The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ backfield hasn’t been the most productive fantasy duo this season, but they still present a Flex option for fantasy managers in 2023. Should fantasy managers aim to start Najee Harris or Jaylen Warren in fantasy football this week?
Should You Start Najee Harris or Jaylen Warren This Week?
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, our Consensus Rankings say that Harris is the player to start. His projected 10.7 points include a projection of 43 yards rushing and 12 more receiving yards on two receptions. That doesn’t seem like a big stat line, but it outperforms the consensus projection for Warren (10.2 points).
Warren is currently the RB28 in PPR formats, which barely edges out Harris, who resides at RB30 at this current moment. Warren has never seen more carries than Harris in any game this season. But the snap count barely favors Harris, who has been the less efficient back of these two players this season.
Harris is coming off one of the best outings of his entire 2023 campaign with 76 total yards and a score against the Tennessee Titans. The performance was certainly encouraging from Harris. Yet, even on a nice day from Harris, Warren was still the more efficient player on the day, averaging 8.0 yards per carry with 88 rushing yards on 11 carries against Tennessee.
Warren is significantly outscoring Harris in the passing game. Warren’s 29 receptions this season is nearly double the amount of Harris (15) through the first eight games.
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Harris exploded in his rookie season with 74 receptions on 94 targets but nearly saw that production cut in half when Warren burst onto the scene in 2022. Warren’s fantasy floor in PPR formats feels much safer because of his consistent involvement in the passing game.
While Warren has seen an expanded role on the ground this season, last week was the first time he topped 40 yards rushing in any game this season, while Harris has hit that threshold on five occasions this year.
The point is, this backfield feels like it is quite literally split right down the middle with pretty defined roles.
Since both players are struggling with efficiency on the ground, both feel like they have a fairly low fantasy ceiling this week. However, if you have to choose between these two options, Warren feels like the safer play with a slightly higher floor, given his production in the passing game.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!