Round 4: Washington C Nick Harris
6-1, 302 – Senior – 5.1

PREVIOUS PICK: LSU G Damien Lewis

The Bucs keep the offensive trend going to start Day 3 of the draft by selecting Harris in the fourth round. At 6-foot-1, 302 pounds, Harris lacks ideal size to play center in the NFL, but he’s quick and is a great technician.

Harris, a four-year starter at Washington, began his Huskies career playing guard for the first two years before moving to center as a junior. Harris uses his size to his advantage by winning with proper leverage and a quick surge off the ball. Harris keyed the Huskies’ interior rushing attack and helped Myles Gaskin become Washington’s all-time leading rusher in 2018.

Ideally, Harris competes with Alex Cappa for the starting right guard position as a rookie while serving as a backup to center Ryan Jensen. The Bucs want to find a successor to Jensen, whose final contract year is in 2021 when he’ll turn 31. Jensen is also scheduled to earn $10 million per season in 2020 and ’21, and Tampa Bay would love to have a cheaper option at center if Harris can develop into a starting caliber player over the next year or two.

The Bucs have had some small, undersized centers before in Jeff Christy (2000-02) and Jeff Faine (2008-11). Christy, who helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl in 2002, was 6-foot-2, 285 pounds, and Faine was perhaps generously listed at 6-foot-3, 291 pounds.

The player Harris looks up to the most at the NFL level is Philadelphia’s undersized center Jason Kelce, who is 6-foot-3, 295 pounds. Kelce, a three-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, is one of the quickest and most athletic linemen in the NFL.

Harris is adept at getting to the second level on interior run plays, as well as pulling and getting out on screens and perimeter runs. He would give Bruce Arians’ offense a different dimension at center in the running game.

Harris’ bad body and lack of ideal size will likely cause his stock to drop to the fourth round. He has second-round talent and would be a second-round pick if he were two inches taller and his arms were two inches longer. Yet, the Bucs gave him a formal interview at the NFL Scouting Combine, and the team loves his gritty style of play, his high football I.Q., his sound technique and his passion for the game.

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