Anton Harrison Reminds Former NFL Scout of 49ers’ Trent Williams

The more I watched Oklahoma’s Anton Harrison on game film, the more he grew on me.

If you look up the word, “Mauler,” you just may see a picture of this left tackle in the dictionary.

The raw physical strength in his long arms is impressive.

It’s the kind of power that moves big men and moves them out with authority. There were several reps when he was locked up, but he showed he could fully extend his arms, lockout, and create space.

It was like watching someone bench-press defensive linemen.

Harrison has strong hands

If he gets his hands on a defender, it’s over.

In pass protection, he has violent hands and he loves to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Either that, or he likes getting up high at pad level and clamping on to pass rushers like a vice-grip.

On runs in his immediate area, he strongly controls at the point of attack.

He’s super aggressive

Harrison combines this brute power with extreme aggression.

He pushes and shoves. He loves to plaster defenders into the ground whenever possible.

Strong physical contact is the name of the game for this Oklahoma road paver.

He will go out of his way to show everyone just how aggressive he is within the framework of the rules.

Give him an “A” for effort

Harrison gives it everything he has to give on every play.

I did not see one rep in three games where he dogged it.

Even when Harrison was getting beat through the back door in pass protection, he compensated with effort and tended to get the job done.

Needs work on waist bending

That brings us to what he needs to work on.

At first, I thought it was an issue with his lateral foot speed, but he showed at the 12:49 mark in the 4th quarter against Nebraska which is clearly not the issue.

He slid out and maintained his base with ease against speed on that rep.

There were several reps Harrison tended to lower his head and waist-bend. In these situations, he would get turned and open the back gate of the pocket.

This needs to be cleaned up.

#71 Anton Harrison 6-foot-5, 315 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Grade: First-Round – Early Fall Report 2022

First-Round Mock Big Board: TBD

Projected by 16.2% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of October 14, 2022 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2021 game film reviewed: Texas, Nebraska and Baylor (click to watch games viewed to form this evaluation)

Level of competition: High

2021 grade: 85.6 pass protection (pff.com)

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report:

Physical and aggressive active mauler with long arms, decent techniques, and athletic ability. Complete tackle. Maintains even base setting up in pass pro while shielding shallow pocket depth. Good hand usage. It’s over whenever the challenge is head-on. Catches and absorbs well. Solid anchor. Shows a good understanding of the position when picking up stunts, blitzes and blocks well to the inside. Can lower his head at the backdoor and end up in a chase position. Compensates with effort. Tenacious at the point of attack on running plays. Gets after it and stays after it. Occasional pancake blocks. Can drive out and move the line of scrimmage down by the goal line. Can turn inside or out to seal off lanes in his immediate area. Looked good pulling with adequate playing speed. Gets to the second level, but inconsistent sustaining in space. In the mold of 49ers’ Trent Williams.

What to watch for during the 2022 college football season:

1. Does he waist-bend and open the back gate in pass pro?
2. How does he do against pass-rush moves?
3. Does he consistently hit the target pulling on run blocks?
4. How well does he sustain run blocks in space?

Harrison has that franchise tackle look and has the kind of effort level that will move the meter.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.