Derrick Harmon knew that the best thing he could have done to improve his chances of fulfilling his dream of making it to the NFL was to leave the comfort of home and challenge himself in a new environment.
The defensive tackle, who looks like he’d be a nice fit for the Buffalo Bills, is a native of Detroit who stayed close to home when he began his college career at Michigan State and spent three seasons as a Spartan, the last two as a starter.
But Harmon felt that he was not getting what he needed in that program, and the only way he would be able to flash his true talent and improve his profile for the 2025 NFL Draft was to enter the transfer portal prior to the 2024 season. Once there, he chose to head out to perennial powerhouse Oregon.
“Talked to my family, talked to my village,” Harmon said at the NFL scouting combine on his decision to leave Michigan State. “They told me to just pray on it, and that’s what I did. I just prayed on it and that was the best decision for me. I feel like it was the best fit for me. It was a hard decision because I went 2,000 miles away from Michigan. That was probably the hardest decision that I’ve had to make, but I had to make it for my future.”
Derrick Harmon exceled at Oregon
Turns out it was a pretty wise decision because playing with more talent around him on the Ducks’ defense, his own play took a quantum leap forward. In 14 games he led all FBS defensive tackles with 55 QB pressures and had a stellar pass rush win rate of 17.6%. He also made 45 tackles, 10.5 for lost yardage including five sacks, batted down four passes and forced two fumbles.
That earned him Associated Press third-team All-American status as he helped lead the Ducks to a 13-0 record and the Big 10 championship before a season-ending loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl in the College Football Playoff.
The Bills should be interested in a player who could become the first Oregon defensive tackle picked in the first round since Haloti Ngata went No. 12 overall to the Ravens in 2006 and went on to an outstanding 13-year NFL career.
Harmon does not have the same girth that someone like Michigan’s 331-pound Kenneth Grant provides, and size is what the Bills sorely need at tackle. But Harmon played at 317 pounds last year and he could easily add useful weight to his 6-foot-4 frame.
And what should work in his favor, at least in the eyes of the Bills, is that he showed the ability to line up in different gaps at Oregon, something he did not do at Michigan State when he was exclusively a three-technique, the position Ed Oliver plays for the Bills.
At Oregon last year, Pro Football Focus logged him for 28 nose tackle snaps, 353 in the three-technique spot, and 209 either over or on the outside of a tackle. Yes, the Bills are in more need of a true one-technique, but Harmon’s talent would be
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