Brandon Harris NFL Draft scouting report

Brandon Harris
5'9, 191 pounds | Cornerback | Miami

Agility: Harris is a fluid athlete who can flip his hips open to turn and run in man coverage. Change-of-direction ability is outstanding. Is an excellent athlete who ran track in high school and at Miami.

Ball skills: Has only ordinary to below-average hands. He's more the kind of cornerback who is capable of breaking up a pass, as evidenced by his 26 passes defended. Has played some on kick returns (15 career), so he may develop some in this area. Dropped numerous interceptions as a freshman and was thrown at less and less the next two years.

Body control: Although Harris doesn't have the best height, he maintains good body control to properly time his jumps. Of course bigger receivers have a good chance to beating him on jump balls, Harris times his leaps nicely. He's a fluid athlete, so it's hard to get Harris off his spot in bump coverage.

Instincts: This is one of Harris' bigger areas of strength. He doesn't seem to get confused by pre-snap adjustments by the offense and works in motion nicely. Has covered the slot and outside receiver in the same game, so he has a good feel for the field.

Man coverage: Has a tendency to get beat off the line by big and fast receivers who can push him around. Has the ability to make up for this due to his very good quickness, short-area burst and deep speed. Prefers to play tight man, but is best in off-man coverage.

Size: Harris' size was exposed his junior year in the Sun Bowl against Notre Dame. Receiver Michael Floyd was able to use his size to out-man Harris for the ball. At his size, teams might only want to match him up against smaller receivers. Has a good build to his frame, but could get stronger to secure tackles better.

Speed: Plays much faster than his timed speed. Knows how to use his speed to stay with the wide receiver, especially deep down the field. Doesn't take time to get up to speed. Still, as good as Harris' speed is, you'd expect him to be considered more as a special teams player.

Tackling: Is good enough as a tackler. Teams may ask him to get stronger as sometimes he'll need to rely on gang tackling to take down the ball carrier. Sometimes takes questionable angles to the ball carrier.

Zone coverage: Played more man coverage in his career than zone and it shows. As good as Harris is before the snap, he is sometimes slow to adjust in zone to locating the ball and taking the proper angle. He can make up for this problem because of his excellent short-area quickness. Needs to have a safety over the top in zone coverage so he only has to worry about a smaller area.

Final word: For good and bad, Harris has skills that cannot be coached. His short area play is great he's incredibly instinctual for a early entrant. The bad trait that can't be helped is his height. Because of his size, some teams may only view Harris as a nickel cornerback in man coverage schemes. Still, he's relentless and remains confident against bigger receivers.

On a zone team, Harris will have to be given some time to learn. As instinctual as Harris is, you'd expect him to be more comfortable when he has to cover a wide area in zone. Instead, he'll need safety help over the top. It also doesn't help that Harris' hands are lacking. Still, he has the agility and playing ability of a first-round pick.

Was named a first-team All-ACC pick in 2009 with 52 tackles, 15 passes defensed, six tackles for loss and two interceptions. Was a second-team All-ACC pick in 2010 with 48 tackles, eight passes defensed and an interception.