5. CHRISTIAN HARRIS | Alabama 6004 | 226 lbs. | JR. Baton Rouge, La. (University Lab) 1/16/2001 (age 21.28) #8 BACKGROUND: Christian Harris, who has an older brother, was born and raised in Baton Rouge and was childhood friends with future teammate Dylan Moses. He played mostly wide receiver and defensive back through middle school and high school, enrolling at University Laboratory School on the LSU campus. Harris was a four-year letterman and led the program to back-to-back state titles his final two years, finishing 14-0 in 2017 and 13-0 in 2018. As a junior, he earned Honorable Mention All-State honors at cornerback. Harris had another standout season as a senior on both sides of the ball and was named All-State as a kick returner with 503 return yards and three touchdowns, while also earning U.S. Army All-American honors. A four-star recruit out of high school, Harris was the No. 6 inside linebacker in the 2019 recruiting class and the No. 5 recruit in the state of Louisiana. Despite playing wide receiver and cornerback throughout high school, college programs primarily recruited him as a linebacker, although LSU (his hometown team and dream school growing up) saw him as an H-back. Harris received more than 30 scholarship offers and narrowed his list to Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M. He initially committed to Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies the summer prior to his senior year before flipping to Alabama around Thanksgiving. His father (Jefferson) played football at Louisiana Tech. His older brother (Tylor) played football and track at Wake Forest (2012-16) and spent the 2016 season on the Seattle Seahawks practice squad. Harris elected to skip his senior season and enter the 2022 NFL Draft. STRENGTHS: Well-constructed linebacker with packed-on muscle and decent length ... above-average play speed in any direction once he triggers ... has a closing burst to arrive before blockers or the ball carrier can react ... able to sidestep and elude blocks without taking himself out of the play ... flashes violence in his hands to attack blockers as a take-on player ... moves with smooth hips and weight distribution for clean reps in coverage ... has the speed to stick with backs, tight ends and some slot receivers ... has the adjustment and ball skills of a former wide receiver ... impact blitzer because of his explosiveness downhill ... a high school defensive back who started as a true freshman linebacker for Nick Saban, which speaks to his football IQ and coachable attitude ... plays through bumps and bruises and played in every game the past three seasons, including 40 starts. WEAKNESSES: Too much guessing or tardy reads ... needs to mature his key-and-diagnose skills ... inconsistent gap/fit integrity and will surrender inside leverage ... needs to be more consistent with his stack-and-shed technique to stay detached ... the missed tackles piled up on his tape ... too many fly-by attempts, and must control his break down mechanics as a finisher ... unimpressive on-ball production considering his coverage snaps and athleticism ... still learning how to mix up his pass-rush moves to win as a blitzer ... never led the Tide in tackles. SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Alabama, Harris played the weakside linebacker role in head coach Nick Saban’s multiple front seven. A high school receiver and defensive back, he made the transition to linebacker and started 40 of 41 games in his three seasons in Tuscaloosa, posting moderate production. Harris is a do- everything breed of linebacker with the multidimensional skill set to drop in coverage, get downhill vs. the run or make plays in the backfield as a blitzer. He has a good feel for play direction but needs to pull the trigger a half-second quicker and better leverage his gaps as a take-on player. Overall, Harris must become more consistent diagnosing the action, but he is a versatile athlete with the play speed and intangibles to grow into a dependable NFL starter. Although still developing in several areas, he has the ceiling of a scheme-diverse, three-down player. GRADE: 2nd Round (No. 46 overall)
Another guy who fell some. Undersized but can play and has coverage potential as a LB. Another solid pick
Nothing…depth…and I think after next year we don’t have too many LBs under contract I could be wrong tho.
Oh yeah I think JRM starts played well for lions last year and the Texans have been high on him tried to sign him last year
