A Player with a Particular Skill Set
The idea of the Bears bringing in Montana State edge rusher Daniel Hardy for a top-30 visit might seem a bit confusing based on their current direction.
This is a visit reported by The Draft Network and it seems an unusual one for what the Bears are trying to do on defense, but actually it's not.
Hardy is 6-foot-4 1/2, 235-pound freakish athlete who had just two years of high school football and one year of junior college ball before he blossomed at Montana State, first as a linebacker and then last year at defensive end.
At first glance, Hardy doesn't seem a fit for the 4-3 defense the Bears are using. They've brought in one 285-pound defensive end in Al-Quadin Muhammad and have brought in Minnesota Gophers defensive end Esezi Otomewo for a draft visit. He is 6-6, 285 pounds.
The 4-3 end usually is bigger than the outside linebackers or edge pass rushers the Bears used in their old 3-4 scheme with Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn and Trevis Gipson. However, there are two ways of looking at Hardy that could explain their interest.
1. Hardy the Strong Side Linebacker
The Bears could view Hardy as someone they want to train to be a 4-3 outside linebacker, a strong side or SAM linebacker. He has the speed to do it and he played linebacker prior to his switch to defensive end for Montana State.
At Hardy's pro day, he amazed scouts with a 40-inch vertical leap. His 40 time of 4.6 would have been good enough at the combine not just for a fast defensive end time, but also for the 12th best linebacker time.
He is a versatile, fast, athlete who lacks a great deal of football experience and the Bears might want to mold him as a linebacker. A player with 4.6 speed should be able to stick with tight ends in pass coverage with some practice on technique, and Hardy would need it because of his lack of experience.
NFL Draft Bible has classified Hardy as a strong side or SAM linebacker and ranked him as the 12th best in this draft even though his best season came as a defensive end.
2. Hardy the Situational Player
Just because the Bears have switched to a 4-3 doesn't mean they have gone away from using players in specialty situations.
Using a 6-4 1/2, 235-pound defensive end on possible running downs doesn't make much sense in a 4-3 because of the responsibility the ends have to contain the run in this defense. Everyone is attacking upfield and the ends must keep containment or there can be jail breaks around the edge. But in passing situations a speed rusher can flourish if the run isn't a factor. It also seems more and more in the NFL, almost every down is a passing down.
In Hardy's final year after switching to end, he recorded 16 1/2 sacks and 24 1/2 tackles for loss by using that great speed he displayed at his pro day.
Deploying a player like Hardy both as a linebacker or as pass rusher on the edge in passing situations to replace players like Muhammad or evn a player like Otomewo is a strategically sound use of personnel.
The age of specialization long ago hit the NFL and 235-pound edge rushers can thrive, especially if they're able to play as a linebacker in running downs.
Specialization doesn't necessarily mean a particular position but it can mean a particular skill set for a specific scheme.
Hardy is likely to be a later draft pick by someone on Day 3 according to his rankings, and he could be someone with a very particular set of skills who causes plenty of problems for opponents.
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