With two seasons and three sacks under his belt, we’re inching ever closer to the dreaded “bust” label regarding Miami Dolphins defensive end Charles Harris.
The 2017 1st-round pick out of Missouri played nearly 50% of Miami’s snaps as a rookie (47% to be exact), a number that shrunk to just 36% in his second year despite health issues plaguing the Dolphins group. This despite a heaping portion of praise for Harris from former coach Adam Gase and company prior to the 2018 season.
And with reduced time came reduced production, as Harris got home just once and was credited with only five quarterback hits in his second season, down from 12 hits in 2017.
Make no mistake, this has been a disastrous selection thus far for the Dolphins. From the lack of production to Harris’ personal admission that he was in a “dark place” as a rookie, the Dolphins are currently empty handed in their investment.
And odds are things are going to get worse before they get better. A tip of the cap to 3 Yards Per Carry co-host Chris Kouffman for this snippet on Harris yesterday.
There have been calls from some throughout the fan-base that Harris has been underutilized during his two-year tenure and that playing him as a 3-4 outside linebacker would cure him of his struggles.
But that’s a stretch in itself. Harris’ ability to play in space will be limited by a below average athletic skill set. Harris is too stiff and too linear to be tasked with operating on an island. His athletic testing, relative to defensive ends, further illustrated that during his disappointing performance in Indianapolis in 2017.
And as Kouffman points out, Harris’ processing and reactionary skills are not good and often times handcuff him at the line of scrimmage, meaning there’s no easy solution.
It isn’t like this wasn’t an issue in college, either. Harris won reps by timing up snap counts and winning with an aggressive up-field charge, not by staving off contact with his hands or with elite physical prowess.
It’s hard to envision a turnaround for Harris, barring notable development in his fundamentals and his processing. And unfortunately this is how a lot of “busts” unfold: a new staff brings a new vision, one that Harris simply doesn’t appear to fit.
