2022 Chiefs Draft Prospect: Haskell Garrett

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NAME: Haskell Garrett

POSITION: Defensive Tackle

SCHOOL: Ohio State

HEIGHT: 6’2”

WEIGHT: 300 pounds

CAREER BACKGROUND

Originally from Vermont, Haskell Garrett briefly relocated to Hawai’i during his youth. He would then settle in Nevada, where he attended Bishop Gorman High School. The senior high school campaign saw him finish with 54 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and one interception. Overall, Garrett recorded 56.5 tackles for loss and 25 sacks throughout his high school career.

He was a one-time 4A Sunset/Southwest League defensive most valuable player. Elsewhere, the defender was a first-team Nevada all-state pick for his senior season and participated in the 2017 U.S. Army All-American Game. Bishop Gorman went a perfect 43-0 during his three seasons on the team and won state and overall national championships in all three years. Coming out of high school, Garrett was rated as a four-star recruit. Scout ranked him as the fourth best defensive tackle prospect in his class and as the 47th best player overall. Garrett eventually decided to play college football for Ohio State.

Rotational Piece

Throughout his first three seasons with the Buckeyes, Garrett was largely a rotational piece among the defensive line, playing in 33 games. His production was not always consistently present. However, Garrett still provided significant resistance during some crucial games for the school. He recorded 20 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one pass deflection during the course of those three seasons.

Routine Starter

Just before the start of the 2020 season, Garrett was shot in the face while attempting to break up a fight. He still managed to recover quickly and return to the field not long afterwards, despite of that. The season was of course shortened, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, Garrett appeared in all eight games and made seven starts. He would go on to record 20 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass deflections, one interception and one touchdown. The Associated Press recognized him as a second team All-American for 2020. To boot, Garrett also earned third-team All-Big Ten honors.

Following the strong campaign, Garrett opted to return to Ohio State in 2021 with an extra year of eligibility. He appeared in all 12 games. At the same time, Garrett set new single season career bests in tackles (22), tackles for loss (seven) and sacks (5.5), while also adding a pass deflection. The defensive tackle would go on to receive first-team All-Big Ten honors for 2021.

SCOUTING REPORT

Instead of listing positives and negatives for traits, this year we will be listing the best trait of each prospect and work our way down to the biggest area of improvement/absent trait(s), from top to bottom.

Hand Counters

For a defensive tackle, Garrett brings a wide array of pass rush moves to the table. He uses a rip and swipe move the most. With this, Garrett is able to throw the opposing blocker off-balance and to the side. He also utilizes a swim move that is quick, yet powerful. The defender appears extremely confident in his ability to defeat opponents with a bull rush. The same could be said for his attempt to long-arm them as well. Due to those two moves, Garrett is able to create an immense amount of separation between he and the offensive lineman. Do not be surprised if he tries to throw in an occasional spin move either.

Football IQ

His ability to read the opponent’s play direction and blocking assignments is well documented. Whenever the opposition would run screen passes, Garrett would not waste any time in getting lateral. This allowed him to take throwing lanes away, as a result. During run plays, Garrett urgently worked sharply toward the inside shoulder of the blocker. He was hoping to muddy up the backfield or the line of scrimmage. Sometimes, Garrett is a bit late to react in certain moments during trench battles. He largely has the body control and effort to maintain his gaps thoroughly until the play is over, however.

First Step Explosiveness

Not only is his first step explosive, but it allows Garrett many options for which to take during his path to the quarterback or ball carrier. He is sufficient when using an inside-out technique. On the flip side, Garrett’s lethal steps when moving from the outside towards the interior of the offensive line often result in confusion for opponents upfront. Simply, he suffocates blockers with how swiftly he can move up the field when going vertically.

Flexibility

Despite a dense frame and the position that he plays, Garrett is extraordinarily loose and fluid when it comes to his hips. The footwork that he provides is also rather clean. Furthermore, that can allow him to cross up opposing blockers at a high rate. The ability to compact his frame and widen it at the same time comes in handy when taking on block after block within the interior. Meanwhile, Garrett has a great understanding of needing to use different tracks to attack the quarterback or ball carrier, depending on the blocking front. Because of this, he will alter between wider steps or a more patient technique.

Lateral Mobility

The balance that he has is quite impressive when Garrett works laterally or into space. He is not necessarily going to outrace anyone to the boundary. Yet, Garrett displays extreme effort and a hot motor. This forces the ball carrier to wait before getting upfield vertically while he chases towards the sideline. Once again, he is not going to be capable of chasing down everybody. But, Garrett certainly has enough range to make stops with backside pursuit.

Run Defending

Garrett has no problem in wearing down opponents and quickly defeating blockers with his pass rush counter moves. However, there is a bit more inconsistency when it comes to deconstructing blocks as a run defender. Garrett appears to wait and jump at an opening, if it becomes available. Though, that can lead to opponents latching onto his chest and driving him backwards. When he is able to get off the ball with speed and maintain his gap, the chances become much more fruitful for him. Being able to get offensive linemen moving laterally has also been much more of a benefit for Garrett.

Versatility

At Ohio State, Garrett aligned all over the defensive front for the Buckeyes. This included him getting snaps at 5-tech, 3-tech and 1-tech. He may not be completely incapable of doing that at the NFL level. But, Garrett may be subjected to more subpackage reps and a rotational role early on during his professional career. One would also have to wonder if some teams view his size as an item that is too small. That is especially true, when you consider the opportunity to move Garrett around the defensive formation.

Functional Strength

Overall, there are definitely worries about Garrett playing too high too often. In the meantime, his anchor ability can be hit or miss. This allows opponents to drive him backward more than you would like. Or, blockers will make it much tougher for him to shake off of blocks. Garrett will have to improve on digging his feet into the ground and gaining more advantageous leverage at the point of attack. That will assuredly be an emphasis for him as he transitions to the NFL.

CHIEFS FIT

The Kansas City Chiefs were able to re-sign defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi over the weekend. While he is not a star by any means, Nnadi is still one of the better run defenders at his position. Kansas City should still be open to adding more depth to the position, even with him back and with Chris Jones in the fold already.

Haskell Garrett may be a touch “smallish”, compared to those two and others within the Chiefs defensive line. Nonetheless, his ability to flash quickness, flexibility and a wide-ranging arsenal of hand counters allows him chances to make stops in many areas. He can rush the passer and stuff the run. Finally, the Chiefs would certainly benefit by adding someone who can handle different roles upfront, depending on the down and distance that the opposing offense is facing.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs draft prospect profiles throughout this spring. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.