about mitigating risk and finding discrepancies to exploit in the public’s opinion for your gain. What’s more likely to happen: a team with playoff expectations thrusts a rookie into a workhorse-like role in his first NFL season, or the same team utilizes their consummate professional veteran with that same rookie in a 50-50 timeshare as the rookie gets up to speed with the NFL?
The latter option certainly feels more like a Jim Harbaugh move, no? People get so excited about rookies and their potential in the NFL because there’s no bad tape out there on them. Those same people forget that there’s a learning curve in the NFL, and with the change of speed of play, it can take some time before rookies are ready for a full-time role.
Take Bijan Robinson, for example, perhaps the highest-rated running back being drafted in recent memory (with NFL stats, mind you). Despite all the hype, in his first year, Robinson carried the ball 214 times to his “backup” Tyler Allgeier’s 186 attempts. Was Robinson more dynamic, even then? Absolutely! Did that yield a boatload of more touches in his rookie campaign? You bet not!
Harris is going to get more carries than people think, leading to a bigger fantasy role than people are currently drafting him for. Nabbing Harris at RB34 is a steal!
I’m convinced! Where should I be drafting Najee Harris?
Here’s where things get interesting, and back to where expectation setting is important. Both Hampton and Harris have value, as their team commits to running the ball. With the perceived 50-50 split in carries, both Harris and Hampton project to finish in the mid-20s. You should not draft Harris expecting a top-15 breakout campaign. You can and should draft Harris as a high-upside bench player who is a tier higher than those being drafted around him.
As for Hampton, you should fade Hampton’s ADP at RB20 in most formats. If you’re drafting for dynasty purposes, the equation shifts. In redraft and best ball formats, Harris is the safer and correct play. Draft accordingly!
Looking for your favorite team? This link will take you to the rest of our 2025 Look Inside team previews.
A Look Inside the Los Angeles Chargers
Editor’s Note: While this article focuses on Najee Harris in fantasy football, we don’t want to leave you hanging on the rest of the team. Here is a quick look at the other fantasy-relevant Chargers from Ryan Weisse.
Justin Herbert
Herbert had a damn good 2024 considering the team’s pivot to a run-first, run-second, run-often offense. On the fewest attempts per game of his career, he was still a top-12 fantasy QB. We should expect better things in Year 2, not worse, making Herbert a STEAL at his current draft price.
Omarion Hampton
Hampton has all the talent in the world to be a fantasy RB1. In his rookie year, he just might not get the volume needed. The timeshare with Najee Harris will cap his upside, but there will be plenty of weeks you’re glad Hampton is on your roster. The issue is the draft price. Can you justify a top-20 draft price for a back who is just as likely to end up outside the Top 30 most weeks?
Ladd McConkey
McConkey delivered as promised as a rookie. He was comped as a Wes Welker/Julian Edleman type, and he immediately came in and dominated the slot, finishing as the WR12 in fantasy. Like with Herbert, we should see improvement in Year 2, and I wouldn’t worry about the additions of Tre Harris or Keenan Allen. It will be a challenge for McConkey to crack the Top 10 in this low-volume offense, but another run at the Top 12 seems likely.
Quentin Johnston
After a subpar rookie season, things weren’t looking great for Johnston heading into 2024 under a new coaching staff. There were also conflicting reports on whether or not Harbaugh and Roman liked him in their system. Even with all that noise, Johnston had a pretty good season, finishing with over 700 yards and eight TDs. It was still only good for a WR39 finish. Being the 2nd target in a low-passing offense is never great for fantasy. Fast forward to this offseason, with the addition of rookie Tre Harris, and people are ready to bury QJ again. It’s hard to predict the split, but should we even be concerned if the ceiling is WR40?
Tre Harris
Harris is the new darling for fantasy managers, and while his WR54 ADP is reasonable, I would just remind you that his ceiling, as the 2nd target in a low passing volume offense, is around WR40. He might beat our QJ. He might not. But is unlikely to matter much for fantasy outside of Best Ball leagues.
Keenan Allen
The prodigal son returns. After one so-so year in Chicago, Allen is back in a Bolts jersey. He’s not the same player he once was, and it’s not the same role he once had. That belongs to McConkey now. Allen might have a pop week here or there, but he’s not worth a ton as the 3rd option in this offense. All he does is kill the tight end value.
Tyler Conklin / Will Dissly
Conklin and Dissly are the best blocking tight ends on this team. A team that loves to run the football. They will see a ton of snaps, but not a lot of fantasy value.
Oronde Gadsden II
Gadsden is the opposite of the veterans ahead of him. He can catch, but his blocking skills are lacking. He might have been an interesting redzone threat…and the team signed Keenan Allen. Gadsden has some dynasty value, as most of the pieces ahead of him are aging, but in 2025, he won’t give you much.
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