LB Devin Harper

Verdammung

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I like him. It's difficult to pin down his value, but he's got talent. Definitely worth the pick they used on him.

Best trait was speed; he didn't impress much against Baylor in the championship game, but otherwise he frequently closed distance in angular pursuit & I even saw glimmers of him catching a runner from behind against Oklahoma. Good effort player. Makes life difficult for mobile QB's; blitzing out of coverage when they rollout & pursuing the scramble. Highly productive creating unblocked pressures, but also saw him win around the edge once & use an inside move against a RB.

Base package 3-4 ILB, but played most of his snaps at off-ball OLB in a 3-3. I thought he looked smart in zone coverage, but his limitations in man coverage definitely showed; repeatedly gave up separation covering out-breaking routes. Did some good things against misdirection, but had his fair share of struggles; got completely lost against one end around.

Main issue is power. He gives up space against the run. Struggles getting off blocks. I don't want to say he's a horrible tackler, but he seems to lack stopping power, getting forward progress calls instead of getting the runner down on the ground. Reportedly will turn 24 years old before the season starts. Sub 9" hands for whatever that's worth.

Altogether, I'd say his skillset favors a weakside linebacker, but it seems other than Micah Parsons that's all we have on the roster.
 

quickccc

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- Special teams core player.

- Intrigue with speed while we develop and wait on his LB role play.. i heard Cowboys were worried about another team signing to an undrafted rookie contract
so they pulled late rd pick on Harper.

- Shows how much they liked Harper's measurements and ceiling potential
 

BAT

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How does he compare with JoJo Domann?

Harper has better measurables but Domann plays faster and more physically imo.

Thinking this was more a ST pick and not a LB pick.

 

Mr_437

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Harper is really fast, decent at getting off blocks and navigating through OL to the ball carrier. Devin is a good Blitzer too...adding to the number of swift pressure players.

The battle for WILL may be one to watch between Cox, Harper and Jackson.
 

Rayman70

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He just has 2 learn how to finish and react. He has the skillset. He lacks the closing burst but with coaching he can mitigate that. In the DQ scheme, he wont be asked to do anything fancy. Just let him go after the ball.I see a ST guy day 1 barring any setbacks. I think he makes the 53 and starts on ST. Storey Jackson might have a say in that however. Right now we are searching 4 mudders that can have a small role and impact on special teams...then down the road, we can develop them better.
 

Pass2Run

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I like him. It's difficult to pin down his value, but he's got talent. Definitely worth the pick they used on him.

Best trait was speed; he didn't impress much against Baylor in the championship game, but otherwise he frequently closed distance in angular pursuit & I even saw glimmers of him catching a runner from behind against Oklahoma. Good effort player. Makes life difficult for mobile QB's; blitzing out of coverage when they rollout & pursuing the scramble. Highly productive creating unblocked pressures, but also saw him win around the edge once & use an inside move against a RB.

Base package 3-4 ILB, but played most of his snaps at off-ball OLB in a 3-3. I thought he looked smart in zone coverage, but his limitations in man coverage definitely showed; repeatedly gave up separation covering out-breaking routes. Did some good things against misdirection, but had his fair share of struggles; got completely lost against one end around.

Main issue is power. He gives up space against the run. Struggles getting off blocks. I don't want to say he's a horrible tackler, but he seems to lack stopping power, getting forward progress calls instead of getting the runner down on the ground. Reportedly will turn 24 years old before the season starts. Sub 9" hands for whatever that's worth.

Altogether, I'd say his skillset favors a weakside linebacker, but it seems other than Micah Parsons that's all we have on the roster.

Curious.

Does anyone know of a team with a faster front 7 than ours? I mean, we can plug in some really fast guys and no QB will ever be safe from speed.

I loved seeing Mahomes running down the field, with the ball tucked, and Parsons tackled him as he rolled out before he even thought about sniffing him out.
 

xwalker

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Curious.

Does anyone know of a team with a faster front 7 than ours? I mean, we can plug in some really fast guys and no QB will ever be safe from speed.

I loved seeing Mahomes running down the field, with the ball tucked, and Parsons tackled him as he rolled out before he even thought about sniffing him out.
The Cowboys had the best pair of CBs in 1995. Deion and Larry Brown.

They would have been the best pair even if Nate Newton replaced Brown...

Same with Parsons on the front 7. They're the fastest regardless of the other 6...
 

Pass2Run

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The Cowboys had the best pair of CBs in 1995. Deion and Larry Brown.

They would have been the best pair even if Nate Newton replaced Brown...

Same with Parsons on the front 7. They're the fastest regardless of the other 6...

Not exactly. But I get your point.

Thing is, they just keep getting faster.

The talent on this roster is sick.

They have to make this team work, because it really doesn't get much better than this.
 

fivetwos

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The Cowboys had the best pair of CBs in 1995. Deion and Larry Brown.

They would have been the best pair even if Nate Newton replaced Brown...

Same with Parsons on the front 7. They're the fastest regardless of the other 6...
Remember that Kevin Smith blew out his achillies in the season opener at NY.

We went with Alundis Brice for a few weeks until we inked Sanders.

Brown signed with Oakland after 95, and Smith was never the same. A PI machine.
 

charron

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If he wants to learn it this coaching staff has proven they will teach it. Seems like he has the tools to help ST now while learning/ growing as a LB which we need.
 

Risen Star

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Not exactly. But I get your point.

Thing is, they just keep getting faster.

The talent on this roster is sick.

They have to make this team work, because it really doesn't get much better than this.

It's the best talent I've ever seen.

And we have future draft picks. At some point the league has to step in.
 

Pass2Run

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It's the best talent I've ever seen.

And we have future draft picks. At some point the league has to step in.

If you're being serious, which I can never tell, I tend to agree except for the league stepping in part. I get what you're saying, though. If we get too talented, the league may actually step in. I can see them trying to suspend KJ.
 
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