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Damien Harris lost his starting job in 2018, but that doesn’t mean he’s not starter quality. The Alabama product saw the lead role go to Josh Jacobs, who is admittedly a better prospect than Harris. Jacobs is seen as a potential first-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft, but that doesn’t mean Harris isn’t seen as someone who can make a three-down impact in the pros. On the contrary, he’s seen as someone who could step in and handle a full workload, and that’s why he’s one of Dallas’ 30 official visits.
After being second-team preseason All-American and on the Maxwell, Walker and Camp Award watch lists, Harris was a second-team All-SEC in 2018 and seems to be a viable candidate to join the Cowboys’ backfield.
Name: Damien Harris
Position: Running Back
School: Alabama
Height: 5-feet-10 1/8
Weight: 216 pounds
Date of Birth: 2/11/1997
pSparq Score: 119.9 Z-Score: -0.1 NFL Percentile: 45.5
pSparq is an approximation of the “Sparq Score” metric invented by NIKE (with the help of former USC and current Seattle Seahawks Head Coach, Pete Carroll), designed as a way to standardize athletic testing of High School athletes and interpret their athleticism with a sport specific formula. For more on pSparq,(and the man behind the math Zach Whitman) check out 3sigmaathlete.com.
Games Studied: Ole Miss, Louisville, Auburn, Clemson
Run Game Review
Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
Harris was a true complete tailback in the Crimson Tide’s offense. As a ball carrier he has a great combination of patience and explosiveness that adds up to a recipe for big runs.
He has very good lateral agility which allows him to side step defenders in the hole or make hard cutbacks in the zone run game. He showed the ability to defeat arm tackles and consistently falls forward to gain the extra yard or two that can be so important for a running game.
Executed both gap and zone runs with high levels of effectiveness, and is a smooth runner who has the ability to beat pursuit defenders to the edge.
Pass Game Review
Harris wasn’t often targeted as a receiver in the passing game at Alabama, (only 22 catches in 2018 and 52 in 4 years), but when he was, he appeared natural at catching the ball and did well at getting up field and getting yards after the catch.
Didn’t run a large variety of routes down the field, but was comfortable running routes to the flat and the occasional option route and Texas route across the middle. Saw 1 drop in the four games on a pass where his quarterback was drifting to the left and he wasn’t able to secure the ball on the short throw that was a little off-target but definitely catchable.
In pass protection Harris showed the awareness and willingness to be a more than adequate blocker. He will need to work on his technique as he tends to turn and throw a shoulder block as opposed to squaring up blitzers and taking them on heads up and using his hands to control them. This led to some near whiffs that occasionally got his quarterback in trouble.
Measurables & Stats
Conclusion/Cowboys Projection
In the Cowboys search for a complete back behind Ezekiel Elliott, Harris is the most talented option that they’ve been connected with. He has the well-rounded skill set to be successful on every down when deployed in relief of Elliott, and is a starter level player who could carry the load if Elliott were to miss time.
Because of the sheer wealth of talent at running back at Bama, Harris doesn’t have concerns about overuse (career high of 150 carries in 2018), and should be able to be a productive back for a long time in the NFL.
Grade – 3rd round
Gallery
Cowboys 7-round Mock Draft: April 15, 2019
Continue reading...
After being second-team preseason All-American and on the Maxwell, Walker and Camp Award watch lists, Harris was a second-team All-SEC in 2018 and seems to be a viable candidate to join the Cowboys’ backfield.
Name: Damien Harris
Position: Running Back
School: Alabama
Height: 5-feet-10 1/8
Weight: 216 pounds
Date of Birth: 2/11/1997
pSparq Score: 119.9 Z-Score: -0.1 NFL Percentile: 45.5
pSparq is an approximation of the “Sparq Score” metric invented by NIKE (with the help of former USC and current Seattle Seahawks Head Coach, Pete Carroll), designed as a way to standardize athletic testing of High School athletes and interpret their athleticism with a sport specific formula. For more on pSparq,(and the man behind the math Zach Whitman) check out 3sigmaathlete.com.
Games Studied: Ole Miss, Louisville, Auburn, Clemson
Run Game Review
Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
Harris was a true complete tailback in the Crimson Tide’s offense. As a ball carrier he has a great combination of patience and explosiveness that adds up to a recipe for big runs.
He has very good lateral agility which allows him to side step defenders in the hole or make hard cutbacks in the zone run game. He showed the ability to defeat arm tackles and consistently falls forward to gain the extra yard or two that can be so important for a running game.
Executed both gap and zone runs with high levels of effectiveness, and is a smooth runner who has the ability to beat pursuit defenders to the edge.
Pass Game Review
Harris wasn’t often targeted as a receiver in the passing game at Alabama, (only 22 catches in 2018 and 52 in 4 years), but when he was, he appeared natural at catching the ball and did well at getting up field and getting yards after the catch.
Didn’t run a large variety of routes down the field, but was comfortable running routes to the flat and the occasional option route and Texas route across the middle. Saw 1 drop in the four games on a pass where his quarterback was drifting to the left and he wasn’t able to secure the ball on the short throw that was a little off-target but definitely catchable.
In pass protection Harris showed the awareness and willingness to be a more than adequate blocker. He will need to work on his technique as he tends to turn and throw a shoulder block as opposed to squaring up blitzers and taking them on heads up and using his hands to control them. This led to some near whiffs that occasionally got his quarterback in trouble.
Measurables & Stats
Conclusion/Cowboys Projection
In the Cowboys search for a complete back behind Ezekiel Elliott, Harris is the most talented option that they’ve been connected with. He has the well-rounded skill set to be successful on every down when deployed in relief of Elliott, and is a starter level player who could carry the load if Elliott were to miss time.
Because of the sheer wealth of talent at running back at Bama, Harris doesn’t have concerns about overuse (career high of 150 carries in 2018), and should be able to be a productive back for a long time in the NFL.
Grade – 3rd round
Gallery
Cowboys 7-round Mock Draft: April 15, 2019
Continue reading...