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Welcome to the pre-draft season! Leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft starting on April 28th, we will be releasing draft profiles of prospects who could potentially see themselves on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Next up…
Going into the 2021 season, the Steelers had a lot of potential at the linebacker position. They had Devin Bush returning from an ACL injury and newly-acquired Joe Schobert to help take the place of Vince Williams. But as the season progressed, the preseason hopes diminished and now the inside linebacker role is fairly high on the Steelers’ off-season shopping list. With the AFC North now becoming a division of fast and efficient offenses, the Steelers need a linebacker who can effectively cover tight ends, yet still being able to get through the line to the backfield to wrap up ball-carriers. With this draft featuring a good amount of depth at linebacker and the Steelers most likely going offense for their first pick, there is a good chance they’ll be looking for a solid inside defensive player on the second day. And this is exactly where Christian Harris will be available.
Harris has incredible speed and a high motor for his 6’2”, 232-pound frame. He’s able to quickly diagnose plays and crash the line of scrimmage on running backs. In college, guards had a lot of trouble stopping Harris on stunt blitzes, specifically on run plays. On pass rushes, he’s able to beat running backs’ blocks and get to the quarterback. This is largely due to Harris being able to drop his pads and win the leverage battle against linemen to get into the backfield. Harris has great eyes and awareness for the ball and is able to find his way through traffic in making the play. He has great lateral movement and can not only change direction quickly, but can maintain his downhill running approach on misdirection and counter plays.
As we’ve seen with a lot of fast, high-motor defensive players, over-pursuit tendencies are going to play into Harris’ transition to the NFL. There were multiple scenarios in college where Harris either left his feet on a pump fake or took a bad angle on a ball-carrier and got beat on the play. This may lead to him getting exposed on play-action plays or when matching up against unconventional offenses (I’m thinking offenses like the Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Rams, or the Kansas City Chiefs). His angles of approach are lacking and are going to need to improve to match up against the larger, faster, more physical running backs in the NFL. Finally, Harris tends to lose his ground being the defensive anchor on counter plays or run plays outside of the tackles. He gets beat on blocks with a pulling guard or on designed runs where linemen are coming at him with lots of momentum.
As of right now, Harris is ranked as the fourth-best inside linebacker in this year’s draft. For the better part of the 2021 season, he was seen as one of the best inside linebackers in all of college football. With teams needing more edge players, offensive linemen, quarterbacks, and secondary players in the first round, this will push Harris to the second day of the draft. But with that said, that is not a reflection of his talent level. Harris is a first-round player who will come at a discount in the 2nd round to whoever calls his name.
After watching the struggles between Schobert, Bush, and Robert Spillane in 2021, I am a firm believer in the Steelers needing to draft a stud at inside linebacker this year. So much so, I have inside linebacker as a close-second-highest need for the Steelers this off-season (next to offensive line). The trick is, is if he’ll be available to the Steelers with other linebacker-needy teams drafting ahead of them. To be honest, the thought of Harris landing in Baltimore, Cleveland, or Cincinnati scares me. If the Steelers are serious in getting back to establishing an imposing, physical linebacker corps in 2022, Harris should be included in that. Give me Harris in Pittsburgh any day. Plus, there is always the possibility of the Steelers drafting a “Harris” out of Alabama in back-to-back years, right?
Where do you see Harris going in April? Would you want to see him in the black and gold? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
Christian Harris (Inside Linebacker), Alabama, Junior
OVERVIEW
Going into the 2021 season, the Steelers had a lot of potential at the linebacker position. They had Devin Bush returning from an ACL injury and newly-acquired Joe Schobert to help take the place of Vince Williams. But as the season progressed, the preseason hopes diminished and now the inside linebacker role is fairly high on the Steelers’ off-season shopping list. With the AFC North now becoming a division of fast and efficient offenses, the Steelers need a linebacker who can effectively cover tight ends, yet still being able to get through the line to the backfield to wrap up ball-carriers. With this draft featuring a good amount of depth at linebacker and the Steelers most likely going offense for their first pick, there is a good chance they’ll be looking for a solid inside defensive player on the second day. And this is exactly where Christian Harris will be available.
PROS
Harris has incredible speed and a high motor for his 6’2”, 232-pound frame. He’s able to quickly diagnose plays and crash the line of scrimmage on running backs. In college, guards had a lot of trouble stopping Harris on stunt blitzes, specifically on run plays. On pass rushes, he’s able to beat running backs’ blocks and get to the quarterback. This is largely due to Harris being able to drop his pads and win the leverage battle against linemen to get into the backfield. Harris has great eyes and awareness for the ball and is able to find his way through traffic in making the play. He has great lateral movement and can not only change direction quickly, but can maintain his downhill running approach on misdirection and counter plays.
CONS
As we’ve seen with a lot of fast, high-motor defensive players, over-pursuit tendencies are going to play into Harris’ transition to the NFL. There were multiple scenarios in college where Harris either left his feet on a pump fake or took a bad angle on a ball-carrier and got beat on the play. This may lead to him getting exposed on play-action plays or when matching up against unconventional offenses (I’m thinking offenses like the Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Rams, or the Kansas City Chiefs). His angles of approach are lacking and are going to need to improve to match up against the larger, faster, more physical running backs in the NFL. Finally, Harris tends to lose his ground being the defensive anchor on counter plays or run plays outside of the tackles. He gets beat on blocks with a pulling guard or on designed runs where linemen are coming at him with lots of momentum.
DRAFT PROJECTION: 2nd Round
As of right now, Harris is ranked as the fourth-best inside linebacker in this year’s draft. For the better part of the 2021 season, he was seen as one of the best inside linebackers in all of college football. With teams needing more edge players, offensive linemen, quarterbacks, and secondary players in the first round, this will push Harris to the second day of the draft. But with that said, that is not a reflection of his talent level. Harris is a first-round player who will come at a discount in the 2nd round to whoever calls his name.
VERDICT
After watching the struggles between Schobert, Bush, and Robert Spillane in 2021, I am a firm believer in the Steelers needing to draft a stud at inside linebacker this year. So much so, I have inside linebacker as a close-second-highest need for the Steelers this off-season (next to offensive line). The trick is, is if he’ll be available to the Steelers with other linebacker-needy teams drafting ahead of them. To be honest, the thought of Harris landing in Baltimore, Cleveland, or Cincinnati scares me. If the Steelers are serious in getting back to establishing an imposing, physical linebacker corps in 2022, Harris should be included in that. Give me Harris in Pittsburgh any day. Plus, there is always the possibility of the Steelers drafting a “Harris” out of Alabama in back-to-back years, right?
Where do you see Harris going in April? Would you want to see him in the black and gold? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
