Texans LB Christian Harris: 'Underappreciated?
Is it possible to underappreciate a player your coach speaks so highly of?
The idea might seem to be trivial, but sometimes, a lack of value can drive players away from their respective teams. And for the Houston Texans, Christian Harris is not a player they'd like that to happen to.
In a recent AFC analysis, CBS Sports identified one player on each team who it felt was underappreciated.
"Not every important player is nationally recognized, or at least as much as they should be,” the site wrote. "We're highlighting some of the conference's most underappreciated talent going into the new year."
Harris was the Texans' pick, entering his second season with the team after a successful rookie season. On the year, the 22-year-old amassed 74 total tackles and a sack, but while there is much more room to grow, Houston's DeMeco Ryans took notice early.
"What excites me about Christian is just his God-given ability," Ryans said. "Not many linebackers that are fast or explosive as Christian Harris is. What he's capable of becoming in this league, he's capable of becoming a really, really great linebacker. He just has to continue to improve."
Improving will be key, but what makes him underappreciated around the league?
Perhaps it was his hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for the beginning of the season. Harris only appeared in 12 games, after all, starting 11 of them. But he made his presence felt nonetheless.
"Harris was busy in 11 rookie starts, chipping in all over the field with six tackles for loss, five pass deflections and three QB hits," CBS Sports wrote. "New coach DeMeco Ryans has since hailed his "God-given ability" as a future three-down starter, signaling an expanded role [for him]."
And as mentioned before, the Texans don't seem to be under-valuing the rising second-year linebacker. He's set to become a major impactor for Houston's up-and-coming defense next year, joining Jalen Pitre and Derek Stingley Jr., so that's taken care of.
The rest of the league is a different story, however. And if they begin to underappreciate Harris, they'll likely find out themselves just how dangerous he can be.
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