Najee Harris Week 4 Outlook - Steelers at Colts

By Derek Brown (FantasyPros), Fri, Sep 27th 2024, 8:05pm EDT

Harris didn't practice on Wednesday, but he did log full practices on Thursday and Friday. He hasn't been listed with an injury designation for Week 4. Harris is the RB32 in fantasy points per game, averaging 20.6 touches and 79.7 total yards. Among 50 qualifying backs, he ranks 33rd in missed tackles forced per attempt and 32nd in yards after contact per attempt. The matchup at first glance looks amazing for Harris against an Indy run defense that has allowed the 12th-highest explosive run rate and the most rushing yards per game, but when we dig deeper it looks like a trap. Indy opened with matchups against Green Bay and Houston, who both possess awesome run-blocking lines, which rank fourth-best and eighth-best in yards before contact per attempt. Last week against Chicago, Indy allowed only 63 rushing yards with zero explosive runs, a 14% missed tackle rate, and 1.79 yards after contact per attempt. Chicago's offensive line has the second-lowest yards before contact per attempt generated. This is eerily similar to Pittsburgh's offensive line, which has the sixth-lowest yards before contact per attempt manufactured. Harris, like Swift, hasn't been a top-shelf tackle-breaker this season. Harris could be the team's bell cow, but Cordarrelle Patterson could also work with Harris in a similar manner to what Jaylen Warren has weekly. This leaves Harris as a volume-driven RB2.