Damien Harris Fantasy Outlook in Week 1 Could be Impacted by Rhamondre Stevenson Injury Update

In the wake of the Sony Michel trade, New England Patriots running back Damien Harris' 2021 fantasy outlook has soared ahead of Week 1. Harris was already poised as a sleeper option but he's now solidified as the Pats' clear cut No. 1 tailback.

Additionally, the Patriots running back depth chart is facing a potential injury issue to third-stringer Rhamondre Stevenson. According to reports, Stevenson is still dealing with a dislocated thumb from last week and may not be a full strength for kickoff against the Miami Dolphins.

Damien Harris Fantasy

The reports suggest that New England's staff is optimistic about Stevenson's Week 1 status, but it's a situation worth monitoring for fantasy managers.

Harris is in line to be the lead back in this offense, albeit with James White taking over on passing downs. Already lacking receiving volume, Stevenson seeing an increased role as the year progresses could seriously hinder Harris' value.

Stevenson being sidelined would be ideal for fantasy managers counting on Harris in Week 1, though.

The Patriots come into this game as 3-point favorites, and after finishing with the NFL's second-highest run play rate (51.3%) in 2020, New England should lean heavily on their run game against a Miami defense that finished 22nd in FootballOutsiders' run defense DVOA metric.

Currently, Harris is a fringe RB2 option for starting lineups based on his RB20 ranking in The Duel's Week 1 fantasy football rankings. If Stevenson does not make it to the active list by Sunday, then fantasy managers should feel better about locking in Harris into the starting lineup.

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Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.