Pre-draft Pro Football Focus ranked Harris as the 10th best safety prospect in the draft.
Sports Illustrated ranked Harris the 28th best defensive back (141st overall) prospect in the draft. NFL draft analyst Matt Miller of
Bleacher Report had Harris listed as the 13th best safety in the draft. NFL draft analysts and scouts projections for him varied from as early as the third round to as late as the sixth round.
Detroit Lions 2019 in 2019 The
Detroit Lions selected Harris in the third round (81st overall) in the
2019 NFL draft. The Lions executed a trade with the
Minnesota Vikings in order to secure their ability to immediately draft Harris, trading their third-round (88th overall) and sixth-round picks (204th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft in return for the Vikings' 2019 third-round pick (81st overall) used by Detroit to draft Harris. The Minnesota Vikings went on to trade both of the picks to the,
Seattle Seahawks. He was the seventh safety drafted in 2019. He was reunited with Lions' defensive coordinator
Paul Pasqualoni, who formerly held the position of defensive line coach at Boston College. On June 4, 2019, the Lions signed Harris to a four–year, $3.72 million
rookie contract that includes a
signing bonus of $952,244. Throughout training camp, Harris competed against
Tavon Wilson,
Charles Washington, and
Andrew Adams to be a primary backup safety. Head coach
Matt Patricia named Harris a backup safety, behind starting safeties
Tracy Walker III and
Quandre Diggs to begin the regular season. On September 8, 2019, Harris made his professional regular season debut during the Detroit Lions' season–opener at the
Arizona Cardinals, but was limited to one solo tackle as they tied 27–27. In Week 6, he collected a season-high seven combined tackles (three solo) during a 22–23 loss at the
Green Bay Packers. On November 3, 2019, Harris earned his first career start after Tracy Walker injured his knee. He recorded five combined tackles (two solo) during a 24–31 loss at the
Oakland Raiders. In Week 17, he made four solo tackles, a pass deflection, and had his first career sack on
Aaron Rodgers as the Lions lost 20–23 to the Green Bay Packers. He finished his rookie season in 2019 with a total of 43 combined tackles (30 solo), three pass deflections, and a sack in 16 games and six starts.
2020 He entered training camp as a candidate to possibly earn a role as the starting safety following the departure of Quandre Diggs, but was challenged for the position by
Duron Harmon. The Lions hired
Cory Undlin to be their defensive coordinator following the departure of Paul Pasqualoni after the
2019 NFL season. Head coach Matt Patricia named him the primary backup safety on the depth chart, behind starting safeties Tracy Walker III and Duron Harmon. Although he was listed as a backup, Harris would start in lieu of Tracy Walker and split defensive snaps with Walker for the first three games. On September 13, 2020, Harris started in the Detroit Lions' home-opener against the
Chicago Bears and set a season-high five solo tackles during a 23–27 loss. After struggling in Week 2 at the
Green Bay Packers, he was relegated to serve as a backup and was replaced by Tracy Walker III. On November 28, 2020, the Lions officially fired head coach
Matt Patricia after a disappointing 4–7 record to begin the season. Offensive coordinator
Darrell Bevell was appointed to interim head coach for the remainder of the season. He finished the season with 35 combined tackles (26 solo) and had one pass deflection in 16 games and five starts.
2021 On January 20, 2021, the
Detroit Lions announced their decision to hire
New Orleans Saints' tight ends coach
Dan Campbell to be their head coach. Throughout training camp, defensive coordinator
Aaron Glenn held a competition between Harris and
Dean Marlowe in order to find a replacement for Duron Harmon as a starting safety. He was named a starting safety to begin the season and was paired with Tracy Walker III. In Week 14, he set a season-high with nine combined tackles (two solo) and had one pass deflection during a 10–38 loss at the
Denver Broncos. On January 9, 2022, he set a season-high with eight solo tackles (nine combined) as the Lions defeated the
Green Bay Packers. He started all 17 games for the first time in his career and had a total of 93 combined tackles (52 solo), four passes defensed, and a forced fumble. Head coach Dan Campbell named him a backup safety and nickelback and he was listed as the fourth safety on the depth chart, behind Tracy Walker III, DeShon Elliott, and Juju Hughes. On September 18, 2022, Harris started at nickelback following an injury to Amani Oruwariye in Week 1 and he set a season-high with eight combined tackles (five solo), made one pass deflection, and had his first career interception on a pass by
Carson Wentz to tight end
Logan Thomas during a 27–36 victory against the
Washington Commanders. He was inactive for the Lions' 6–24 loss at the
Dallas Cowboys in Week 7 due to a hip injury. In Week 11, he tied his season-high of eight combined tackles (five solo) and forced a fumble during a 31–18 victory at the
New York Giants. He was inactive as the Lions defeated the
Minnesota Vikings 34–23 in Week 14 after re-injuring his hip. He finished the season with a total of 57 combined tackles (44 solo), four pass deflections, one fumble recovery, and one interception in 15 games and 10 starts.
2023 On March 14, 2023, the
Detroit Lions signed Harris to a fully-guaranteed one–year, $2.58 million contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $152,500. Entering training camp, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn sought to move Harris to cornerback with him primarily focusing on the slot after the Lions acquired safeties
C. J. Gardner-Johnson and rookie
Brian Branch to add alongside Tracy Walker III and Kerby Joseph. He became a candidate to become the starting nickelback competing against Brian Branch after C. J. Gardner-Johnson injured his knee during OTAs. Head coach Dan Campbell named him a backup and listed him as the No. 2 nickelback to begin the season, behind Brian Branch. In Week 5, Harris earned his first start of the season as a nickelback, replacing Brian Branch who was inactive due to an ankle injury he suffered the previous week. Harris set a season-high with nine combined tackles (five solo), made one pass deflection, and had a fumble recovery during a 24–42 victory against the
Carolina Panthers. On October 15, 2023, Harris made four combined tackles (two solo), a pass deflection, and had his only interception of the season on a pass by
Baker Mayfield to wide receiver
Mike Evans during a 20–6 win at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although he appeared in all 17 games, Harris was limited to two starts and finished with a total of 18 combined tackles (12 solo), three pass deflections, one fumble recovery, and one interception. Head coach
Dennis Allen listed him as a backup to begin the season, but he began the season as the starting strong safety alongside
Tyrann Mathieu. On September 8, 2024, Harris started in the
New Orleans Saints' home-opener against the
Carolina Panthers and made two tackles, one pass deflection, and had his only interception of the season on the first offensive play of the season on a pass attempt by
Bryce Young to wide receiver
Diontae Johnson as they won 47–10. He was inactive for four consecutive games (Weeks 6–9) due to a hamstring injury. On November 4, 2024, the Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen after a 2–7 start and appointed special teams coordinator
Darren Rizzi to interim head coach. In Week 18, he set a season-high with eight solo tackles and had one pass deflection during a 19–27 loss at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He finished the
2024 NFL season with a total of 74 combined tackles (54 solo), five passes defensed, and one interception in 13 games and 13 starts.
Washington Commanders On March 13, 2025, the
Washington Commanders signed Harris to a two-year, $8 million contract that includes $3.39 million guaranteed upon signing and a
signing bonus of $2 million. On September 22, the Commanders placed him on
injured reserve after suffering a
fractured fibula in Week 3. The Commanders activated him on November 29, ahead of the team's Week 13 matchup against the
Denver Broncos. == NFL career statistics ==