Damien Harris is making the most of his opportunity, to say the least.
Harris has shined as the Patriots’ feature back since taking on the role in Week 4. The Alabama product, who effectively redshirted as a rookie last season, has rushed for 471 yards over six games since being lifted off of injured reserve.
The 23-year-old enjoyed a career night in New England’s Week 10 win over the Baltimore Ravens, rushing for 121 yards on 22 carries. One day after his big performance, Harris garnered high praise from Rodney Harrison, who donned No. 37 in New England when the second-year pro was just a kid.
“Damien Harris – what other number than No. 37 should he be wearing? This dude is tough, he’s physical, he runs with a lot of energy,” Harrison said Monday on NBC Sports. “Between him and Rex Burkhead, what more do you want from the running backs? James White is excellent out of the backfield, but those two guys are very versatile, too. This is what we’ve been expecting from the Patriots. We’ve been expecting this tough, physical team that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. We expect a level of accuracy from Cam (Newton), these short, intermediate passes. I thought Belichick did his best coaching job since the Seattle game last night.”
If there’s any knock on Harris, it might be that he’s only found the end zone once on his 85 carries this season. Perhaps the 2019 third-rounder will tack on a score or two Sunday against the Houston Texans, who feature arguably the league’s worst run defense.
