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Colts' Board Prospect of Week: DT Justin Harrell

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Colts' Board Prospect of Week: DT Justin Harrell 

Post#1 » by PR07 » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:44 pm

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Next Up in this series....

Prospect Name: Justin Harrell
College: Tennessee
Hometown: Martin, Tenn.
Date of Birth: 2/14/84
Position: DT
Measurables: 6"4 305 LB. 5.10
Projection: Late First Round Pick-Early Second
NFL Comparison: Mike Patterson, Eagles

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Strengths: Good size and long arms. At his best stuffing the run, where he uses his overall strength at the point of attack and occupies blockers. Quick off the ball and gets good penetration with good leverage. Agile; good change of direction skills. Is mobile with pretty good range. Effective against the run and pass using his strength and power to his advantage. Disruptive with his ability to bullrush and collapse the pocket. Flashes rare explosiveness for his size. Very instinctive and locates the ball quickly. Will play through pain and is a very tough player.

Weaknesses: Durability is the main cause of concern as he has had trouble staying on the field with a series of nagging injuries. Even with his explosiveness, he's not a big sack guy (only 4 in 25 starts). Needs to improve his use of hands and must be quicker to shed blocks. Inconsistent motor from time to time as he gets comfortable taking up blocks rather than making plays for himself.

Overview: Has the strength and size to play two gap schemes, but probably is best suited for a one gap scheme where he can use his quickness to shoot gaps and make plays in the backfield. Would work well with the Colts' line stunts they do from time to time. Has impressive athletic ability and speed for his size. A team-first, blue collar guy who was considered one of the top run-stuffing tackles in the country before his arm injury. Has a good blend of run stuffing and pass rushing skills, but his motor is not always running and lacks consistency in that department. Even so, he's a hard worker with top intangibles, and some team will likely take him early on in Day 1 due to his size and physical ability. Mel Kiper has the Colts taking him in his mock draft and says he would've been an early first round pick had he stayed healthy. He may be just what the doctor ordered for the Colts with the last pick of Round 1.
Some credit to Street&Smith's and Lindy's draft guides and NFLDraftCountdown

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Post#2 » by PR07 » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:55 pm

Harrell would probably fill our biggest need, an interior lineman, who can make plays especially against the running game. Still, Polian has always been one to go against the grain (the experts) and simply find guys who fit the system of the Cover 2. Tennessee has produced a lot of quality d-lineman and Harrell's ability cannot be ignored. The Colts will definately have to take a hard look at Harrell with the #32 pick, but they may pass in order to pick up a value DT later in the draft such as Turk McBride, Ray McDonald, Alama-Francis, and even Derek Landri; all of whom would be good fits in the middle for the Cover 2 scheme. I'd be perfectly fine with the Colts' taking Harrell, he seems like he'll be a real good DT with the proper coaching, the more I read, the more I like about this guy.

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