Pro Football Focus released their preseason running back rankings for the 2021 NFL Draft, and Alabama’s Najee Harris was named the 4th best.
This is what PFF had to say about Harris:
“We knew Harris could shrug off arm tackles with the best of them heading into 2019 (112 career broken tackles on 387 attempts), but we didn’t know what the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder could do in the passing game after hauling in only 10 catches in two seasons. He proved that in a big way with 27 catches and this beauty against LSU in 2019.
While that boosted his draft stock in our eyes, there’s still one glaring issue. He’s likely the slowest running back on this entire list. Cracking 4.6 seconds in the 40 would be a massive surprise for the senior running back. On 387 career rushing attempts, Harris has never had a run longer than 35 yards. That’s not the way the position is trending in the NFL.”
Harris, who decided to return for his senior season, has done everything he can to help the Crimson Tide each season.
In his first season at Alabama, Harris recorded 370 yards off of 61 carries for 3 touchdowns. In his sophomore season, Najee had 117 carries for 783 yards and 4 touchdowns. And, finally, last season Harris’ role became more dominate on offense, especially after Tua Tagovailoa endured a season-ending injury. Harris finished the season with 1,224 yards rushing off of 209 carries. He also had a career-best 13 touchdowns.
In his career, he has over 2,300 rushing yards and 20 TDs, as well as over 350 receiving yards with another 7 TDs.
There’s no doubt Harris will not only have a dominant role on Alabama’s offense this season, but he’s also someone to look out for in the Heisman race.
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