Opportunity:
LeGarrette Blount was informed that he has been cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers. This move left Dri Archer the sole man backing up Le’Veon Bell. Pittsburgh, seeking depth, promoted Josh Harris from the practice squad. Dri Archer has failed to impress and was even recently relieved of his kick return duties. The 167 pound Archer does not project well as a feature back, even though I believe he is more durable than some analysts would want to believe. This leaves the door wide open for the 206 pound Josh Harris to establish himself as the true back up and even a change of pace back.
Steelers promote Josh Harris after releasing Blount http://t.co/PoYbFVSS60
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 18, 2014
Measurables:
Josh Harris did not receive an invite to the NFL combine, but he did participate in the Wake Forest Pro Day on March 17th. It was one of the worst conditions for a Pro Day, with temperatures hovering around 30 degrees and freezing rain. Harris still managed a solid 4.46 forty time, which would have tied for fourth best running back at the combine. His 28 bench press repetitions would have only been second to UTH man crush, Jerick McKinnon. The rest of his scores were very reasonable, highlighted by a seven second flat three cone drill. A strong argument could be made that his measurables would have been even better in more ideal conditions. It is worth noting that his fellow Demon Deacon teammate, Michael Campanaro chose not run any of the timed drills at the pro day. Josh Harris has the athleticism of an NFL caliber back, his college production was just flat out lacking. Harris only averaged 4.6 yards per carry and never rushed for more than 720 yards in a season. I will let you ponder this tweet from his pro day:
28 bench reps. Was clocked 4.28 in freezing rain. God is good. #ProDay
— Joshua Harris (@JoshHarris25) March 17, 2014
Moving Forward:
On film, Harris looks like he is built of solid muscle and has no problem running away from defenders. On the other hand, he seems to be tripped up easily and never displayed a great amount elusiveness. On his eight preseason carries, Pro Football Focus only gave him an elusiveness rating of 10.2. He reminds me a lot of Brendan Bigelow in they way he bounces to the edge too often and mostly relies on speed. I think he has the capability to put up solid yards in a good match up. This sets us up for a classic stash and flip situation in deeper dynasty leagues that don’t have a trade deadline. If Bell were to miss time, Harris could put together a good enough game to get a nice value jump allowing savvy owners to trade him for a third round or better rookie pick.
LeGarrette Blount’s release proves to be an opportunity for Josh Harris. You never know about opportunity..Check out undrafted Jonas Gray
— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) November 18, 2014
