The Atlanta Falcons drafted Zach Harrison in the third round in the 2023 NFL Draft because of his promise, rather than his production. He delivered just 11 total sacks in college at Ohio State but was a potent run defender with a history as one of the top defensive line prospects in the country coming out of high school, and the Falcons were willing to bet they could help him turn glimpses of greatness and a terrific toolkit into something special.
They knew that would take time, and Harrison had that after joining a pretty veteran defensive front and a coaching staff intent on developing him. A noted hard worker who seemed eager to hit the ground running in Atlanta, Harrison found a role right away but delivered a mostly quiet season until a late breakout that bodes well for next season.
The coaching staff has changed, but general manager Terry Fontenot drafted him and assistant head coach Jerry Gray is still on staff, while new head coach Raheem Morris has been noted for his work with young players at other stops. Chances are good that the 2023 development and 2024 and beyond potential for Harrison will conspire to deliver a major role for him this coming season.
Here’s a look back and a look ahead for an intriguing player and one of the few potential young building blocks for this defensive line.
2023 statistics
16 games played with 0 starts
33 combined tackles, 2 missed tackles (5.7% missed rate)
4 tackles for a loss, 9 pressures
3 sacks, 5 quarterback hits, 8 hurries
21 run stops
63.0 Pro Football Focus grade
2023 role
Harrison was sort of a mound of clay coming into the league, with the team acknowledging he would need time and development work to become the kind of player the Falcons expected him to be over the long haul. He was, however, a useful special teams piece and run defender immediately, which led to a fairly consistent role throughout the season.
Aside from the final game of the season, which he missed owing to injury, Harrison logged under 24% of the defensive snaps just once all season. He also logged over 40% of the defensive snaps just once all season, meaning he settled into a pretty good groove of playing between a quarter and a third of the snaps on a given Sunday, while playing a larger role on special teams earlier in the year than he did later on. Part of that was because he was blossoming at the end of the year.
