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Dallas Cowboys: 10 Wide Receivers and Their Fit

By Adithya Prabakaran

COLUMBIA, SC - SEPTEMBER 16: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel #1 of the South Carolina Gamecocks outruns defenders from the Kentucky Wildcats for a touchdown at Williams-Brice Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages)
COLUMBIA, SC - SEPTEMBER 16: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel #1 of the South Carolina Gamecocks outruns defenders from the Kentucky Wildcats for a touchdown at Williams-Brice Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages) /
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ATHENS, GA – NOVEMBER 24: Mecole Hardman #4 of the Georgia Bulldogs makes a catch for a second quarter touchdown against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on November 24, 2018 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA – NOVEMBER 24: Mecole Hardman #4 of the Georgia Bulldogs makes a catch for a second quarter touchdown against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on November 24, 2018 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Mecole Hardman, Georgia

What’s Good: Speed, Short Area Quickness, Explosive

What Ain’t Good: Production, Route running, Size

Mecole Hardman is a fun prospect to watch. He possess next level speed and can burn right past defenders. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen because he’s a very raw receiver. He’s largely underdeveloped as a route runner and that has negatively impacted his game.

As an athlete, Hardman will blow you away. On the field, his initial burst and and speed are very apparent. Here are his combine numbers according to NFL.com:
40 yard dash: 4.33 seconds
Vertical Jump: 36.5″
Broad Jump: 9’11”

There is no question these numbers are impressive and they will have scouts drooling knowing they can nab a deep threat. With that said, Hardman still has a lot of work to do in order to become a productive wide receiver.

When open, Hardman will catch the ball with ease but he has a hard time separating at times and when thrown the ball behind or in a weird spot, he isn’t able to adjust well. In addition, he has small 9″ hands so when attempting a contested catch, he doesn’t have a high success rate. Then again, that isn’t his type of game.

The Cowboys have shown some interest in Hardman by bringing him in for a national visit. For the Cowboys he would provide a deep threat ability the Cowboys were hoping to have with Tavon Austin. Even though Tavon is signed for another season, his injuries prevented him from playing last season. If the same thing were to happen, the Cowboys would look to move on from Austin.

This is where Hardman comes in. He isn’t a polished route runner so he will need some time to develop with Sanjay Lal. After a season behind Austin, Hurns, and even Wilson, he could make the leap to become the starting slot receiver and deep threat the Cowboys offense has needed all along.

This is largely a hypothetical situation and the Cowboys are in a win-now mode so Hardman might be a bit behind where the Cowboys would hope for him to be. Even if he is, he could provide some meaningful snaps for the Cowboys specifically as a deep threat especially if Austin is not on the field.

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