Depth is king in this year’s defensive tackle class. With no true top-end talent, several players are jockeying to be drafted over one another. Ohio State’s Haskell Garrett fits this bill well. Once regarded as the top defensive tackle in this class, Garrett’s stock has dropped a good bit this season. His size is a major concern, although he does look bigger on film. However, Garrett does have an excellent amount of experience. Garrett is now fighting with the likes of Thomas Booker and even Phidarian Mathis to be the first tackle off the board on day three. Is he worth that selection? Let’s find out.
Make sure to check out all of our other NFL Draft Scouting Reports.
Player Bio
Name: Haskell Garrett
Jersey: No. 92
Position: Defensive Tackle
School: Ohio State
Class: Senior
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 300 lbs
Games Watched: Penn State (2021), Minnesota (2021), Alabama (2020)
Major Injury History: None
Player Breakdown
Block Shedding (10/15)
This is Garrett’s worst attribute. Unfortunately, it’s one of the most important for a defensive tackle. Garrett’s game hasn’t been built on him getting off blocks in the past. When he does, it’s often with a swim move or generic dip-club-rip. When he succeeds here, Garrett has the chance at making a play, but you’d like him to get more dangerous in this area.
Strength at the LOS (12.5/15)
For someone with such a small size, Garrett more than held his own at the line. Against Penn State especially, Garrett was double-teamed on tons of reps. Here, he didn’t budge one bit. Garrett was able to stand his ground and open up space for his linebackers to shoot the hole. He won’t really force a guy back with sheer strength, but he does enough to stay balanced throughout the rep.
Pass Rush (12/15)
Garret had 7.5 sacks over the last two seasons, and he wasn’t even set up in good opportunities to pass-rush scheme-wise. Like against the run, Garrett frequents that swim move. He’s been able to duck by a lineman’s counter with that move and gets in the backfield a fair amount. Garrett isn’t going to be a pass-rush specialist by any means in the NFL, though the foundation is there to be more than serviceable.
Consistency (11.25/15)
So many of these back-end defensive tackles have the same amount of consistency. Garrett follows suit with them. It’s tough for these guys to make a constant impact, and Garrett does more than some others. However, he isn’t the type of player offensive coordinators need to scheme around in either college or the NFL. What Garrett can do to have more of an impact on the next level is to continue staying strong at the point of attack. Every NFL organization would love a guy who can keep the space open, and Garrett has the grit to do so.
Push (7.25/10)
Garrett does have some pretty powerful hands, but there’s only so much you can do at 6-foot-2, 300 pounds. Garrett cannot simply shove a lineman into the quarterback as others can, but he has caught them a tad off-balance and done enough to get a win on some reps. With more functional strength, Garrett could have a really nice push and be able to drive the lineman back more.
Length Usage (6.5/10)
Without much length, Garrett does pretty well to use what he’s got. We see him trying to get low and set up that lower body to win leverage early. He’s no Thomas Booker in this area; however, Garrett can get the job done. Still, the lack of length is just killer to the scoring of this grade, and it will not be a strong suit of Garrett’s in the NFL.
Athleticism (5.5/10)
Garrett scored a shockingly low 3.25 raw athletic score throughout the pre-draft testing phase. The lack of explosiveness was in full effect with a morbid 24-inch vertical jump. Besides all this testing, Garrett does not look like a bad athlete on film. He’s relatively fleet-footed when working horizontally and can get around on a stunt pretty quickly. However, testing is a big part of the evaluation process, and it hurts mightily here.
Football IQ (7.5/10)
There are no complaints in regards to Garrett’s football IQ. He’s often one of the first players to react to the ball being snapped. He knows where to try and move players and what gaps to attack almost every play. Because of this, Ohio State was able to move Garrett around a good amount on that line. He’s a smart player, something that can give him a leg-up on his fellow defensive tackles.
Player Summary
Another one of these depth defensive tackles is in the books. Garrett is certainly not going to be for everyone. He’ll need to play in a 4-3 scheme or as a 3-4 defensive end. However, his pass-rush value doesn’t make you want to slot him in at the 3-4 position. As for a projection, Garrett can go almost anywhere on day three. He’ll probably be picked up in the fifth or sixth round, but a fourth-round selection wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world either. Regardless, whoever drafts Garrett will send him straight to the weight room and have him put on at least 15 pounds before he can get reps in the NFL.
Rookie Projection: Depth Piece
Third Year Projection: Solid Rotational Player
Player Grade (72.5/100): Fourth-Round Pick
Pro Comparison: Jashon Cornell
Check us out on our socials:
Twitter: @PTSTNews and @TalkPrimeTime
Facebook Page: Prime Time Sports Talk
Join our Facebook Group: Prime Time Sports Talk
Instagram: @primetimesportstalk
Follow Charlie Parent on Twitter @Charlie_Parent
Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
One Response