Lovie Smith prepared to expand Christian Harris’ role in defense

Lovie Smith is ready to turn around the Houston Texans’ fortunes after a disappointing 1-4-1 start to their 2022 season, and judging from his Monday post-mortem with the media following their loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, rookie linebacker Christian Harris will play a big role in their future.

Asked where Harris stands among the Texans’ deep linebacker group, Smith seemed confident in the rookie’s ability to keep up with opponents after seeing the film from his NFL debut on Sunday. There is a process, Smith explained, and Harris is playing his part flawlessly.

“It’s pretty simple on how we do it,” Smith said. “Who are our best options that we feel like we can be successful with defensively? If we think he’s one of them, we’ll find ways for him to get on the field. I would say Christian Harris is one of those guys and we found a way to start the process yesterday. He didn’t do anything yesterday that said we should give him less. To me, he did things that said give him more.”

Though he only recorded one tackle, Harris proved to be a capable option in the middle of Houston’s defense and showed an ability to maintain gap discipline that helped stymie the Raiders before the floodgates opened in the fourth quarter. Make no mistake, there will still be a learning curve for the young linebacker, but the pieces are certainly there for Harris to develop into an exciting player.

His Pro Bowl potential was evident on the film from his time at the University of Alabama, and in the right system, he should be able to maximize his talent to make a huge impact for the Texans in the coming years. With the trade deadline just a week away and Houston’s linebacker corps looking to be loaded with potential trade candidates, Smith may find himself leaning on Harris’ contributions sooner than some might have expected given his outstanding play against Las Vegas.