LB James Harrison: Unquestioned Starter at ROLB in Pittsburgh, Aims for 12 Sacks
Ed Bouchette wrote an interesting article on LB James Harrison Wednesday, 8/29. It appears that James Harrison has ascended to be the unquestioned starter in Joey Porter’s old spot on the Pittsburgh defense - right outside linebacker.
Harrison is way below the IDP radar right now as he is a career backup to this point in his career, with a mere 17 fantasy points to his credit last year (163rd on the LB board at year’s end). He’s not even ranked on most fantasy LB boards right now.
However, in the article linked above we read:
Into the breach steps James Harrison, a former undrafted rookie who was cut by the Steelers, twice, then cut by Baltimore, then re-signed by the Steelers as an afterthought one week before training camp because Clark Haggans had a broken hand. Not only will he start at right outside linebacker, where Joey Porter and Greg Lloyd played before him, Harrison expects to surpass the productivity of either of them in one season.
‘My personal goal, I want to try to get at least 12 sacks,’ Harrison said yesterday.
If Harrison can approach Porter’s productivity this season, he could perhaps match Porter’s best fantasy season (2002 - 16 games, 61 tackles, 28 assists, 9 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 4 interceptions - 122 fantasy points, 14th overall LB that year) or at least land in the top 40 at his position, as Porter did during 2005 (40 tackles, 17 assists, 11 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 2 interceptions and 4 passes defensed - 104 fantasy points for 37th LB at year’s end).
Right now you can probably land Harrison deep in your draft and stash him at #5 or #6 LB on your bench. If he lives up to his goals, you’ll have grabbed a productive fantasy LB for a song. If he flops or gets injured, you haven’t invested much anyway - this guy is a high upside, low risk pick at the moment.
Happy Drafting!
Loading ...
