Every year when I work on these breakout player profiles, I always end up noticing a few guys I probably should have been playing closer attention to already. One such player this year is Chicago defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris.
Roy Robertson-Harris will make you learn his name this season with the Bears
Just like his teammate Akiem Hicks, the defensive end is powerful to jack up OL but doesn’t rely solely on his brute strength.
Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images
I really don’t know why he hadn’t caught my eye in a memorable way until now. I mean, his name is distinctive and it’s pretty damn hard to miss a guy who is 6’5 and 292 pounds. But I will admit, to my shame, I wasn’t really familiar up until now.
I am so very happy I fixed that.
Robertson-Harris has some really impressive film from last season. That is one big, strong dude who knows how to jack up blockers, then quickly get off those blockers to make plays. He doesn’t actually resemble his teammate, all-world defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, but the ways in which they both dominate people on the field could make them identical twins.
While I’m on the subject, though, Hicks does look like you would expect an interior defensive lineman to look at 6’4 and over 330 pounds with, let’s call it, a “husky” physique (everybody who was on the chubby side growing up, including myself, knows what “husky” means lol). Robertson-Harris, on the other hand, is one of those guys who looks like a normal-sized human being right up until you see him next to an actual normal-sized human being.
[whispers] *Robertson-Harris kinda reminds me of Julius Peppers in that way.*
That cat is built more like a big wide receiver than a defensive tackle, but he will still kick your ass up and down the field regardless.
After looking him up it all makes a little more sense, though. Robertson-Harris was signed as an undrafted back in 2016 when he was “just” 265 pounds. Back then he was expected to play an edge rusher type of role. However, he ended up staying on the non-football illness list all that season, which is curious because he came back the next preseason having evidently gained over 25 pounds of what must have been lean muscle. I have many questions, but hey, I guess whatever works.
All I do know is somehow, some way over the course of his rookie season, Robertson-Harris transformed himself into the behemoth before us today.
Oh and for the record, another way in which Roberston-Harris reminds me of Hicks is while both men are strong enough to jack up other 300-pound plus human beings with ease, neither relies exclusively on his brute strength to make plays. Robertson-Harris is really active with his hands, he has quick feet, and the guy can run around you damn near as easily as he can run through you.
And that’s saying something.
That applies whether Robertson-Harris is playing the run or rushing the passer. I love the way he switches between using power and finesse moves when he is in the game. I also like that he has several different moves of each variety so he can keep throwing different stuff at the offensive linemen.
Robertson-Harris could make a lot of plays just by overpowering blockers, but that would also be a lazy way out and he would miss out on other plays he could make by being unpredictable. The fact that Robertson-Harris does switch it up shows a lot of maturity as a player, and he hasn’t even played much to date.
I’d venture to say if he weren’t stuck behind a guy as talented as Hicks, Robertson-Harris would probably be a starter by now.
And a damn good one at that. Barring injury, I don’t see Robertson-Harris being able to unseat Hicks quite yet, but if he continues to progress at the rate he has so far in his career, he might make it a lot easier for the Bears to move on from Hicks in the coming years. He has that kind of potential.
For now, what I would actually like to see more of is Hicks and Robertson-Harris on the field at the same time, particularly on passing downs.
With the amount of mayhem both of those guys can create inside, it would make it much harder for teams to try to concentrate on Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd off the edges. I have a feeling the Bears will grant me my wish quite a bit this season. If you watched the their first preseason game against the Panthers, you know exactly what I mean because you saw Robertson-Harris demolish a center on the way to getting a sack right before halftime of that game.
Robertson-Harris is a big-time disruptive force up the field, and he is able to affect the outcome of plays even if he isn’t ultimately the guy who makes the tackle. If he can stay healthy this year, I believe his productivity overall will really take off, but his pass-rush productivity in particular should really make a leap forward. Not just with sacks, of which he had three last season, but with pressures as well.
And I can tell you this much: there isn’t a quarterback in the league who is going to want to take many hits from that guy.
Robertson-Harris isn’t likely to start this year, but I still believe he is going to have a huge season as a backup. The more he plays, the more destruction he is going to unleash on opposing offenses. The sky is really the limit for him because he can line up and play pretty much everywhere up front.
If you are like I was and haven’t heard much about Robertson-Harris up until now, then you should definitely take note, because I have a feeling that after this season everyone will know his name.
Confidence level: High
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