Atlanta Falcons select Zach Harrison in third round of 2023 NFL Draft

Former Ohio State EDGE Zach Harrison has landed at his new NFL home. After declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft following a four-year career in Columbus, Harrison was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 75 overall pick in the third round.

Harrison’s entrance into the professional ranks comes on the heels of a career year in 2022. The home-state product put up his best numbers since joining the team: 34 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four passes deflected, three fumbles forced and one interception. That is doing it all right there. Harrison was a monster playmaker for the Buckeye defense in 2022.

While this past fall featured his best season at OSU by far, he was still productive in other seasons. He played regularly in all four years there, totaling just shy of 100 tackles with 97, along with 11 sacks and five forced turnovers.

Harrison played high school football at Orantangy Orange (OH), where he was rated as one of the top prospects in the entire country in his cycle. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Zach Harrison was the No. 7 overall player and No. 1 player in Ohio for the 2019 class. He originally committed to Ohio State back in December of 2018 and was a massive in-state grab for OSU.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Zach Harrison

NFL analyst Lance Zierlein broke down Harrison’s profile over on NFL.com, where he wrote the following about the former Buckeye star:

“Harrison is big and long with the ability to neutralize base blocks as a 4-3 base end, but his gradual movement and lack of playmaking urgency limited his overall production. Harrison has the physical tools to create occasional advantages early in the rush but needs to get better at capitalizing on them. His size and length will always be appealing, but a more fiery demeanor on the field might be needed to raise his status beyond rotational end.”

This NFL Draft pundit is enamored with Harrison’s physical tools and believes there’s a clear path to a potentially good pro player. With that said, Zierlein thinks he has to improve into a more polished pass rusher in order to really make a difference at the next level. Sounds like the former Buckeye is an interesting bet as a project who just needs some to develop.