The Steelers signed Bryce Harris yesterday after placing Jerald Hawkins on injured reserve, filling the necessary spot on their depth chart of a backup offensive tackle.
Harris is a veteran tackle entering his seventh year in the NFL, having been on several teams' rosters but primarily playing for the Saints. He's only started four games in his entire career, most recently back in 2014, and has mostly served as a backup who rarely saw time.
Harris will compete with Matt Feiler and Chukwuma Okorafor for the immediate backup spot at tackle on the depth chart, but his 6-foot-6, 300 lb. frame combined with NFL experience could give him the upper hand.
Harris' tape is consistent across the board in that he's a player who knows how to get to the spot he's assigned to protect, but isn't proficient at finishing his assignment once he's engaged with a defender. That can often make for a serviceable offensive tackle when a team isn't facing a prolific pass rusher, as Harris will make sure he drops deep enough and uses a solid punch to try and force edge rushers to take the widest route possible to the quarterback.
Watch how he handles this blitz from 33-year-old Osi Umenyiora back in 2014. Harris takes two quick steps back and engages Umenyiora by punching at his inside shoulder, but not letting him get a direct shot at Drew Brees. Though you would prefer Harris to attack the middle of Umenyiora's frame, he keeps his feet chopping and does a good job forcing the former Super Bowl champion around Brees to maintain the pocket:
This approach is very consistent from Harris, which can be a good thing when a team is desperate for a backup tackle like the Steelers might be right now. Watch how the next week he went up against the former Bengal Michael Johnson and forced him around Brees to negate his rush. Though Brees is sacked on the play, Harris does his job and keeps his man off the quarterback. Notice how he again engages Johnson's inside shoulder, but does a good job dealing with Johnson's slap move and negates the hand fighting by being in position:
However, hand fighting and the act of engaging defenders are Harris' primary weaknesses. Take a look at how he's beaten around the edge by a simple hesitation move by Kroy Biermann. Even though Brees does get the ball out, he still takes a hit from a backup defensive end who shouldn't have gotten around Harris:
What might be most alarming for the Steelers if Harris does get playing time is how he's not nearly aggressive enough when blocking on run plays. He does not fire off the ball with enough explosion to knock back defenders, nor does he look to bury defenders once they've engaged. Much like his pass protection efforts, Harris is good at getting to the spot he's assigned to attack. But once he gets there he does not finish his blocks and that often leads to defenders shedding off him, which could lead to a problem when needing a person to help maintain the kind of stretch and zone plays Le'Veon Bell likes to run.
Watch how he does a good job here by engaging his first man and passing him off to the guard and chipping to the linebacker. That part of the play is a good job on Harris' part, but once he engages the linebacker, Harris simply holds him up for a couple seconds. He doesn't drive him down the field, nor does he seal him off from being able to chase after the running back:
One of the first plays I saw in my search stood out because Harris' efforts at the point of attack weren't impressive. Harris goes up against defensive tackle Corey Peters in a goal line situation and gets hit so hard that he's knocked backwards. Though the Saints score, this play highlights his problem of not getting off the ball with enough explosiveness to knock back defensive linemen. That could become a problem when facing the bigger defensive lines like the Steelers faced last season:
Ultimately the Steelers needed a body to replace Hawkins on the depth chart and Harris was a quick answer. We can't be sure if Harris is a dropoff in talent from Hawkins, because Hawkins rarely saw any time in his two years with the team and had not been the player the Steelers hoped would develop into a more reliable backup tackle when they selected him in the fourth round.
Harris is a veteran who will be able to get to his spots in the Steelers' schemes and push the younger tackles on the Steelers' roster to improve or sit further back on the depth chart or even on the practice squad. Harris will get to work with Mike Munchak, one of the league's most prestigious position coaches and the man who helped convert Alejandro Villanueva from a questionable tight end into a starting left tackle on one of the league's best offensive lines.
