Broncos cornerback Chris Harris has beat the odds. A couple times, actually.
In 2011, he was named the Broncos’ breakout player and defensive player of the year after recording 72 tackles, one interception, six special-teams tackles and six pass-breakups in his first season as a pro.
Months earlier, he had gone undrafted and many didn’t believe he had a chance to even make the team.
In 2014, in returning from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, Harris was selected to his first Pro Bowl after posting 54 tackles, three interceptions, one sack and a career-high 17 passes-defensed. He was rewarded with a and was listed as the top cornerback in the NFL by .
But he was , a ranking voted by his peers.
So he knows a little something about being overlooked.
On Thursday, hours before the Broncos’ Thursday night game at Kansas City, by Harris on his experiences as an NFL underdog:
As an undrafted player, you’re playing every game against a team that passed on you … with every single pick they owned. Other coaches, other players and even some members of the media assume there must be a reason you were not drafted.
They’re looking, waiting, just hoping for you to make a mistake.
Why?
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.” And that’s the stigma you don’t hear as much about. It’s not just that everyone thinks you’re a fringe player. It’s that, in this weird way, everyone wants you to be one.
Name. Pedigree. Reputation. They’re hard to overcome.
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