He was once my sleeper pick for the Pats, as people seemed to forget about him after this years injury (torn Biceps tendon). As the draft nears, and there is more info floating around, he seems to be climbing up draftboards..
Pro Football draft weekly (draft annual) says:
“ Strengths:
Very fluid for his size with great functional playing strength. Good athlete. Shows good initial quickness… Good strength to play 2x teams. Effective bull rusher…” and a whole lot more.
Weaknesses.:
Durability has been a concern through his career. Needs to develop a countermove as a pass rusher.”
Rated 3rd overall for DT from pro football weekly
http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFLDraft/Player+Rankings/DefTackles.htm
Rated 28th overall prospect by Scouts Inc
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft07/index
From their evaluation:
“Strengths: Is tall with adequate bulk and even more room on his frame to get bigger. He caries his weight extremely well and is a fluid athlete for his size. Shows good initial quickness and the ability to disrupt the run consistently. Is able to change directions quickly and also shows some closing burst ... He is big enough to hold his ground versus the run when he gets good positioning and stays low
Weaknesses: He has never been very productive as a pass rusher. He seems to lack awareness and instincts in that regard. He also needs to use his hands better in order to get off of blocks. He is stout versus the run but lacks explosive upper body strength…”
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft/tracker/player?id=10744 (sub. only)
Rated 18 overall by Mel Kiper
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft07/insider/columns/story?columnist=kiper_jr_mel&id=2815549
Did a full combine (though he is still recovering from injury)
Harrell, Justin
DL
DT
23
6043
300
0
2/14/1984
5.04
24
30.5
4.79
0
900
7.63?
