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OLB James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers

HT: 6-0, WT: 242, Born: 5-4-1978, College: Kent State, Drafted: ---

2008 Projections

Best Case

Harrison stepped into the starting lineup last year and immediately made everyone forget Joey Porter. He went on to put up one of the best fantasy seasons ever produced by a 3-4 outside linebacker. His monster year included among other things, 77 solo tackles, 8.5 sacks, a league high 7 forced fumbles and 3 recoveries. Harrison enters his second season as starter looking to prove that '07 was no fluke. The coaching staff will continue to put him in playmaking situations and being surrounded by excellent talent will keep offenses honest in their blocking schemes. Repeat performances the magnitude of last season are extremely rare for outside linebackers in 3-4 schemes but Harrison will have an opportunity to make that happen.

Worst Case

History proves that great numbers by an outside linebacker in a 3-4 rare but repeat performances are exceptionally rare. In fact no 3-4 OLB has ever finished in the top 15 in consecutive seasons. Harrison could break that trend but there is a very good chance that he will come back to earth. His sack and big play numbers should remain strong but OLBs in this scheme consistently produce tackle numbers in 45-55 range. 50 solo tackles and 10 sacks would make Harrison quality depth in most leagues.

Outlook

The problem with 3-4 outside linebackers is usually consistency. Linebacker are the running backs of an IDP defense. They must be dependable and are counted on for at least 5-6 solo tackles EVERY week. Outside guys in the 3-4 tend to be feast or famine. One week they will win you a game with multiple big plays, the next week they will cost you one by going 2-1-0. After the huge '07 season Harrison will be vastly overvalued by those owners who have no understanding of scheme and/or those who only look at last years overall numbers paying no attention to consistency. Harrison is a worthy option only if you can get him at the right price but don't make a mistake and draft him as one of your top 2 linebackers. The perfect scenario would be to use him as a bye week fill in where you can roll the dice and hope you get one of those big game explosions at the right time.

Writeups last modified: 2008-06-19 10:32:44