From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, Day 3 selections, or priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Iowa cornerback Jermari Harris.
No. 27 Jermari Harris/CB Iowa – 6004, 191 pounds (Sixth-Year Senior)
MEASUREMENTS
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Jermari Harris | 6004/191 | 9 3/4 | 31 3/8 | 76 |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| 10’10″ | 37 | N/A |
The Good
– Confident athlete who never panics
– Quick vertical speed
– Loose hips give good change of direction
– Plays with high awareness in zone coverage
– Strong play strength
– Great physicality in press man
– Strong arms lead to wins in press man
– Focused technique in press man
– Confident mover in off man, never panics with his feet
– Quickly breaks back to the ball in off man
– Initiates great collisions in off man, which leads to turnovers
– Reads quarterback’s eyes and attacks with great timing
The Bad
– Stands too high in a half-turn run and struggles to break back to ball
– Can appear lackadaisical while covering vertical routes and gives up
– Low effort in the run game and does not fly to the ball
– Struggles to shed blocks
– Weak tackler who needs to clean up technique
– Older prospect who will turn 25 in September
– Worrisome injury history
Bio
– 27 starts across 6 seasons at Iowa
– 2024: 27 tackles, 1 TFL, 7 PBUs, 3 interceptions, including 1 for a touchdown
– Named third-team All-Big Ten
– Opted out of the last 3 games due to injury
– 2023: 42 tackles, 1 TFL, 8 PBUs and 1 interception
– Won team Comeback Player of the Year award after missing the 2022 season with an ankle injury
– 2021: 34 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 4 PBUs, and 4 interceptions
– Three-star prospect out of Montini Catholic in Illinois
– Earned second-team all-state Honors as a senior
– Led his defense to four-straight state playoff appearances
– Also competed in track and basketball, where he was a state champion
– Suspended for 2 games in 2023 for a gambling violation
Tape Breakdown
Jermari Harris has had some unfortunate luck in his career with injuries and a suspension for gambling, but he has turned himself into a good player who shows positive traits on tape. To start, Harris plays with supreme confidence and swagger, which translates to his technique. He never panics no matter who he is guarding. If he is in off man, his feet are calm and collected, and he breaks on the ball quickly. If his man is running vertical, he does a great job of using his physical hands to initiate a collision and make a play. When his man snaps off his route toward the middle of the field or the sideline, he calmly gets to his spot and erases the route. On this quick out, Harris jumps the route and makes an interception.
Harris eyes are constantly looking at the quarterback, and he attacks when the ball is in the air with great timing. His zone awareness is the best part of his game, and it looks like he is playing games with the quarterback with how well he reads his eyes. The combination of IQ and confidence makes him a successful zone defender who can make impact plays. On this play, Iowa is running 2-trap to the field, and he reads quarterback’s eyes and jumps off his man, forcing an incomplete pass.
As an outside third defender, Harris gets into his half turn with good hip flexibility and has great vertical speed in his half-turn run. He is able to keep up with receivers trying to take the top off the defense, but there are some plays where he flips his hips to early and stands straight up. This causes him to be slow out of breaks coming back to the ball. He will need to work on sinking his hips and not giving up ground so early to fix this problem, shown on this play at the top of the screen.
Overall, I would call his outside-third technique inconsistent. While he can fall into this problem of raising his pad level, he also shows impressive flashes where he stays calm and does not give up much ground and keeps his pad level low. This results in quick breaks to the ball and incompletions. On this play, he shows that ability to read the quarterback’s eyes and quickly get to his receiver, causing an incompletion.
In press man, Harris uses his strong arms to jam receivers at the line, messing up the timing of their route. He can deter their releases if he gets hands on them, and once he gets attached it is hard for receivers to shake him off. He displays good hand placement that will most likely not get him called for pass interference. His athletic ability allows him to really get into the receiver’s chest early, and he never loses that confidence and swagger. On this play against Jerimiah Smith, he gets into the Ohio State wide receiver’s body a couple yards off the ball and erases him from being an option.
Harris does a good job in all types of coverage, but he is deficient against the run. He gives low effort and on some plays no effort, not even trying to shed blocks. When the ball carrier gets to his area, he displays weak tackling technique, leaving his feet too early and diving at ankles. This resulted in strong-legged rushers to go right through him. When receivers get attached to him, they drive him down the field with ease and erase him from the play.
As a cornerback you do not have to be active against the run every play, but it is concerning that this low effort continually shows up. Another effort issue that I see is when he gets beat by a few steps vertically. He can give up and slow his feet down, accepting defeat.
When he does not get hands on early in press, he can get beat deep and fail to recover due to effort. On this play, Jeremiah Smith gets him back, and at around the 35-yard line, Harris turns his head and slows his feet down instead of sprinting to get back to his hip.
Conclusion
Jermari Harris had an interesting and long college career full of ups and downs. He has had medical concerns throughout his career and opted out of the last three games to rest for the NFL draft. Also, he will be turning 25 in September, which needs to be considered when thinking about his value. As a player, I like most of the things he does. He is a positive player in press and off-man coverage, but he is best in zone where he can read the quarterback’s eyes and impact the play.
I have concerns about his effort at times, but that can be coached up. He has the confidence to line up against anyone, but needs to turn that confidence into an every-down mindset and not take plays off. If he had no medical history and was younger, I would take him in the third round and see him as potentially a good starter. Instead, I see him as more of an early Day 3 prospect. My comp for him is Cam Taylor-Britt.
Projection: Early-Day 3
Depot Draft Grade: 7.4 – 4th Round (Rotational Player)
Games Watched: vs Iowa State (2024), at Ohio State (2024), vs Washington (2024)
