Getty Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots is tackled by Charles Harris #90 of the Miami Dolphins.
The Atlanta Falcons didn’t get everything they needed in the draft so they made a transaction with the Miami Dolphins. The Falcons traded their 2021 seventh-round pick for Dolphins’ edger rusher Charles Harris.
Jason Butt of TheAthletic.com reporter the new early Friday morning.
BREAKING: The Falcons have agreed to trade an undisclosed draft pick to the Dolphins for edge rusher Charles Harris, per source. Harris was a first-round pick out of Missouri in 2017.
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Top Prospect Out of College
Coming out of college at Missouri, the 6-foot-3, 252-pound defensive end was considered one of the top prospects in the 2017 draft class. Harris improved in each of his three seasons during his collegiate career and ended with 136 tackles, 34.5 tackles for a loss, 18 sacks and five forced fumbles.
Harris, 25, was a first-round pick for the Dolphins in the 2017 NFL Draft. However, he was pegged to the Falcons in several mock drafts prior to the 2017 draft. For the past three years in the league, Harris has played in 41 games with eight starts. So far, Harris has recorded 61 tackles, 23 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks.
Ok…so his stats are incredibly disappointing, but the Falcons have a plan. But, for what its worth, he was only a part-time player on a Miami team that wasn’t the best at rushing the passer as a team.
Falcons Need ALL the Help They Can Get
It’s true. This is a year the Falcons need to shine or we will probably see some big coaching changes. I mean, he didn’t cost much either. A seventh-round pick is nothing when it comes to the Falcons, considering they have yet to add someone with pizazz in the seventh round of drafts. Although, their option to snag punter Sterling Hofricter this year could pay off in the long haul.
Anyway, back to what’s needed—help. The falcons ranked 29th overall last season with only 28 sacks. They made a good move in early free agency picking up former rams edger, Dante Fowler who is also a former first-rounder. Fowler is coming off of a career-best with 11.5 sacks.
In this year’s draft, the Falcons selected former Auburn defensive lineman Marlon Davidson who is more than ready to ‘eat’ this season. If I’m the opposing QB, I’m terrified of that guy.
Falcons New Hire Ready for Defense Task
The Falcons’ new hire is a defensive line coach/run game coordinator, Tosh Lupoi who previously worked with at the Browns’ d-line coach and has several seasons assisting Nick Saban under his belt.
Lupoi has a lot of pressure on him this season to help turn the defense around especially at sacking the quarterback.
“We’re going to make it happen,” Lupoi said when he first addressed the media in March.
“I’m going to tell you right now, I’m not so much going to focus on numbers and end results as much as the process that it takes to get there,” Lupoi said.
Lupoi has plenty of experience under him, so let’s hope he can turn this defense into a bunch of sack monsters this season and show Miami who they’re missing.
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