2019 rookie report: Will Harris

From snap counts to competing for a starting role, we review the rookie season of Detroit Lions third-round pick safety Will Harris.

Another third-round safety selected by the Detroit Lions, many expected Will Harris to surprise like Tracy Walker did in the 2018 season.

Though he had a fairly quiet training camp, Harris showed up big in the preseason, giving some much-needed optimism about Detroit’s safety situation.

Harris started the season as the Lions fourth safety behind Walker, Quandre Diggs, and Tavon Wilson. In the first game of the year, he appeared on the field for 17 percent of defensive snaps. His role was primarily special teams, and things were expected to remain that way for the season.

Harris’ snap counts remained low for the first three games of the season, but he saw a huge uptick in usage on defense in the Lions’ Week 4 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Quandre Diggs was forced to leave the game early due to an injury, giving Harris his first experience as a starter in the NFL. He held his own, making three tackles and not allowing a touchdown against him.

Following the bye week, the rookie found himself thrust into the starting lineup again, this time filling in for veteran Tavon Wilson. Harris was used as the team’s third safety and put up a career-high six tackles in that game while maintaining solid coverage on opposing receivers.

Harris resumed his role as the team’s fourth safety the next week, but little did he know that he’d find himself as the clear-cut starter soon after. Before the Week 7 game against the New York Giants, Detroit traded away Diggs to the Seattle Seahawks.

Harris looked fine as the starting strong safety for the first game, but he began to look more and more like a rookie as the season continued.

By the end of Week 9, Harris had played two consecutive games where he saw the field for every defensive snap. He had just allowed the first touchdown against him to a tight end of the Chicago Bears and was giving up an average passer rating of 113.7 when targeted.

Missed tackles became a big issue for the rookie as well. Harris had whiffed on six tackles by Week 10. But to his credit, he hasn’t missed one since. Nonetheless, this proved to be a big liability for him, which lead to his benching later in the season.

Though his duties were relegated to being on the field just for three-safety sets, he did have to fill in for injuries often during the remainder of the season.

Harris finished his rookie season with 36 total tackles, three passes defended, and a sack. While he struggled in coverage for most of the year, he did finish strong. He allowed less than 60-percent of passes against him to be completed and didn’t miss a tackle in the final six games of 2019.

The rookie still has a lot of room for improvement. With Walker returning, and the Lions expected to make a move for a starting-caliber safety via the draft or free agency, it is expected that Harris returns to his backup role where he can learn and develop his skills.

There’s a lot of potential here for the young, physical safety. With a new defensive coaching staff taking over, have some optimism that Harris can develop into a full-time starter by the end of 2020.