Derrick Harmon, Oregon: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Harmon was a three-star recruit from Loyola High School in Detroit, Mich. in the class of 2021

This year’s Oregon squad features several future NFL starters, including defensive tackle Derrick Harmon. The Michigan State transfer projects as a top 50 selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s one of the best defensive tackle prospects available outside of the big three of Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, and Walter Nolen.

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Derrick Harmon, IDL Oregon: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt junior defensive tackle from Detroit, Mich.

Background: Harmon was a three-star recruit from Loyola High School in Detroit, Mich. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 968 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 991 for On3.com. Harmon was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 77 grade out of 100. He transferred from Michigan State to Oregon for the 2024 season. Harmon started along the offensive and defensive lines in high school. He earned First Team All-State honors as a high school senior from the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Detroit Free Press, and The Detroit News. Harmon also earned a spot on the All-Detroit Team for The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press. He helped Loyola win a district title as a senior. That year, he allowed only one sack on offense. As a junior, Harmon won a district title and was a First Team All-State selection for the Associated Press and The Detroit News. He was an All-State honorable mention for the Detroit Free Press.

Injuries & Off-Field: Exited 2023 Washington game with an injury

Awards: 2022 Honorable Mention Freshman All-American (CFN)

Pros: Arm length should check the box, quick off the line, engages hands early to control the rep, motor runs hot as a pass rusher, push-pull move, rip move, two-handed swipe, swim move, club-swim, long-arm move, long-arm-rip, nice leg drive on bull rush, impressive closing burst, plays low to the ground against the run, powerful extensions pry up the guard’s pad level, some resetting the line of scrimmage in the run game, stacks and sheds down blocks with long-arm, easily disengages from blocks thanks to arm length and hand placement, too quick to reach block, anchor sometimes holds up against combo blocks, re-anchors against and splits double teams

Cons: Not a twitchy athlete, still developing foundational elements of his game, high-cut frame, pad level rises quickly as a pass rusher, little to no bend in his hips, can’t turn the corner on outside rushes, limited bag of polished pass rush moves, needs to add a spin counter, lacks polished set of counters to escape run blocks, displaced by duo, gap integrity is hit or miss, missed tackles are a constant frustration, needs to finish more TFL opportunities, agility to mirror and chase down QBs is lacking

Overview: Harmon primarily lines up at 4-tech, 3-tech, and 2-tech for the Ducks with limited action at 1-tech and 0-tech. His arm length should meet the league’s standards. Harmon’s high-cut frame limits the bend in his hips. He’s not a twitchy athlete but is still quick off the line with some flashes of impressive suddenness. Harmon engages his hands early in the play to access the lineman’s chest or disable their defenses. His pass rush plan includes push-pulls, rips, swims, club-swims, two-handed swipes, long-arms, and long-arm-rips. The redshirt junior also drives power through his hands to knock back guards before finishing his bull rush with his powerful leg drive. He forklifts the guard’s outside elbow while bull rushing to soften the outside shoulder and win through the A-gap. That sounds like a deep bag of pass rush moves, but many are inconsistent and lack polish and timing. Harmon needs more time to refine the moves already in his arsenal so they’re at an NFL level. His motor runs hot as a pass rusher, and he finishes plays with eye-catching closing burst. Harmon faces several physical limitations as a pass rusher. His pad level pops up quickly, and his high-cut frame makes it difficult to drop that level while pushing vertically. Harmon’s lack of bend causes him to miss opportunities to finish plays in the backfield because he can’t flatten his angle or suddenly redirect. The Michigan native would benefit from adding a spin counter. He plays low to the ground against the run and uses powerful extensions to pry up the guard’s pad level. Harmon sometimes resets the line of scrimmage by winning the leverage battle and driving the guard into the backfield. He easily stacks blocks with a long-arm and sheds them with little issue thanks to his length and hand placement. The former three-star recruit is too quick for offensive linemen to reach block. His anchor doesn’t always survive against duo, but he’s maintained gap integrity and anchored against combo blocks. Harmon quickly re-anchors against double teams and sometimes splits them. His overall gap integrity is still hit or miss, especially on plays flowing horizontally. He needs to use more counters to defeat blocks in the run game. His missed tackles due to limited agility and bend leave a lot of production on the table.

Overall, Harmon is a disruptive interior presence with the length, quickness, and power to impact both the run and pass games, but he fails to finish big plays in the backfield because of missed tackles and physical limitations. Harmon needs to continue developing his pass rush plan. He’s a developmental projection with some impressive traits.

Role & Scheme Fit: Developing 3-tech in an odd front

Round Grade: Late Second to Early Third Round

Size: 6'5", 310 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 10-12-24

Updated: 12-02-24