Will

Harris

We don’t know how much time Harris is expected to miss, but the stint on injured reserve will require him to miss a minimum of four games. The Commanders already signed veteran safety Darnell Savage to provide added depth to the secondary.

Harris exited in the second quarter of Sunday’s win over the Raiders and did not return to the field. The veteran safety will reportedly undergo further tests to determine the severity of the damage, but it goes without saying that Harris will be sidelined for some time. Harris signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Commanders this offseason and has tallied 10 tackles two pass breakups, and one forced fumble in his first three games of the season.

Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Harris can earn up to $10 million in Washington. Harris signed a one-year deal with the Saints last offseason and made the most of his time in New Orleans. He was active for 13 starts at strong safety. Harris broke up five passes with one interception and tallied 74 combined tackles. He will now compete for a starting role in Dan Quinn’s defense.

A former third round draft pick, Harris will leave Detroit after five seasons. Harris had two interceptions in 80 games for the Lions along with 174 tackles as a rotational player. In New Orleans, he’ll join a Saints secondary graded by Pro Football Focus as the NFL’s fifth best.

Harris (6’1/207) was a three-plus-year starter in the Eagles’ secondary, tallying 7.5 career TFLs with 12 pass breakups and five interceptions and earning third-team All-ACC in 2018. Harris’ stock got a jolt at the Combine, where he tested as the No. 4 SPARQ athlete among safety invites by blazing 4.41 with a twitched-up 6.91 three-cone time. Although Harris was not a dominant playmaker in the ACC, he offers NFL-level traits and showed an ability to handle man coverage against tight ends and running backs on college tape. At worst, he should be a standout gunner on special teams.

The scout specifically said, “He’s going to be drafted as a backup and he’ll be solid for a couple of years and then you are going to look up and he’s going to be starting for you.” Harris (6'1/207) tested extremely well at the NFL Scouting Combine, producing an 83rd percentile SPARQ athletic composite score. NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein compared him to Bradley McDougald and believes he’ll be selected in Rounds 5-6 in the NFL Draft.

Miller, who believes that Harris (6'1/207) has the ability to be an immediate contributor on special teams, also wrote that Harris is the “rare safety in this class with the experience and ability to play in the box and at high safety.” The former Boston College safety performed well at the NFL Scouting Combine and his school’s pro day, and as a result of that and his production as a senior could be sneak into the back end of Day 2 of this month’s NFL Draft. If Harris doesn’t go on Day 2, his name shouldn’t be on the board very long on Day 3.

Harris was one of the best safeties in terms of testing -- and drills -- during the NFL Scouting Combine, and he elected not to participate in the testing portion on Wednesday. Can’t blame him, as the athleticism really stood out in Indianapolis, and Pauline says he looked the part during the football stuff in BC. " Harris met with defensive backs coaches from the Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona Cardinals, and New York Giants as well as the Kansas City Chiefs,” Pauline writes. "[He] entered the season with a sixth-round grade, could slide into the third round

That’s one of the better times we saw among a strong safety group -- in terms of testing, anyway -- with it ranking fourth in the group and eighth among all defensive backs. He also showed some explosiveness with a 36-inch vertical and 123-inch broad jump. Harris was a solid part of the Boston College defense, and he has a chance to be an early Day 3 -- perhaps even a late Day 2 -- selection at this point.

We often see a player accept invites to two scouting games, but three is uncommon. Harris will potentially do it, however, as he’s accepted invites to the East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl as well. This is obviously more looks for the 6-foot-2, 210-pound defensive back, and if he performs to the best of his ability, it will help his draft stock considerably.