Harold Landry entered the 2017 season as the man-to-beat in a weak edge rusher class. A three-year starter, Landry emerged as one of the top defensive ends in the country in 2016, racking up 16.5 sacks, a single-season record for Boston College,  and seven forced fumbles in route to second-team All-American honors. He only played in eight games in 2017 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. His production dipped to the tune of only five sacks this past season.

Boston College utilized Landry as a weak-side defensive end with his hand in the ground from 5 and 7-tech alignments. He possesses below-average size with good athletic ability with very good acceleration, good flexibility, and solid change of direction, balance, quickness, and explosion. The Lions met with him at the NFL Combine. 

Positives

Landry displays very good upfield burst off the ball, reacting quickly to the snap and getting his first steps into the ground quickly to challenge both upfield and laterally. He has enough initial explosion to win off the edge on burst alone against college tackles, particularly when he can pin his ears back in obvious passing situations. He has impressive ankle flexion and uses his free arm to slap and hold extension to keep free of the tackle to allow him to maintain speed around the edge.

He displays good timing, flexibility, and lateral burst to challenge in the twist game. The rusher has the want-to needed to make plays when things don’t go according to plan, able to pursue the quarterback outside the pocket or pull them to the ground on his 2nd effort. He’s elevates his game when it matters the most. He doesn’t bite on play action.

He recorded three sacks against Virginia Tech this year before leaving with injury, showing off his full arsenal of speed and effort to finish on the quarterback.

Against the run, Landry plays with good pad level and strong hands that allow him to hold ground and extension at the point of attack. He wreaks havoc against tight ends and off-balance lineman. The former second-team All-American utilizing his get-off when slanting inside. Landry displays good hand strength and placement when setting the edge.

Negatives

At this stage, Landry lacks a refined pass rush package. He doesn’t use his hands to clear around the edge well or have a go-to finesse move. When he doesn’t win initially, he doesn’t have a good sense of counter moves due to lack of timing. Landry gets next to no push when he converts to power even when he plays with good leverage.

Landry is often slow to diagnose blocking schemes and will get washed off the ball when he isn’t the aggressor at the point of attack; he loses his chest and slows his feet. He particularly struggled against pull blockers, especially against Notre Dame when he faced Nelson and McGlinchey. On the edge, he can get impatient playing contain against zone read and misdirection concepts.

Projection

Landry’s decline in play this season was overstated. He offers an enticing skillset as a pass rusher that screams double digit sack potential if he can continue to grow his game. He’d be a weak-side end in Detroit, playing as a plus rotational player that could provide juice in obvious passing situations. He’s best utilized the further he is out from the ball. He could be a solid replacement for Ezekiel Ansah if the star rusher leaves next year in free agency.

Grade: 5.90 (Future Starter)