2023 NFL Draft: Zach Harrison - Ohio State Defensive End
Zach Harrison - Ohio State
Strengths:
1. Measurables - This man stands at 6'6" weighing in at 271lbs, and runs a 4.4 40-yard-dash. He has nearly a 40" vertical and 35.5" arms, with an 87" wingspan. There is no way Zach Harrison was not built in a lab with these physical traits that have rarely ever been seen before.
2. Burst - His burst is serviceable, and could be a stronger part of his game if he can learn how to translate speed to power. He typically stands up after his first step, thus mitigating much of the initial power.
3. Bull Rush Potential - There are instances throughout his tape where his bull rush is effective with high pad level, bent arms, and poor hand placement. Cleaning up his technique could result in an incredible power rusher.
Weaknesses:
1. Pad Level - Harrison stand tall immediately after the snap. He initiates contact upright, which does not allow him to use his length effectively. This also mitigates much of his power and lateral quickness.
2. Production - This weakness encapsulates his tape more than anything else. His lack of production does not stem from scheme or utilization. He simply does not have a positive impact on the majority of plays. He takes up one lineman, who can typically lock him in place. Many of his hurries come from him using his athleticism get around his opponent on extended plays, but there is a reason he only has 3.5 sacks on the season.
3. Line Control - Often bullied at the line in both run and pass plays.
Grade: Top 5 Pick
Pro Comparison: Micheal Clemons
Clemons was more twitchy with better production, but Harrison has the length and off-field speed advantage.
Film Notes:
Georgia (12/31/2022)
Quick hands. Pass rush move was rather upright. Lack of power in steps on acceleration to pocket. Did not power through tight end, actually stepping back at contact. Too upright on bull. Appears to lack length, despite having ridiculous 35.5" arms. Plays too upright to utilize it. Locked in one-on-one. Excellent wrap in backfield at high speeds. Great burst off line unblocked. Stiffer upper body movements. Good upper body dip inside, but lacked leg drive and power to penetrate. Slower off the line and lacks lower body motor. Good rip technique. Slow off line again. Completely locked up by guard on pass rush. Looks completely lost taking the edge. Gets locked up in one on one situations easily. No idea what to do with his hands. Pushed back on run block. Quick hands. Late to pull off block in run game. Quicker closing speed that time. Lacks strength on bull and just sort of drifts laterally to the pocket. Lack of balance. Stiff athlete. Poor lateral movements and use of hands. Length is more apparent on full extension, which he rarely uses. Arm over move could be more effective if he uses it sooner. Consistently waits until he has been locked up for one or even two full seconds before attempting a second move. Extremely upright. No leg churn when locked up. Decent push into upper chest of offensive tackle to make him lose his base. This should be done more often with more vigor. No upper body bend. Agility towards inside is poor. Loses balance again. Better move against left tackle by making a decision to cut back inside sooner than on most plays. Locked by OT before double. Late off line. Quick hands. Really should use quick chops and swipes more often when taking the outside. Pops up immediately even without contact. Poor bend and change of direction. Excellent bull rush when he got leverage and proper hand placement. That play showed more potential to what he could be than anything else he has shown all game.
Michigan (11/26/2022)
Strong rush against guard, but extension is needed if the play is to be successful. Hands were in the right place, but guard was able to recover due to lack of extension from Harrison. Slightly late off line. Decent burst off line, but flies right by pocket due to lack of bend and lateral agility. Knowing how to make contact when taking the edge will prevent him from shooting past the pocket. Just does not seem to know what to do on certain pass rush moves. Coaching could do wonders for his pass rush game. Poor inside stunt due to lack of agility. False step is not awful based on a needed hesitation for stunt, but is something to monitor from two point stance. Lacks fluidity in all motions on the field. Great initial step. Doubled. Decent contact regarding hand placement, but no distinct pass rush move. Decent closing speed. Quick swipe is more effective than most of his outside pass rush moves, but lacks bend to finish. Great leg drive to keep moving into pocket and make pass deflection. Excellent pursuit through backfield to make tackle on opposing side of the field. Not beating left tackle in one-on-ones throughout game. Pancaked by center. Using length or hands in any capacity on outside moves would make taking the edge so much more effective. Went by pocket again. Playing too upright. Completely held up on multiple reps to the point where his legs stopped moving entirely. Won a rep with pure speed. Held up by tight end. Good run defense. Slight delay off line. No delay would have resulted in more impactful TFL. Read read-option appropriately.
Maryland (11/19/2022)
Does not get drive on tackle. Pops up before initiating contact. Not much hand motion throughout play. Late off line. Late rip may have been more effective earlier. Pushed back tackle, but elbows were flared and around 90 degrees. Decent lean, but no play strength, initial power, or leg drive. Late release, locked up. Even when he gets by his man, he looks stiff when attempting to close the distance. Decent motor. Looked more fluid getting around the outside of the tackle than he usually does. Redirected easily in run game. Pushed to the ground on pitiful attempt. Feet stopped moving entirely. Better body angle on bull. Late off line regularly. Not learning anything new about his game. He is always just the same player, consistently failing to generate his own pressure play after play. Extremely slow get off, with poor acceleration before swipe on tight end. Poor closing speed for someone who should have elite straight line speed. Went by pocket. Better change of direction. Good effort to make tackle on opposite side of the field. Slow off edge even when unblocked. Quicker hands with good effort in pursuit of quarterback. Very nice sack on power rush. Purely awful blocking on following play by Maryland left tackle. Good length for tackle radius.
Alignment:
A-Gap - Not a nose tackle.
B-Gap - Not currently big or strong enough to win inside, but this could change over time with his development.
4/5-Tech - His body type and play style are best suited to play defensive end.
Edge - Lacks the ability to drop back, bend, and agility to be reliably successful from the edge.
Off-Ball - Will not play off-ball.
Attributes (Grade/10):
Attributes | Bend | 2 |
Burst | 6 | |
Motor | 4 |
Bend: Absolutely no bend to his game. He has a slight dip around the edge at times which prevents this from being a 1/10.
Burst: When he times it right, his burst off the line can actually be decent. He mitigates its effectiveness by popping up immediately the majority of the time, but coaches should be able to work with his burst to help him develop some successful pass rush moves.
Motor: While his effort may be fine, his feet often stop moving entirely when he gets locked up.
Skillset | Pass Rush | 3 |
Run Defense | 4 | |
Coverage | NA |
Pass Rush: This should be considerably higher, but his lack of technique and ability to win one-on-ones takes him out of many plays on passing downs. As it stands, he would likely be a liability in the NFL.
Run Defense: If he is in arm's length of the runner, he can pull off the block for a tackle. Without much control at the line, he is not too helpful in the run game with a 5.5% run stop rate in 2022.
Coverage: Should never be asked to drop in coverage.
Hands | Placement | 2 |
Effectiveness | 1.5 | |
Quickness | 4.5 |
Placement: Rarely gets optimal hand placement. For his bull rush, he often has his elbows flared and outside the opposing lineman's arms. For his quicker moves, he does not always even make contact. He simply does not know what to do with his hands on any given play.
Effectiveness: When he grabs the opposing lineman, he usually locks himself in place and does not know what to do. His hands serve him little purpose when pass rushing. If this can improve, then he may actually become a decent defensive end.
Quickness: He is relatively quick on some reps, but it is wildly inconsistent when he elects to do something unexpected by his opponent with his hands.
Line Control | Strength | 5 |
Balance | 5 |
Strength: Very little play strength most of the time. He has reps where he drives back the opposing lineman with poor technique, so the strength exists. He just needs to learn how to use it.
Balance: Gets pushed over easily, without even fighting back at times.
Pass-Rush Decisions | Versatility | 6 |
Technique | 5 | |
Execution | 3 |
Versatility: Mostly a 4-3 defensive end, but could realistically take snaps from the edge on pass rush situations as well as from 5-tech in a 3-4 defense. That said, his pass rush move pool is non-existent.
Technique: This is up to a 5/10 as opposed to lower because he actually does at times display decent technique. The primary issue is his best looking pass rush moves often happen after being locked up for two seconds, as if he takes the time to think about what he should be doing. His pass rush technique is abysmal across the board otherwise, but occasionally showing some good late rips and push-pulls provides hope.
Execution: He does not win one-on-one pass rush situations. There are very few impressive reps throughout his 2022 campaign, and his freaky measurables do not translate to the field.
Traits | Agility | 3 |
Athleticism | 7.5 | |
Length | 9.5 |
Agility: Harrison rarely gets around guys with agility, and often flies straight past the pocket when taking the edge with minimal positive impact on the play.
Athleticism: Traits are out of this world. His speed at his size is utterly ridiculous. Throw in his length and acceleration, and he appears at first to be one of the best athletes in the country regardless of the sport. Unfortunately, he lacks fluidity in his movements. He plays stiff and upright, and does not look like the fluid athlete on the field. Based on his tape alone, this grade would be significantly lower. Knowing his off field numbers makes it difficult not to give him a decent grade athletically.
Full Report:
If Harrison learned proper hand placement and technique on his bull rush, he could be scary from the edge. As it stands, he really does not have many positives throughout his tape. Harrison consistently displays poor hand placement, pad level, play strength, and gets locked up in one-on-one situations frequently. He has no pass rush moves, and relies on burst and athleticism entirely. While his measurables are other-worldly, the lack of fluidity in his game in combination with how raw he is cannot elicit any sort of early draft grade. It is worth taking a chance on his traits, but not over guys who are more proven with better tape on the field. His grade of an early-mid third represents a combination of what he has shown on the field with what he possesses athletically. Most players in the first two rounds should at least be capable of slotting into a starting position and not be a liability, but Harrison should not enter the NFL as a full time starter based on what he has shown throughout the season. He does not win one-on-one reps against serviceable offensive linemen. He even gets held up by tight ends at times with his lack of instincts, play strength, and pass rush plan. Despite his incredible length and off-field speed, he does not play the position like an athlete either. He is stiff and rigid, with poor hip control and lateral ability. A couple of very specific plays showing what could be if everything came together prevented this grade from falling any lower. If a team can mold him into a more refined pass rusher, then his potential is limitless. Based on his 2022 tape, he would not make any positive impact day one on an NFL field.
NFL Projection:
Harrison will go mid day two, and become a rotational defensive end. If he gets a coach who can refine every part of his game, then he could become more of a threat in the NFL.
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