Pros and Cons of Lions Re-Signing Will Harris
Defensive back Will Harris emerged as a resourceful depth piece in the Lions' secondary this past season.
The fourth-year pro made the full-time transition to cornerback in 2022, after spending the majority of his first three NFL seasons at safety. And, it may have saved the now 27-year-old's career.
To put it lightly, Harris -- a 2019 third-round pick of the Lions out of Boston College -- wasn't a very productive safety. In fact, he ranked among the top-10 worst safeties in the league each year from 2019-2021, and he finished the 2021 campaign ranked 91st out of 92 safeties, per Pro Football Focus.
Injuries to Detroit's cornerbacks room then necessitated a position change for Harris in the latter half of the '21 season. Most notably, in Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals, Harris, while lining up on the outside at cornerback, permitted just 24 yards his way, and received PFF's third-highest grade of the week for a Lions defender.
Fast-forward to the 2022 campaign, Harris' best season as a pro and the first time in his career in which he played the majority of his snaps at cornerback.
Per PFF, he ended up logging 68 percent of his defensive snaps at nickel cornerback, followed by 15 percent of them at outside corner, 15 percent of them at box safety and two percent of them at free safety.
And, from Week 9 on, he was Detroit's No. 1 nickel corner, taking over the job on a full-time basis after Mike Hughes was moved to the outside in response to Amani Oruwariye's demotion.
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Jeff Hanisch, USA TODAY Sports
Overall wise, Harris suited up for 15 games, and made 10 starts over the past season. And, he finished the campaign with his first career interception, as well as four passes defensed and a forced fumble for a second straight season. He also produced the highest PFF grade of any Lions corner in 2022, finishing with a mark of 63.7 (66th out of 235 corners).
Give Harris some credit for the above and also for the fact that the performance of Detroit's secondary improved after he became the full-time starter at nickel.
In fact, after allowing a completion percentage of 69.3 percent and a passer rating of 108.5 in Weeks 1-8, those numbers from Weeks 9-18 dropped to 59 percent and 83.4, respectively, with Harris starting at nickel.
Now, the Lions are presented with the decision of whether to re-sign Harris this offseason. Harris, an unrestricted free agent, made a base salary of $2,510,000 in 2022, according to Spotrac.
For all the strides he made this past season, including the immense amount of versatility he displayed, there is still a bit of concern with Harris, due to his significantly uneven play since becoming a pro.
It's why I wouldn't offer Harris more than a two-year deal.
If I were Detroit general manager Brad Holmes, I would present the do-it-all defensive back with a two-year contract worth $3 million annually ($6M total). And, if he doesn't accept that, I'd let him walk in free agency.
