S Nic Harris worksout for BLO

[SeatownBillsFan21]

Ed Thompson, of Scout.com, reports University of Oklahoma S Nic Harris said he had a workout with the Buffalo Bills Tuesday, April 7.
I dont know why we would want this guy. what do you guy think???

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=57261&draftyear=2009&genpos=SS

[The Spaz]

I haven't seen that guy play much but his combine and pro day numbers are pretty bad. A 4.8 for an OLB in this defense will not work and 15 reps of 225 is pretty freaking bad.

[clumping platelets]

He could play special teams for a living

[BillsWin]

Good. I like. Very much. Not a pick I'd make. But a pick I'd like. :)

[jamze132]

Probably trade back into the first to take him.

[X-Era]

Ed Thompson, of Scout.com, reports University of Oklahoma S Nic Harris said he had a workout with the Buffalo Bills Tuesday, April 7.
I dont know why we would want this guy. what do you guy think???

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=57261&draftyear=2009&genpos=SS

I like him as a Byron Scott replacement. Hes very similar but has better upside IMO.

[DesertFox24]

He will be a weak side LB for us, he is bigger than Ellison I believe.

[Mahdi]

Ed Thompson, of Scout.com, reports University of Oklahoma S Nic Harris said he had a workout with the Buffalo Bills Tuesday, April 7.
I dont know why we would want this guy. what do you guy think???

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=57261&draftyear=2009&genpos=SS
In the Box safety that would allow Whitner to roam.

[psubills62]

This is interesting. If he is drafted as an OLB, it may be a good late-round pick. His strengths, according to draftcountdown.com, is that he has good size, great instincts, physical, decent blitzer...these are many things that we could use in a LB, imo.

[Oaf]

He could play special teams for a living
:drool: :hubba:

[Oaf]

He could play special teams for a living
:drool: :hubba:

[Oaf]

He could play special teams for a living :drool: :pray:

[TigerJ]

I think he'd be a linebacker in the Bills' plans. He doesn't even have real good speed for a linebacker, so I wouldn't want to draft him very high.

[THATHURMANATOR]

This is interesting. If he is drafted as an OLB, it may be a good late-round pick. His strengths, according to draftcountdown.com, is that he has good size, great instincts, physical, decent blitzer...these are many things that we could use in a LB, imo.
Jamze is talking about trading back to the first to get him. Which is it?

[DraftBoy]

No thanks on Harris, undersized OLB prospect who is slow and worked well as an in the box S for Oklahoma but is bad in coverage, heavy footed, and does not shed blocks well.

[bigbub2352]

didnt we already waste a real early pick on a SS oh yeah Whitner, he has faired well for us
no thanx
trade peters and fortify ur OLINE and DLINE

[psubills62]

Jamze is talking about trading back to the first to get him. Which is it?

I'm pretty sure Jamze is joking.

[jimbohastle51]

he will be a great cover 2 LB. he is alittle to big to play safety in the NFL but he is a class guy and a elite athlete and would make a major upgrade over ellison. not too mention that when he hits people he lays the damn wood!!!

[Bmax]

Harris at OLB ...on day two 5th, 6th or 7th rd would be ok...


Bmax

[FlyingDutchman]

No thanks on Harris, undersized OLB prospect who is slow and worked well as an in the box S for Oklahoma but is bad in coverage, heavy footed, and does not shed blocks well.

dude why does every response you ever write about a player, read like youre copying and pasting out of scout.com or something. give it up already. you try too hard.

[Dying_-2-_Live]

Ive never heard of him but, he has terrible speed for a cover 2 LB and lacks the instincts* to play SS

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Not as crazy an idea as I originally thought when I read about his visit.

Harris is not thought of as much of a prospect at the safety position. Which means that his stock there is very low at best and he is not likely to be drafted by any team looking to take a safety before Round 6 or so.

However, the guy is 6' 3", 234-238, smart, and, while he posted a very slow 40 time at The Combine, he was very productive as a tackler and hitter at the safety position in college. He is already bigger than Keith Ellison and he is a player.

If the Bills go DE, offensive line and TE with their current picks in the draft (if they trade Peters, regardless of whether they use one of these picks or a pick that they get in the trade, effectively they will have to use whatever they get for Peters to replace him) as expected, they will still need to address the OLB spot at some point from the fourth round on.

What kind of OLB prospects who might fit in a Tampa 2 system will still be on the board when the Bills pick in Round 4? How many of those prospects will have been as productive as Harris at the top level of college football? Remember, we're not talking about the best guys, like Cushing, Matthews, etc., here and probably not even the guys like McKillop, etc. either. What kind of talent is going to be left on the board at OLB in the fourth round?

At that point in the draft, a guy like Harris, who has shown that he can make plays against a high level of competition, might start looking pretty good in comparison to the other OLBs that are still available.

Harris doesn't have the speed to cover a WR deep: if he did, he would be considered a pretty good strong safety prospect. But, he is a hitter, a pretty good tackler and he makes plays. And, with his size, he just might be able to make the transition to OLB in a Tampa 2 system like the Bills play--Ellison did it as a rookie and he doesn't have the size or tackling ability that Harris has.

Yes, Harris ran a painfully slow time at The Combine. Maualuga did, too. Maybe there was a reason why Harris ran so poorly. And, maybe he has run better times in other workouts, including the private workout that he had with the Bills. (I don't know what Harris ran at his Pro Day--or if he even ran--but Maualuga ran much better at his Pro Day than he did at The Combine.) So, it is not impossible that Harris is and plays faster than his 40 time at The Combine.

Besides which, how fast a guy runs at The Combine is not the be-all-and-end-all when it comes to assessing whether he can play or become a star in the NFL:

I remember seeing this LB from one of the universities in Texas a few years ago: he was too small, too light and way too slow to be considered at top prospect, even though he was very productive and made a lot of plays in college. He ended up getting drafted in the 4th or 5th Round by Miami. His name was Zach Thomas.

I'm not saying that Nic Harris is going to be another Zach Thomas--maybe he will be, maybe he won't. But, what he has in common with Thomas is that he made a lot of plays in college and has a nose for the ball. That means that he at least has a chance to be someone who makes plays in the NFL. And, to get a player like that in the 4th or 5th round isn't such a bad thing.

I don't know if the Bills will draft Harris at all. And, I certainly wouldn't want to see them use one of their precious picks in the first three rounds to take him. But, if he worked out well for them and they can get him anywhere from the 4th round down, I don't think that I would be very unhappy, especially given the quality (or lack of quality) that I could see being left on the board at the OLB position at that point in this year's draft.

The Bills need to add talent at multiple positions in this draft with only a limited number of picks to do that. So, they need to get play-makers wherever they can find them--even if it means taking a safety like Harris with the intention of moving him to OLB if they think he can handle the position switch.