Yesterday afternoon, James Hardy and Tracy Porter followed NFL Combine performances with strong showings at Indiana’s Pro Day, which was attended by some 18 NFL teams. Both are looking at probably first day draft spots, and Hardy may even crack into the first round.
Hardy's 37" vertical leap makes him an even bigger threat to defenses
Hardy improved his own stock by making a remarkable six-inch improvement in his vertical leap, going from 31” at the Combine to 37” yesterday. Since Hardy is relying on his superb 6’6” height and impressive reach to distinguish himself from other faster and quicker receivers, the improvement builds directly on his established strengths.
The 37” result would have ranked fourth overall for receivers at the Combine and would have been one of the top ten marks of all the positions. Combine his already imposing height with an impressive vertical leap and he becomes an even more tempting target, particularly in the red zone.
Although reports vary and some of the times are unofficial, Hardy was clocked somewhere in the high 4.4’s or low-mid 4.5’s in the 40-yard dash at the Combine. While these numbers are not mind-blowing by any means at the receiver position, his times exceeded many of the expectations that people held for such a tall athlete. For that reason, Hardy withheld from running the 40 yesterday, opting instead to participate in route-running and agility drills. He had solid performances in those areas as well.
Porter helped himself by running unofficial 40-yard dash times of 4.29 and 4.32, both substantial improvements over his (official) Combine time of 4.37, which was tied for fourth-best at cornerback. A time of 4.29 would have been the second fastest time in Indianapolis, behind only the blazing 4.24 run by East Carolina running back Chris Johnson.
Porter’s strengths lie in his superior speed and quickness. At the Combine he posted the top 20-yard shuttle time and was second in the 60-yard shuttle in addition to his top-five 40 time, but was not highly ranked in any of the other drills, including vertical leap.
Porter’s major downside is that he has clear physical deficiencies at only 185 lbs, which make him a liability against physical receivers and in run defense. “His lack of strength will see him get rag-dolled by bigger blockers often…,” note scouts on NFL.com. While he could easily remedy this issue in the weight room, it would most likely end up counterproductive with the loss of speed and quickness that would come in consequence. Regardless of that weakness however, his athletic and playmaking ability should still be enough to get him drafted in the second or third rounds.
In addition to the big names, cornerback Leslie Majors, quarterback Blake Powers, fullback Josiah Sears, tight end Nick Sexton, offensive linemen Charlie Emerson and John Sandberg, defensive linemen Joe Kremer and Brian Faires, and long snapper Tim Bugg all worked out for the scouts as well. Bugg is ranked by some experts as the number one long snapper prospect in the nation.
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