Denver Broncos fan favorite Chris Harris Jr., a Pro-Bowl cornerback, has been proving his doubters wrong from the minute he arrived in The Mile High City.
Undrafted after starring at Kansas for four seasons, Harris had no choice but to take on a me-against-the-world mentality, because the NFL culture didn’t accept him. The 5-foot-10, 199-pound corner wrote about that battle extensively for [The Players’ Tribune on Thursday, in a piece titled: Don’t Call Me Underrated][1].
His account kicks off with a reminder about his KU career — Harris started for four seasons, even as a freshman on a team that would win the Orange Bowl. But all 32 NFL teams passed on the experienced corner in the 2011 draft.
Upon joining the Broncos, Harris found out breaking through as an undrafted rookie would be even harder than he expected.
> “There’s a huge stigma to going
> undrafted,” Harris wrote at
> ThePlayersTribune.com. “Not a lot of
> people talk about it, but there is.
> For a guy who’s drafted, and in
> particular drafted high, you’re
> allowed to make so many more mistakes.
> People want you to succeed, and any
> shortcomings you have are viewed as
> temporary. An ‘adjustment phase.’
>
> “When you’re undrafted, you just don’t
> have that same margin for error. You
> have to go above and beyond — and then
> above and beyond that.”
Harris goes on to explain how other team’s coaches, players and some media members hope to see undrafted players fall flat and make a mistake.
> “Because if you do make one, they can
> think to themselves, ‘Oh. That’s why
> he went undrafted. Okay. We’re fine.
> We did our jobs.'”
Harris provides an interesting perspective on the subject — one he would know far more about than those of us watching on Sundays do. He paints the NFL as quite a cliquish environment.
Along those lines, consider another point brought up by Harris. [Pro Football Focus rated him the No. 4 overall player in the NFL for 2014][2]. The guys ahead of him? J.J. Watt, Aaron Rodgers and Justin Houston.
Later, the NFL Network released a top-100 list. Somehow Harris didn’t even make the cut.
That makes almost as much sense as the Broncos’ official online store not selling Harris T-shirts ([which it doesn’t)][3].
Appropriately, Harris closes his story by pointing out the sure-fire way to get people to remember him: “Win the Super Bowl.”
Chris Harris Jr. is one of the best in the league at seeing through WRs & exploding out of his plant. @ChrisHarrisJr pic.twitter.com/3OJ83pmtqy
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 14, 2015
You can watch Harris — with fellow KU product Aqib Talib — in prime time tonight, when his Broncos (1-0) play at Kansas City (1-0) on Thursday Night Football (CBS and NFL Network).
[1]: http://www.theplayerstribune.com/chris-harris-broncos-undrafted/
[2]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2015/may/19/pro-football-focus-taps-chris-harris-the/
[3]: http://shop.denverbroncos.com/Denver_Broncos_Mens_T-Shirts
