The Patriots need help at linebacker, and Bucky Brooks believes there’s a player at the position in the 2022 draft class who would be a great fit in New England.
Brooks recently went through three of the top ‘backers available later this month and identified the best landing spot for each NFL hopeful. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Brooks likes the idea of Christian Harris, an Alabama product, ending up with New England.
“There’s a natural pipeline between Alabama and the New England Patriots,” Brooks said on NFL Network. “We think about Christian Harris coming from a program under Nick Saban in which they’re asking their linebackers to do a lot — we’re going to a similar program in New England with Bill Belichick. The versatility, the ability to play in multiple schemes, do multiple roles on a weekly basis. When I look at Christian Harris, he offers you a lot of that kind of dynamic ability, being able to come after the passer on blitzes and also play a little bit in coverage.”
Brooks’ colleague, draft analyst Lance Zierlein, could see Harris eventually becoming an NFL starter, but he sees some holes in the LB’s game.
“Long, athletic inside linebacker whose strengths and weaknesses could make him a target for a move outside,” Zierlein wrote for NFL.com. “Harris’ lack of desired recognition will result in missteps and mistakes that could prove much more costly on the NFL level. However, he could thrive as a chase-and-hit, weakside linebacker, where he can play faster. He can handle some coverage chores but it’s not his strong suit. Harris has the physical attributes and athletic ability to make plays as an eventual starter but he might lack three-down versatility.”
Harris projects to be a second-round pick, and there’s an off chance he drifts into the third. The Patriots are scheduled to make their first three picks at Nos. 21, 54 and 85 overall.
