Charles Harris   ER/DE   Missouri  

TALENT
ROUND
2

STRENGTHS
Charles has the size, speed, quickness and length to be an excellent edge rusher for the team that selects him in the NFL. He has the ability to go low to the ground and turn the corner to make a sack. He has maybe the quickest and also the best technique spin move that I have ever seen coming out of the college level. He has quick feet and excellent change of direction skills to be more than just a pass rusher and with his length and long arms he should be a good run stuffer also able to play one gap or two gap defenses. Charles has the athletic talent to play as an OLB/DE in a 3/4 defense or as a DE in a 4/3 defense.

CONCERNS
There is one big issue with Charles that has nothing to do with his ability or talent. Charles just doesn’t have any “interest” in doing the dirty work of stopping the run. He has the talent to be considered as a top pick but this run stopping issue is a problem for me. Although I know most teams are not interested in if there edge rusher can play stout against the run I feel it is the main reason most teams lose big games. Edge Rushers who struggle stopping the run are just specialty players and not starting impact players until they decide to do the dirty work that’s is required in stopping the run.

BOTTOM LINE
Drew’s Draft Rule number 14 – “Pass Rushing is not a specialty. It should be included in the evaluation of a DE or LB position in its totality”. That’s how I feel and it’s hard for me to give a player who may have 1st round talent in one part of his game and doesn’t bring that talent to the rest of his game. The truth is I’m in the minority in this thinking because year after year players with Charles size and specialty pass rushing talents are selected in the first round. Some have made it and become excellent players and some have failed miserably. The failure is only because of expectations of being selected in the first round and not because they don’t bring their special talents with them to the NFL level. The expectation of selecting a player in the first round is that he will become a starting player for your team. If that player only becomes a specialty player like a nickel/back or just a pass rusher they can become a good player but not an impact player because they are not on the field enough to impact. Charles for me is a perfect example of this situation. You select him in the first round and he doesn’t develop and learn to stop the run than he is not on the field enough to impact like a 1st round selection and he is considered a bust and the GM and coach wind up losing their jobs. You selected him in the 2nd round and if he still doesn’t develop it’s not a big deal, if he does develop you have a steal and you’re considered a genius in selecting players in the draft. Here’s the catch someone else selects him in the first round and he DOES develop and you missed out on selecting a great pass rusher. This draft thing is tough. Still I know Charles can be a good run stuffer but I see on film a player with that talent who doesn’t bother to apply that talent and that sends up the red flag for me personally. That to me is big issue; it’s like a tight end that has the talent to block but doesn’t bother. It’s a character flaw more than a talent flaw and Drew’s Draft Rule number 4 says “Character is as important as Talent”.

Drew Boylhart  FEB.2017