The Atlanta Falcons emerged from the 2020 NFL draft without any pass rushing EDGE players. The team signed Dante Fowler to a sizable deal to start but then decided against exercising the fifth-year option on disappointing first-round pick Takkarist McKinley.
The team desperately needs some more juice at the position, with only Steven Means rounding out the bottom of the roster. With the team preparing to get rid of their own disappointing pass rusher, maybe they can get something similar from another team?
Per Jason Butt of The Athletic, Thomas Dimitroff did exactly that.
BREAKING: The Falcons have agreed to trade an undisclosed draft pick to the Dolphins for edge rusher Charles Harris, per source. Harris was a first-round pick out of Missouri in 2017.
— Jason Butt (@JasonHButt) May 1, 2020
This is a popular time for players picked over TJ Watt. The Dolphins just cut Taco Charlton, McKinley is on his way out of Atlanta, and now Harris has a new home.
Harris, in comparison, makes McKinley look like a moderate success. Taken four spots ahead of McKinley, Harris has started only 8 games since 2017, notching a Jamaal Anderson-esque 3.5 sacks.
Harris received a lot of offseason praise from his coaching staff, but has never put together health and on-field performances. At 6-foot-3 and 252-pounds, Harris looks the part of an outside rusher. The Falcons must have liked something about him while scouting pass rushers in 2017, but it is hard to imagine him turning into an impact player after such a disappointing start to his career.
Update: Per NFL dot com’s Tom Pelissero’s reports it is a 7th-round pick.