RB, Alabama
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 230 lbs
Class: Senior
Najee Harris surprised many by returning for his senior year in 2020. It turned out to be the right call though and he had a career year. He excelled as a runner and receiver, playing a key role in Alabama’s run to the national title. He garnered Unanimous All-American honours and won the Doak Walker Award for the best running back in college football.
You can read more of my 2021 NFL Draft content here.
Strengths
Harris is coming off an excellent season with the Crimson Tide. His 1,464 rushing yards were the most of any draft eligible prospect and he accounted for 1,889 scrimmage yards. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry and scored and incredible 30 total touchdowns. This set the SEC record, breaking Derrick Henry’s 2015 mark of 28.
Harris averaged 3.26 yards after contact this season and was responsible for 69 forced missed tackles. This ranked second in the nation, behind only Javonte Williams of UNC. Harris is excellent at maintaining his momentum through contact and his ability to churn out extra yardage on each carry is a huge strength. He also offers surprising elusiveness for a player of his size and is capable of making defenders miss in the open field.
Harris showcases excellent vision, with the ability to quickly identify gaps. He isn’t the fastest player on the field, but his quick feet and short area burst make him a nightmare for defenders in and around the box. His decision making is great and he has a good feel for cutback lanes, often managing to create positive yardage when plays looked to be going nowhere.
The most underrated part of Harris’ game is his work as a receiver. It isn’t often that running backs of his size can be such a threat out of the backfield, but Harris is one of the best dual threats in the 2021 class. This season he racked up 425 yards on 43 receptions and forced 22 missed tackles as a receiver. This ranked second in the FBS, behind North Texas receiver Jaelon Darden. Harris offers a great catch radius and solid hands ,registering just three drops on 83 career catchable passes.
Weaknesses
Harris’ biggest weakness is by far his lack of speed. He struggles to breakaway from defenders and isn’t much of a home run threat. Only 25 of his 639 carries have gone for 20+ yards. This is likely to be even more of an issue at the next level, where defenders will be quicker and more athletic. I would be amazed if he ran anything less than a 4.6 40-yard dash and this is an obvious limitation.
The other concern will be the favourable situation he was in at Alabama. Offensive lines play a huge role in running back production and Harris ran behind great ones throughout his collegiate career. This season the unit won the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in the country. His running lanes won’t be as wide open in the NFL and he’ll have to create more of his yardage himself.
Bottom Line
Harris produced to a high level throughout his college career. He is one of the toughest backs to bring down and showed he can handle a high workload in Alabama’s offense. His lack of speed is an obvious concern, but his receiving ability makes him a three-down back in the NFL.
Big Board Rank: #59
Positional Rank: #3
