Prospect Profile: Derrick Harmon, DL, Oregon

Evaluation

Get Off

He has an excellent get-off for his size and the position with plenty of explosion to soften angles and roll through the half man. He gains ground at a good rate and his take-off allows him to get his long arms out and into the Offensive Lineman quickly. He processes the game at a high level and he will read run/pass quickly as well as being particularly adept at understanding rushing schemes and what the offense is trying to do. This understanding helps him to maximize his play speed and play strength and stay a step ahead of his opponent.

Rushing the Passer

He was asked to move around and do so much on the Oregon defensive line that you can’t see him settle down and rush across from one Offensive Lineman for the majority of a game, so you aren’t able to see him put together a rush plan across a game for mostly one opponent. What you can see though is his intelligence when rushing the passer, the array of moves and counters he has that he deploys as part of a good plan he executes down-to-down. He mostly uses a club rip, on this he has fast and accurate hands that he can win quickly with but you would like to see more consistent power in his hands. While this could be more effective to allow him to win more frequently, his secondary moves, that look similar to his fastball club-rip in the same way that the best pitch combinations look similar until they’re halfway to the plate, are highly effective. He has a pull-slide move that can be subtle or emphatic in the way it disposes of the Offensive Lineman, he closes the space to the OL quickly, grabs the shoulder, pulls it and gets to the edge quickly. His counter club is equally good, aided again by his upfield burst, and clubs the armpit with remarkable accuracy and speed. He also has a little used spin move that shows potential. Because of his get-off, and good hand usage, he can also push the pocket effectively and walk the lineman back into the QB. He can allow those with a good anchor to reset their feet and stalemate and you’d like to see him counter more effectively off this to disengage. His long levers help him in his pass rush, he knows how to use them to great effect. They help him when he gets to the edge and he corners well for his size, with good bend and speed to run the hoop. He also has excellent closing speed to the QB but he can get a little wide-eyed when he rounds the corner and is liable to allow a QB to slip away from him by going for the big hit. He also has excellent lateral quickness and hip fluidity that you’d like to see him use more. He has enough to be successful out of the gate in the NFL and he’s a skilled pass-rusher but there is still more to come from him.

Defending the Run

There are times when he’s defending the run that his processing, hand usage and play strength make him close to unblock-able. He reads the game at a high level and understands what the offense is trying to do. His eyes are always in the backfield and thinking about how he can make a play on the ball carrier. His upfield burst gets him quickly into the Offensive Lineman’s chest, he has excellent hand placement and his long arms and natural leverage allow him to bench press and control the point of attack. When he faces Outside Zone on the play side he will reset the levels of the Offensive Line and seriously compromise the chances of success for the play. This is true against Drive blocks too. Against Down blocks he will build a trench and hold his ground, constricting the running lane but also playing a gap too. When there’s more than one man moving across the formation he can read the play quicker and get off quickly enough to get underneath the Down block. He sees double teams coming and corkscrews his leg to reduce his surface area, preventing the Drive man from releasing to the second level in time to get on a Linebacker. He has also flashed an ability to split the double team and make a play on the ball carrier. His high processing allows him to be consistently in lanes that the Running Back wants to use, whether that be when he’s two-gapping or if he’s further away from the point of attack and uses his lateral quickness and hand usage to traverse multiple gaps and other Offensive Linemen to get to make a play. He’ll always do this responsibly, respecting the integrity of the defensive structure. He can get held up a bit when he’s on the backside of an Outside Zone run. And while he has a large tackling radius because of his long arms, he doesn’t always recognise when he needs to break down and come under control to make a tackle.

DRAFTED RAVEN COMP
Take the best bits of Arthur Jones and Brandon Williams and morph them together, adding longer arms.

PRODUCTION
Final year on campus: 5 Sacks, 7 QB Hits, 33 Total Tackles, 2 FF
INJURY HISTORY: None

RAVENS FIT
Athleticism 5
Intelligence 5
Versatility 5
Grit 5
Scheme 5