NFL Draft Profile - Chuck Harris

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The draft is less than 24 hours away, and while Chuck Harris won’t be taken on day one, that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t flashed NFL potential in his time at the University at Buffalo. Hailing from Detroit, MI, Harris had only played three seasons of organized football before donning the Blue and White. His freshman and sophomore seasons he was a role player, rotating in as a reserve DE in a combined 23 games. However, when Harris was given the chance to take over the starting role as a junior, UB fans started to see his NFL potential. In 12 games Harris piled up 73 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and a defensive TD, leading to third team all-MAC honors. Harris’ senior year was hampered by injury, missing 3 full games, however he battled through the injuries and posted a career high 6.5 sacks to go along with 45 tackles in 11 games.

Why should you want your team to go after Harris?

Pass rushing is one of the most important assets for an NFL team, and Harris provides excellent day three value as a potential diamond in the rough. With just seven years of organized football experience, Harris is a relative newcomer to the game in the world of NFL draft prospects. His sacks per game increased by 77% from his junior to his senior year, suggesting that he has yet to reach his pass rushing potential. At UB’s pro day Harris ran an unofficial 4.68 40 yard dash, showing that he has the athleticism to be a play-maker on the edge at the next level. While his college numbers won’t blow you away, Harris still has yet to reach his developmental peak, and won’t set you back much in terms of draft capital.

What might you worry about with Harris:

He never put up eye popping numbers in a lower tier FBS conference. To be a major draft prospect from the MAC you need to prove yourself with a dominant season which Harris never managed to get on his resume. While the numbers were never quite there, UB fans would argue that maybe his senior year could have been that way if it weren’t for the mid-season injuries. Despite the numbers, with the low price tag that comes with drafting Harris there’s not a tremendous amount of risk in going with a “lottery ticket” prospect, and Harris has the potential to make that investment look wise down the road.

Projection

Late day three to UDFA. There hasn’t been a ton of buzz around Harris as a draft prospect but he has had private visits with the Bears, Chargers, and 49ers. If one of these teams fell in love with him they could grab him late on day three, but if not it’s a safe bet that he’ll be scooped up as an undrafted free agent.

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