Ronnie Harrison is an intriguing safety prospect.
Ronnie Harrison is a safety from Alabama and is overall good at filling his assignments. In the run game, he is able to read the run and fill the lanes. He is able to do this even when starting from deep safety. I like that he is a good tackler and shows on tape the ability to take good angles to the ballcarrier. Harrison showed at Alabama he can blitz when the play is designed well. Harrison must have good speed because he showed on tape that he can stay with receivers going for the deep ball. I also notice that Harrison is physical in coverage. Harrison was asked to spy on the quarterback at Alabama and excelled at this task. As a deep safety, he can make some decent reads and has good hands. He had seven interceptions over three years in the SEC. (Sports-Reference.com)
The main criticism I have for Ronnie Harrison is that I see him as more of a system player than a playmaker. This is not to say he did not make plays at Alabama, but his real value is that he can execute his assignments. I noticed he has a little trouble covering big tight ends which will be an important job for him in the NFL. The last problem I see is that he seemed to give up some big plays in the secondary. I won’t say they were all his fault and it does happen to every safety.
I see Ronnie Harrison as a second-round pick. He is often rated as a first-rounder but I think he is more of a system player. I think he will succeed as a strong safety in a good defensive system. He will probably be in demand as he is probably the first, clear strong safety off the board. Derwin James is going to go ahead of him, but James isn’t clearly a strong or a free safety. James has traits of both.
