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BRANDON HARRIS
5-10/195
Miami FL Junior
40: 4.40 (estimated)

PROS:

A good athlete with good hips to turn and run with receivers. Has good speed and closes well on the crossing routes. Has good ball skills to challenge the out, and break up the pass. Does a nice job turning and locating the ball vs. the deep pass. Willing in run support, coming up on the edge, breaking down and will cut a back's legs in the open field. Able to keep things in front of him, and shows ability to read the quarterback and make plays on the ball. Plays with toughness and effort, and won't back down from a challenge.

CONS:

Needs to polish up his footwork and technique. Tends to slide instead of backpedaling on his drops. Will give up too much cushion and doesn't play with great discipline. Will take some bad angles to the ball after the catch, whiffing on the tackle. Gets caught out of position a bit too much.

OVERVIEW:

Harris has the athleticism and potential to be a good man corner at the next level, but needs to refine his technique and play with more discipline and instincts. He play both inside and outside for the Hurricanes. In his two full seasons as a starter, he combined for 100 tackles, 7 for loss, 1 sack, 4 forced fumbles, 3 picks, and 25 pass breakups. Also for his career, he had 15 kickoff returns for an average of 24.5 yards. Struggled in a bowl matchup against Notre Dame's Michael Floyd, but I like the fact that he was one of the few Miami players that was out their competing in what was an embarrassing loss for that program.

NFL FORECAST:

I think Harris has the potential to be a No. 1 corner at the next level. He doesn't have great size, but makes up for it with good speed, athletisicm, and enough toughness not to back down against bigger receiver like he did against Floyd. I think as a pro, Harris will at least be as good as DeAngelo Hall. Which means he'll be an effective No. 1 corner, but not be as consistent as a player with his physical skills should be. I don't think he'll have the same type of character baggage that has followed Hall throughout his career, but they are a similar type of player. Probably the worst he'll be is an above average No. 2 if he can't shake that sort of inconsistency. But again, he'll be a guy that can go up against No. 1 receivers, and he may not win most of those battles but he shouldn't be major liability most weeks if he was forced to do so. I think he has the potential to be one of the top corners in the league. Not a shutdown guy, but in the Top 10. He can come in right away and compete and produce as a nickel corner. And once he gets his feet wet he can start to be a more trusted starter. I think he can be ready to start by his second season. He's the type of guy that has the potential to be one of those guys that can get you 15-20 passes defended because of his ball skills.

ATL FORECAST:

His experience playing in the slot makes him a good immediate upgrade for the Falcons there. He has good ball skills, enough to potentially give Brent Grimes a run for his money for who has the best on the team. And potentially he might be the best possible candidate for the Falcons at cornerback in this class because he would potentially be an upgrade over Robinson on the outside because like Grimes, he has much greater potential to make plays because of those ball skills. But at least for the first year or two he would play in the slot and should solidify the nickel. By his third year he should be a starter, having moved to the outside as a potential replacement to either Robinson or Grimes, whichever doesn't play the best over the next two seasons. If not, then Harris probably will be one of the top nickel corner in the league.

VALUE:

Harris is definitely worth a first round pick. While his lack of ideal polish probably keeps him from being a potential Top 10 pick, his ball skills and potential there probably means he's a solid fit to go off the board in the Top 25.

SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

Speed: 4.0
Man Coverage: 3.5
Zone Coverage: 3.0
Tackling: 3.0
Ball Skills: 4.0

Height: 5’11
Weight: 195
College: Miami
40 Time: 4.45
Class: Junior
Stock:
Projected: 1st Round

Stats

2010 – 44 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 10 PBU, 1 INT
2009 – 58 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 1 sack, 15 PBU, 2 INT’s
2008 – 30 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1 sack, 3 PBU, 1 INT

Overview:

Brandon Harris is a very talented CB and if it wasn’t for Peterson and Amukamara he would easily be the consensus #1 CB in the draft. He displays outstanding footwork and the fluid hips that every team wants. He’s great in man coverage but needs to work on his zone coverage skills where he could get better. He doesn’t have many weaknesses to his game and should be a 1st round lock.

Scouting Report:

Positives

- Great combo of size and speed
- 2 and a half year starter
- Very productive
- Smooth footwork
- Fluid hips
- Good burst on his break
- Great speed
- Can recover if beaten
- Outstanding ball skills
- Times his jumps well and high points the ball
- Good hand-eye-coordination
- Solid instincts
- Adept in zone coverage
- Knows where receivers are around him
- Does a good job of keeping contain against the run
- Good open field tackler
- High character player
- Hard worker and leader

Negatives

- Sometimes gets caught out of position in zone
- A bit tentative in run support
- Struggles to get off blocks
- Doesn’t come away with many interceptions
- Will miss some tackles because he doesn’t wrap up

Skills:
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

Speed: 4.0
Man Coverage: 4.0
Zone Coverage: 3.0
Tackling: 3.0
Ball Skills: 4.0
Pro Potential: 4.0