2023 Fantasy Football: Battle of the Alabama backs — Najee Harris or Jahmyr Gibbs?

Fantasy football analysts Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don debate who will be the better 'Bama back in 2023 — whose argument is strongest?

The case for Jahmyr Gibbs

Gibbs has major draft capital behind him after being selected 12th overall. He'll get to play for a surging Lions offense that helped D’Andre Swift be a top-20 fantasy back last season despite playing just 41% of the snaps. The rookie is a special receiving talent who joined Christian McCaffrey as the only first-round RBs since 2011 to record a 15%+ reception share in multiple seasons.

Gibbs is a legit prospect who commanded targets as an 18-year-old and now gets to play indoors on an offense that averaged an NFL-high 33+ points per game at home last season. Yet, it's an offense missing alternative weapons outside of Amon-Ra St. Brown.

While Gibbs may lose some goal-line touchdowns, Jamaal Williams is gone, and David Montgomery has been the least efficient back in the league over the last four years and may not be ideally suited for the role. Gibbs will see significant opportunities (including a ton of targets) in a Detroit offense that produced the most expected fantasy points from its backfield last season.

And while I expect Najee Harris to mostly hold off Jaylen Warren, he remains stuck in a Matt Canada offense. He was playing through a foot injury, but Harris struggled last season and relies heavily on volume — he recorded just one run for 20 yards last year on 272 attempts.

I’ll concede Harris likely has the higher floor given his projected workload — and we’ve seen him play at the NFL level — but Gibbs unquestionably brings more fantasy upside.

The case for Najee Harris

When we’re talking about Najee Harris versus Jahmyr Gibbs, I acknowledge Gibbs is the flashier pick. Gibbs is a rookie — four years younger than Harris — and substantially faster. And the Lions have become one of the buzzy teams in the league, parlaying last year’s fast finish into an opening-night date with the Chiefs.

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But fantasy football isn’t just about raw talent or shiny new toys, it’s also about solving usage patterns and plausible volume. And that’s where Harris picks up steam. Harris has the Steelers backfield more or less to himself — backup Jaylen Warren logged just 105 touches last year — and is ready for another heavy workload. Harris checks in at 6-foot-1, 232 pounds, and hasn’t missed a game in his last five years, dating back to college.

Gibbs is quicker than a hiccup, but he’s also a modest 5-foot-9, 199 pounds. This is the type of back who needs a running mate, and the Lions recognize this — they also signed veteran David Montgomery in the spring. Much like the thunder/lightning duo of Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swiftlast year, Montgomery and Gibbs look poised to split the work this time around. That almost certainly means the thicker Montgomery will be the goal-line priority, with Gibbs used more judiciously in the middle of the field.

Anyone who rostered Swift in recent years likely pulled their hair out, frustrated by his limited usage. Perhaps Gibbs will simply force the issue because of his talent. But even in a best-case scenario, Gibbs is going to be tied to a platoon and is unlikely to see the chippy scoring chances around the goal. Harris doesn’t have that worry.

Sometimes the boring, established pick is the way to go — this is one of those times.