NFL
Najee Harris is the BamaCentral Crimson Tide Pro Athlete of the Week
It took until his fifth NFL game, but Najee Harris broke the 100-yard rushing barrier on Sunday.
Against the Denver Broncos, the former Alabama standout rushed for 122 yards on 23 attempts with one rushing touchdown. He also registered two receptions for 20 yards.
Also, his longest rushing attempt of the day was 20 yards, tied once before in Harris' week three performance against Cincinnati. There was an uptick in carries, however, as prior to week five Harris had at most tallied 16 rushing attempts.
Nearly doubling his yearly total, Harris had rushed for 185 yards entering the Steelers' Sunday matchup, and his 5.3 yards-per-carry was a career-high, too.
Pittsburgh defeated Denver 27-19, helped by the rookie's ground game which now totals to 307 rushing yards on 78 attempts for 3.9 yards-per-carry and two touchdowns.
As a receiving option, meanwhile, the Steelers first-round draft pick has 28 receptions for 198 yards and one touchdown, averaging 7.1 yards-per-reception.
Honorable mention
Trevon Diggs: Hard decision, I know, but it's looking like there will be other opportunities to award him our Pro Athlete of the Week. Through five games with the Cowboys, the cornerback has six interceptions and is a clear favorite for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Derrick Henry: Another surprise. In the Titans win over the Jaguars, the former Heisman Trophy winner accounted for 130 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 29 attempts, good enough for an average of 4.5 yards-per-carry.
Previous winners in 2021:
Dec. 29 - Jan. 5 Derrick Henry
Jan. 6 - 12 Daron Payne
Jan. 13 - 19 Levi Wallace
Jan. 20 - 26 Collin Sexton
Jan. 27 - Feb. 2. JaMychal Green
Feb. 3 - 9 Collin Sexton
Feb. 9 - 16 Kira Lewis Jr.
Feb. 17 - 23 Levi Randolph
Feb. 24 - March 2 Collin Sexton
March 3 - 9 Collin Sexton
March 10 - 16 Justin Thomas
March 17 - 23 Collin Sexton
March 24 - 30 JaMychal Green
March 31 - April 6 Collin Sexton
April 7 - April 13 Collin Sexton
April 14 - April 20 Levi Randolph
April 21 - April 27 Collin Sexton
April 28 - May 4 Davis Riley
May 5 - May 11 Collin Sexton
May 12 - May 18 Dicky Pride
May 19 - May 25 Spencer Turnbull
May 26 - June 1 Alexa Guarachi
June 2 - June 8 Kenzie Wright
June 9 - June 15 Eryk Anders
June 16 - June 22 Daniel Haugh
June 23 - June 29 Daniel Haugh
June 30 - July 7 Emma Talley
July 7 - July 13 Blake Sims
July 14 - July 20 Brett Auerbach
July 21 - July 27 Haylie McCleney
July 28 - Aug. 3 Kirani James
Aug. 4 - Aug. 10 Remona Burchell
Aug. 11 - Aug. 17 Kira Lewis
Aug. 18 - Aug. 24 Steven Setterstrom
Aug. 25 - Aug. 31 Mac Jones
Sept. 1 - Sept. 7 Justin Thomas
Sept. 8 - Sept. 14 Jalen Hurts
Sept. 15 - Sept. 21 Derrick Henry
Sept. 22 - Sept. 28 Justin Thomas
Sept. 29 - Oct. 5 Trevon Diggs
