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Sean McVay likes what he saw from rookie Jacob Harris in preseason debut
Cameron DaSilva
August 15, 2021 7:24 am PT
There may not be a Rams rookie who generated more hype this offseason than tight end Jacob Harris. The raw pass catcher out of UCF is 6-foot-5 and has 4.39 speed, making him a unique player on offense in Los Angeles. He’s going to contribute on special teams as a rookie, and while there’s still some work to do when it comes to playing tight end, he looked comfortable on offense Saturday night.
Harris impressed with four catches for 43 yards, leading the team in both departments and looking the part of an NFL receiver. But the Rams want him to be a tight end, and that involves blocking in both the passing game and rushing attack.
Although he didn’t do much of that against the Chargers, that didn’t stop him from catching the eye of Sean McVay in the loss. While McVay sees room for improvement, he liked what he saw from Harris as a receiver.
“I thought we saw a lot of good things,” McVay said after the game. “For him to be able to make some plays, I think he can learn from some things as well in terms of just cleaning it up, ball security. But I liked his ability to break tackles. You can see the catch radius. He had a nice little in-breaking route on the second down and got us about 18 yards. He did a lot of things he can learn from it. I thought, overall, a positive experience for him.”
Harris did fumble the ball after a catch, but the Rams were fortunately able to fall on it and keep possession. That’s why McVay touched on ball security for the rookie, which is something every player can work on at this point in the year. That’s especially true for Harris, who has just two years of experience as a receiver.
Harris played wideout in college and only contributed on offense for two seasons in 2019 and 2020. The Rams are transitioning him to tight end, but they moved him around the formation a bunch Saturday night, which McVay was happy to see.
If he’s going to be a full-time tight end, though, he needs to improve as a blocker and work closer to the formation.
“We moved him around a little bit. He was mostly detached from the core tonight. So what his role remains to be, his role is to be determined for us offensively but it was encouraging to see him do those types of things,” McVay said. “I expect him to be a big contributor on special teams. I know Joe (DeCamillis) and Dwayne Stukes love what he’s done. He’s got a good look in his eye. You can see he’s a player who’s excited about learning. Wes Phillips has done a nice job. I think getting him back in, having a couple weeks now to settle in and be able to do more because that tight end position involves so many intricacies, whether you’re in line or detached in the slot as a receiver like he was tonight. So looking forward to see him continue to grow.”
Harris is a raw player with plenty of room to grow, but it was an encouraging start against the Chargers.
