Falcons player profile: LS Josh Harris

We’re finally approaching the beginning of the 2020 NFL season, with only a week left until the first games kick off. I’ll be continuing my Player Profile series in the meantime, where we’ll take a look at each of the players on Atlanta’s roster. I’ll break down their measurables, past production, and try to project their 2020 season with the Falcons.

After taking a look at the projected starters, we now turn our attention to the depth on the Falcons’ roster. Today I’ll be discussing LS Josh Harris—an oft-forgotten core special teams player who has been a reliable presence for the Falcons since joining the team in 2012. Long snappers deserve player profiles, too!

LS Josh Harris

Age: 31

Contract: $1.05M cap hit in 2020, under contract through 2021 ($1.09M APY)

Career Production: 123 games played | 20 total tackles

2019 Production: 16 games played | 2 total tackles

Previous Teams: UDFA signed by the Atlanta Falcons (2012-present)

Measurables: 6’1, 252 | 4.82s 40-yard dash | 15 bench reps

When you think special teams, many different players come to mind. The kicker. The punter. Coverage teams and gunners. Blockers and returners. All these players contribute in significant ways to the special teams units, but one player is often forgotten: the long snapper. This largely thankless position is responsible for the snaps on punts and field goal attempts, and having a good one is a key component of a successful special teams unit. Luckily for the Falcons, they’ve had a reliable long snapper ever since 2012: Josh Harris.

Harris came to Atlanta in 2012 as a UDFA out of Auburn. By all accounts, he was one of the top long snapper prospects in the 2012 NFL Draft class, and he took over the Falcons’ job almost immediately. Since then, Harris has handled the job with very few issues—he’s been about as reliable as they come in terms of snap performance, and his durability has been excellent. Harris played in all 16 games from 2012-2017, before missing a handful of starts and winding up on IR late in the 2018 season.

Harris came back healthy in 2019 and once again played in all 16 games. While Harris is past the age 30 mark now—he’ll be 31 for the 2020 season—he’s shown no signs of slowing down. He’s also consistently contributed as a tackler on special teams, notching a few special teams stops every season. Long snapper is a position that is generally forgotten about as long as the player is good—and that’s what the Falcons have in Josh Harris.

Projection: Josh Harris will once again be the Falcons long snapper in 2020 after returning to full health in 2019. He’s about as reliable as they come and always adds a handful of special teams tackles to his snapping abilities.