MALIK HARRISON A “THUMPER” WHO CAN MOVE
At 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds, Harrison fits the profile for what Nagy described as a “classic big-body linebacker,” but he’s also more athletic than most linebackers you’ll find at his size. Like Hamilton and Jackson, Nagy thought Harrison’s play improved significantly in his senior season at Ohio State, and he was also impressed by what he saw from Harrison at the Senior Bowl, particularly in coverage drills.
“When you call a guy a thumper, which he definitely is, I mean this dude’s really, really got a ton of pop on contact; a lot of times when you call a guy a thumper, you’re thinking of a classic, old-school, two-down inside linebacker. And that’s not the case with Harrison,” Nagy said. “Malik, he runs better than you maybe think when you first start watching tape. He’s a little more athletic getting through traffic than you’d probably give him credit for initially. He’s just one of those guys, the more you watch him, the more you like him.
“You’re talking about a three-down linebacker that you’re gonna be able to keep on the field and just a really good football player. This linebacker class isn’t being talked about a lot. I think it’s one of the deeper groups in the draft. So for Malik, I would think probably third round is probably the sweet spot for Malik. That’s where I would think he would go right now, based off everything he’s done.”
