The 2021 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Najee Harris 2021 NFL Draft Profile.
Position: Running Back
Size: 6-foot-2, 230 pounds
Class: Senior
2020 stats: 251 carries, 1,466 rushing yards, 26 rushing touchdowns, 43 receptions, 425 receiving yards, four rushing touchdowns
Harris had a great career at Alabama that saw him continually improve during his time in Tuscaloosa. He is now headed for the 2021 NFL Draft.
Some dubbed Harris as the best recruit out of high school in the 2017 class. He left California to play for Nick Saban at Alabama. Although the Crimson Tide had talented running backs, Harris got some playing time and ended the season with 370 rushing yards and three touchdowns. His role increased when he was a sophomore, as Harris rushed for 783 yards and four touchdowns. Alabama lost in the CFP National Championship to Clemson that season. Harris rushed for 1,224 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior. He also had 27 receptions for 304 yards and seven touchdowns. The Crimson Tide won 11 games including the Citrus Bowl. Surprisingly, Harris returned for his senior season. He had a monster year with 1,466 rushing yards, 425 receiving yards and 30 total touchdowns. His play helped Alabama cap of the season with a National Championship.
Harris leaves Alabama as one of the best running backs in school history. He is projected to have a solid pro career, which will see him selected in the first or second round.
Najee Harris
Harris has great size for an NFL running back. He stands at 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, which is well above the average size for his position. With his size comes great power and athleticism. Harris is very hard to bring to the ground and he is consistently falling forward for extra yards.
His vision is a huge asset. Harris shows good patience and allows blocks to develop. Once they do, he hits the hole hard. When the hole is closed down, Harris is great at finding open space. On inside runs, he bounces runs outside and picks up yardage. When the play is to the outside, or when Harris gets to the open field, he uses his vision to maximize the run.
An area where Harris really improved in his time at Alabama was his pass-catching. He is very effective on screens and swing passes. Harris has solid hands and good run after the catch ability. He ran a decent amount of routes at Alabama, but will need to add more to his game at the next level.
Harris’ longspeed will not be near the top of the class. That is to be expected, as he is a bigger running back. He is a good running back, but some plays that are decent gains, could be turned into big plays with more speed. Considering his play-style, Harris doesn’t need to be the fastest to be successful.
His burst and elusiveness are also not great. In the open field, he can run through defenders and even jump over them, but he doesn’t have great change of direction skills, which hurts his ability to make people miss. He can still produce big plays, but he won’t be dodging defenders consistently.
At times, Harris needs to use his size to advantage. He is a big, powerful running back, but at times he tries to dance around defenders instead of running them over. Harris would be better off using his size to his advantage, as he runs straight through arm tackles at a high rate.
Projected Draft Range: First Round Pick-Second Round Pick
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