Prospect Scouting Profile – Christian Harris, LB, Alabama

It’s officially draft season and I am continuing my prospect scouting profile series. These are information-packed breakdowns that you don’t want to miss.

Player Introduction

Christian Harris is a three-year starter for one of the best teams in the country, the Alabama Crimson Tide, who he helped lead to a National Championship in 2020. He’s a big linebacker who can absolutely run down anything. Harris has the size, speed, athleticism, and instincts to lead any defense in any scheme. His leadership and toughness are unquestioned, and a solid all-around linebacker that will make the team that drafts him very happy that they did. You will hear a lot of names at the position being floated around during the draft, but make no mistake, Harris is as good as any of them.

Combine Measurables

Height – 6’½”

Hands – 9”⅝” 

Weight – 226 LBS

Arms – 32⅛” 

Wing Span – NA

Vertical - 34½” 

Broad Jump - 132”

Speed – 4.44 sec

3-Cone Drill- NA

20-yd Shuttle - NA

Ametuer Notes & Accloades

Harris was the leading linebacker for the Alabama Crimson Tide and is now a prospect preparing for the NFL draft. He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he was rated as a four-star prospect out of University Lab’s High School. Harris helped lead the Cubs to 26 consecutive wins and back-to-back state championships in 2017 and 2018. He was selected to play in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, and participated in the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge. Harris was listed as the No. 3 player in Louisiana and the fourth-rated inside linebacker by 247Sports Composite and No. 71 overall on the site's Top247 list. He chose Alabama over Auburn, Arkansas, LSU, and Texas A&M among others.

It’s not often you can come in as a true freshman and start right away at an NFL talent-producing machine like at Alabama. Harris excelled in the spring and fall to earn starting role and never looked back. He would play in all 13 games, making 12 starts, and would record 63 total tackles, 7½ tackles for a loss, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and one PBU. Harris’s freshman campaign would earn him USA Today and ESPN.com's Freshman All-America teams honors, as well as being named to the Freshman All-SEC squad by the league coaches.

In 2020, as a sophomore, Harris started all 13 games at WILL Linebacker for Alabama. He would register 79 total tackles, with 52 being solos, seven tackles for a loss, 4½ sacks, one interception, and three PBUs. Harris would be selected as a semifinalist for the Butkus Award as he helped lead the Crimson Tide to a National Championship.

As a junior in 2021, Harris would play and start all 15 games, while putting together his best season as a collegiate player. He would record 79 total tackles, with 45 being solos, 12½ tackles for a loss, 5½ sacks, two forced fumbles, and three PBUs. Harris would be named a semifinalist for the Butkus and Lombardi awards

Career Stats

Games – 41

Starts – 40 

Tackles – 221

Solos – 126 

TFLs – 27

Sacks – 10

Interceptions - 1

PBUs – 7

FF – 3

Fumble Recoveries - 2

Scouting Report

Positives

Harris was a three-year starter for arguably the best program in college over the past decade. He’s a long and athletic linebacker, who can take advantage of his speed as a chase and hit linebacker on the weakside. Harris has the speed to allow him to run with just about anyone on the field, which allows him to get to the edge before the ball carriers in the run game or step for step with receivers down the field. He does a great job playing downhill through traffic, where he doesn’t get caught up in all the mayhem. His ability to play in space is at a top-end level. Never really featured as a pass rusher, but showed off during the college football national championship game with three sacks.

https://twitter.com/DP_NFL/status/1481087077563473923

Harris isn’t elite in coverage duties, but with his speed, athleticism, and effort, can hold his own with anyone. He takes very good angles to the ball and which gives him plenty of playmaking opportunities. Harris has very good upper body strength that allows him to do a very good job at stacking and shedding blockers. He is one of the more physical linebackers in this draft class and it shows when playing both against the run and in coverage. Harris shows solid anticipation in defending screens, as there is a number of plays on the film of him blowing those up. That’s a big weapon in his toolbox as screens are a big part of today's NFL. A big hitter who will line you up for the knockout shot.

Negatives

Harris can get himself out of position to make plays at times, due to misreading blocking schemes. He also plays too upright, which causes him to have issues with change of direction. Harris is a very smart player but they are some questions about his instincts and processing, as he tends to let plays fully develop before attacking. He also misses a number of tackles, which can be cleaned up with some improvement in his form and technique. Harris plays through heavy traffic very well, but when he does get caught up in it, he has a hard disengaging off big mauling offensive lineman.

Not a major issue and NFL coaches will address it and get fixed. He was formerly a tight end in high school, so some of the issues he has could be due to his limited experience at the position, as he just started playing linebacker in college. I’m Not saying he takes plays off but would like to see a more consistent motor from Harris. He has never been featured as a true pass rusher, so teams will have to determine if that’s just a product of how he was used and if he has the tools to become a solid option in that type of role?

Pre-Draft Analysis

Expected Draft Capital – 2nd round

Expected Role – Solid NFL caliber starter

Summary

Harris is easily one of the top linebackers in this draft class and doesn’t have any major flaws. Put him in a system where he can play the weakside linebacker spot and he will easily excel. With that said he can play any of the linebacker positions solidly and effectively. Not sure he will be an immediate starter, but it wouldn’t surprise me, as we have seen NFL teams now believe in starting their young guys early. Harris is talented and smart enough to learn on the fly and excel at whatever teams ask him to do. He will be making a push to continue the trend of fellow Alabama Crimson Tide linebackers getting taken in the first round, but will likely be a day two selection.

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Thanks for reading my article. I am a member of the FSWA (Fantasy Sports Writers of America). Follow me on Twitter at @HollywoodTitan, on Facebook on my IDPNation page, on Reddit in the fantasy football IDP sub — I’m user KingTitan1 — and tune in each week and listen to IDP Nation and Devy IDP Grind, the podcasts that I co-host, on several different platforms. Feel free to hit me up with any questions that you have, as I’m always glad to help fellow IDPers. #IDPNation #IDP #IDPDevy.