Houston Texans Evade Disaster, Sign DL Marcus Harris to Practice Squad

The Preseason phenom finds himself on the practice squad after going unclaimed on waivers.

By some miracle, rookie defensive tackle Marcus Harris cleared waivers and was signed to the practice squad at 12:52PM Central Daylight Time, August 28, 2024. For 20 agonizing hours, Marcus Harris sat on the waiver wire, exposed to any rival NFL teams, looking to lay claim to diamonds in the rough. For 20 hours, the Houston Texans let one of their most promising late-round draft picks in recent history stay unsigned instead of offering him a roster spot.

I’ve been following Marcus Harris since the Hall of Fame game, and since then, my affinity for him has only grown stronger and more obnoxious. Right before the Hall of Fame Game, I wrote:

“ [Marcus] Harris is a strong, if undersized defensive lineman that was exceptionally productive against the run during his collegiate career, and totaled 11.5 tackles for loss in his final season at Auburn. These are some pretty gaudy numbers for a seventh round pick, so half of me is chomping at the bit to see him play in some real games, and the other half of me is nervous that he’ll just fall apart against NFL linemen. By the end of today, we should know a little bit more!”

Now that we’ve seen a full preseason of Harris, a full 103 snaps worth, I think it’s safe to say he realized a bit of the hype I had way back at the beginning of this month. In the four games he’s appeared in, Marcus Harris amassed five tackles, three stops, three total pressures, and a PFF grade of 67.4. These may not sound like exceptional statistics, but turn on some of his tape it becomes plain to see why he’s become somewhat of a fan favorite.

Although, despite all of my raving about Marcus Harris, it wasn’t like he was blowing away the competition out there. In Houston’s final preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams, Harris played the vast majority of the game and had many good and bad plays all throughout the day. He made big plays like this, where his strength and drive force him into the backfield and into the lap of Rams running back SoRodorick Thompson (#27):

Although he isn’t the player actually making the tackle, Harris is making a clear impact on this play. He’s not getting statistical credit for anything, but he’s clearly making the running back alter his direction.

But, Marcus Harris also has plays where his lack of size is plain to see. In one of the Rams’ last drives of the game, center Mike McAllister (#68) was able to roll Harris up and shove him to the side over and over again. That quickness and drive Harris has is good, but it can set him up to get pushed away from the ball by a more prepared interior line. In this play, you can see McAllister doing just that during a touchdown run by running back Zach Evans (#21):

But, in the very next play where Los Angeles decides to attempt the two-point conversion, you can see Harris getting the best of McAllister right off the snap, placing himself directly in front of Evans and leading him straight into the open arms of fellow practice squad signee Malik Fisher (#79).

I mean, this is pretty impressive for a seventh-round rookie. Sometimes rookies drafted that far down don’t even get a chance to play! Not only has Harris played, but he’s arguably been one of the most impressive Houston Texans players of the entire preseason. Of the eight Texans to play 100+ snaps this preseason, Harris had the third highest PFF score of them all at 67.4, only getting beat by practice squad teammates Solomon Byrd (69.8) and D’Angelo Ross (77.8).

Back during the 2024 NFL Draft, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein gave Marcus Harris a fifth-round draft projection, writing:

“Playmaking interior lineman who makes up for his lack of size with quickness and instincts. Harris punches above his weight class in the strength department, utilizing upper-body power and lower-body balance to fight the good fight. He’ll get moved around by bigger bodies, but he’s relentless and has the athleticism to find his way back into plays. He has skilled hands and the lateral quickness to dive into gaps as both a run defender and pass rusher. Harris’ best chance to succeed will be as a one-gapper in an even front where he can become a very good rotational defender or eventual starter.”

So far, I’d say Marcus Harris is fitting the bill as an up-and-coming defensive lineman. I may highly, highly disagree with Houston not signing him the 53-man roster, I’m still ecstatic that the Texans were able to keep him around for the 2024 season. He provides great insurance for the defensive line, but, given time, he could become far much more.

What do you think, though? Are you on the Marcus Harris hype train, or is he Just Another Guy – or a J.A.G. – to you? Let us know in the comments below! GO TEXANS!!!