Zach Harrison 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Background: 

• Consensus five-star recruit

• US Army All-American Bowl participant 
• Invited to The Opening in 2017 and 2018 

System: 

• Scheme tendencies: Multi front
• 2022 projected role: Starting edge defender 

Pros: Zach Harrison offers an impressive blend of size, length, and explosiveness. His length is a notable asset to his game as he does well to play with extension to deploy his rush plan. That separation enables him to keep his hands active, creating soft angles for him to power through. Harrison has developed the ability to string together rush moves and execute counters. Even when Harrison is unable to get home, he affects the quarterback with his ability to get his hands into throwing lanes. He offers an immense tackle radius and effectively used his length on multiple occasions in 2021 to strip the football away from the quarterback. While Harrison won’t be confused as overly bendy, he does have the ability to corner the near hip of offensive tackles with how he flattens once he’s created the rush angle with his hand counters and length. Harrison has good block recognition skills and is a sufficient processor. I’m satisfied with his motor and effort on a snap-to-snap basis. Harrison is a physical specimen with incredible length, heavy hands, developing technique, and linear explosiveness—he promises to be a “bet on traits” guy. 

Cons: Zach Harrison can be tardy off the ball and I want to see him maximize his physical gifts more consistently with better snap anticipation skills and quicker responses overall. While Harrison can corner and flatten, he requires greased rush angles and battles through stiffness in his upper and lower body. There are frequent instances of him getting too far up the field, creating escaping lanes for the quarterback. Harrison has a tendency to play tall and offers significant surface area to his opponents. He is high-hipped, so playing with consistent leverage can be a struggle in addition to segmentation when changing directions. He has the tools to be a far more consistently impactful defender for the Buckeyes’ defense.

Zach Harrison NFL Draft Scouting Report by Joe Marino