(Editor's Note: While the start of the 2025 NFL Draft isn't until late April, it's never too early to profile some of the key participants. The staff of DallasCowboys.com intends to preview the landscape of the draft's top prospects, with an emphasis on possible Cowboys draft picks – from the first round to the last. Today's featured player is Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon)
- Name: Derrick Harmon
- Position: DT
- College: Oregon
- Height/Weight: 6-4 1/2 / 313
- Did You Know? Prior to his final season at Oregon, Harmon spent three years in East Lansing at Michigan State, an hour-and-a-half drive from his hometown of Detroit. In those three seasons combined, he tallied just three and a half sacks and one forced fumble. His final year with the Ducks, everything came together, as Harmon finished with five sacks, two forced fumbles and 45 tackles, all career-highs, en route to a second-team All American campaign.
Where He's Projected:
Harmon has typically come off the board early on Day 2 in most projections, but some have seen him sneak into the back end of the first round. He's widely considered to be amongst the best in this year's defensive tackle class.
How He Helps the Cowboys:
Size is one of the biggest things that the Cowboys are in need of up front on the defensive line, and Harmon brings that and then some. He's a big, wide-bodied defender that is hard to move and plugs up gaps well in the run game with a quick punch and great twitch right off the bat.
That athleticism translates and allows him to move around anywhere on the line and can help him fit in across several fronts, and he uses those quick moves up front with a good amount of speed to move very well at his size.
Harmon may not be a double-digit sack guy, but that's what Odighizuwa is for, and their play styles would have a chance to complement one another nicely if paired together. He has a way of playing instinctually to help out his linebackers, which would be a welcome addition to a defense that has struggled against the run but looks to turn things around under Matt Eberflus.
Final Thoughts:
Harmon can beat double teams, and with attention up front going to Osa Odighizuwa and Micah Parsons already, that could really open things up for Harmon to flourish with the Cowboys.
His 34 3/8" arms are a huge plus, and a large part of what makes Harmon such an attractive prospect for NFL teams. Still, he sometimes uses those arms and those arms only in his tackling technique, something that will need to develop if he wants to improve as a defensive tackle. That, however, is something that you can fix with coaching. A massive wingspan is something you can't, and Harmon has it.
