For the second time Saturday, the Green & White moved up to add a piece to their defense. A round after climbing for Pittsburgh CB Darrelle Revis, the New York Jets found trading partners in the Green Bay Packers and acquired Michigan LB David Harris, a quality linebacker, with the 47th overall selection.
In addition to Harris, the Jets also received the Packers' seventh-round selection (No. 235) in exchange for their second-round selection (No. 63), their third-round pick (No. 89) and a sixth-rounder (No. 191).
"We thought it was a good opportunity and we took advantage of it,” said general manager Mike Tannenbaum of the Harris trade. “We had done some scenarios over the last few days and we felt like if a couple of players had gone down to the second round, we would try to go back up.
"We were fortunate enough to be able to go back up to 47. It cost us our third and then we flipped 6 and 7, which was a net effect of 44 spots backwards from the sixth to the seventh round. Ironically, we reacquire our seventh-round pick which Green Bay had, which kind of works out well. So now we are sitting here with a sixth and a seventh."
The 6'2", 239-pound Harris, who played on the inside for the Wolverines, was a key cog in a rush defense that allowed a nation-leading 43.38 yards per game. He led the team with 96 tackles and was named second-team All-American. Harris was a force in the opposition backfield, racking up three sacks and 14 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. For his dominant 2006 performance, he shared UM's Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player Award with tailback Mike Hart.
“David is someone we have done a lot of work on. He played for Coach [Jim] Herrmann, our linebacker coach,” said Tannenbaum. “He played obviously in a big program and is another player we feel will fit in with what we are trying to do.”
As a junior, Harris also led the team with 88 tackles. Injuries slowed him as a freshman and sophomore, but he started 11 games at outside 'backer in 2005 and captured the Roger Zatkoff Award as Michigan's top linebacker. Herrmann was Harris' defensive coordinator from 2002-05.
“This guy is a natural leader. Football is really important to him. He was great at Indy," Tannenbaum said of the combine workouts. "Like I said, having Jim Herrmann on our staff is great to get some additional information. But he is a really good player and a great person off the field."
David Harris Wallpaper
