Tre Harris' Size, Confidence Stand Out From The Pack

It takes a certain mentality and swagger to play wide receiver at a high level in the NFL. If anyone questioned Tre Harris’ mentality before the NFL Combine, they left his media appearance with an answer. 

“Something I take pride in is going out there and taking the DB’s soul.”

Harris is one of the bigger wide receivers in this draft class and has that dawg in him to go out there and want to impose himself against defenders. It’s the attitude receivers need to succeed against the level of defenders they see weekly. However, it’s not just a physical mindset, he wants to showcase the multitude of ways he can win at the same time. 

Harris feels like he brings toughness and savviness to running routes, and at the end of the day, even if he’s covered, he believes he's open and can go make a play while the ball is in the air. Putting on the tape, everything he mentioned rings true as he shows versatility in the different ways he wins and was one of the more efficient receivers in college football last season.

He has the mindset and fluidity to be an outside receiver at the next level, and when asked, he said he prefers to play on the boundary and loves to be on an island against a defensive back. He takes pride in his craft and beating defenders with his nuance, footwork, and manipulation tactics within his routes. He said his favorite route to run is the slant. With all the different ways it can be run with nuance, fakes, and tempos, he appreciates the details of being a route-running technician. 

It’s easy to see the care and time he takes to attempt to perfect his craft on the field and how that starts off the field. While detailing his pre-snap and post-snap process, Harris said he always looks at the situation and down and distance before anything else. Then, he checks the safety and linebackers to find the “triangle” in the defense to attack and understand the defensive leverage of the play. That gets him to the post-snap reads of where the safety goes and how the defense moves around him on any given play. He’s in tune with his surroundings and always looking for the extra advantage.

Harris wants to be a consistent player, starting with never being satisfied with the status quo of where he is now. He wants to consistently improve because staying the same in the NFL makes it easier for defenses to plan for you. He’s big on his individual mentality and said that when he’s lined up against someone, it's his willpower versus theirs. Whoever’s will breaks first loses the rep, and he strives never to let that be him. 

Harris is a gifted mover and creative player with his route-running, but he can win in many ways at his size, making him an extremely intriguing prospect in this wide receiver class. He plans to run and jump while here at the NFL Combine, and when asked what he thinks he’ll run, he said with a big smile: “We’ll see.”