2025 NFL Scouting Report: Derrick Harmon

Derrick Harmon, 6-4/313
Defensive Tackle
Oregon

Derrick Harmon Scouting Report

By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Big
Strong
Heavy hands
Shocks blockers with strong hands
Active hands to shed
Nice variety in pass rush moves
Burst to close
Size to hold up against downhill runs
Can bull into the backfield
Can hold his gap
Can engulf blockers with mass and strength
Ready to compete quickly
Experienced against good college programs

Weaknesses:

Lateral anchor is not as good as it should be
Bump blocks could be problematic
Played too heavy
Struggles to redirect
Lower body tightness

Prospect Summary:

Harmon started out his career at Michigan State and was a solid defender for the Spartans. In 2021, he had 30 tackles with two sacks as a rotational player. A year later, he was a starter and recorded 40 tackles with 3.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks. For his final collegiate season, Harmon transferred to Oregon and had a quality year on a loaded defensive line for the Ducks. Harmon totaled 45 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, five sacks, four passes batted, and two forced fumbles.

In the pass rush, Harmon uses his size and heavy hands to rock back guards and knock them into the backfield. He has a powerful bull rush with upper body strength to shed blockers. Harmon has a burst to close when he gets free and has surprising quickness for a big interior defender. With a bull rush, rip, and arm-over move, Harmon has some variety to attack blockers and has shown some variety in moves. While Harmon has a burst and strength, he needs to improve his ability to redirect towards quarterbacks moving in the pocket. Harmon may never be a prolific sack producer in the NFL, but he could contribute with an interior push to take away room for quarterbacks to step up.

As a run defender, Harmon is a large defender who is tough to move at the point of attack. He can anchor and hold his ground against downhill runs with the strength in his hands to shock blockers back. There are plays where Harmon blows up runs by bulling his way into the backfield or tossing his blocker to the side. Harmon does get in trouble when he plays too high. That allows guards to push him backward when their hands get into his chest. Harmon also needs to improve his lateral anchor to handle bump blocks and double teams. Harmon is going to have to improve his conditioning for the NFL. He looked trimmed down at the combine compared to his playing weight in 2024, but weight and conditioning will be issues that he is going to have to stay on top of as he ages in the NFL.

A lot of media have projected Harmon to be a first-round pick, and that is possible. However, a number of team sources said they did not grade Harmon that high, and they had him as a day-two pick. It only takes one team to fall in love, so Harmon could go in the first round and looks likely to go in the second if he isn’t selected on the opening night.