Daniel Hardy

Summary

Daniel Hardy was selected in Round 7 (#235 Overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Montana State University. Hardy was one of the most productive edge rushers in FCS football, finishing his collegiate career with 143 total tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, and 4 pass breakups. In his final season (2021), he recorded 16.5 sacks, earning Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-American, and Buck Buchanan Award finalist honors. Since entering the NFL, Hardy has primarily contributed on special teams and as a rotational edge linebacker, appearing in 25+ games through the 2024 season. While defensive snaps have been limited due to depth and role competition, he has flashed effort, physicality, and developmental traits when opportunities arise. Hardy is widely regarded as a high-character, high-effort professional, known for toughness, humility, work ethic, and a team-first mentality.

Strengths

• Pass-Rush Instincts: Shows natural feel for timing, angles, and finishing when given clean rush lanes and consistently finishes plays in the backfield.

• Effort & Motor: Plays with relentless pursuit and chases from backside and fights through contact, traits that contribute to his core special teams prowess.

• Physicality: Willing to engage blockers; brings toughness to edge-setting responsibilities. Plays with urgency and intensity and is not intimidated by step up in competition.

• Coachability: Receptive to development and continues refining technique at the NFL level.

Weaknesses

• Pass-Rush Toolkit: Limited variety of counters and hand moves; relies heavily on effort and straight-line rush.

• Athletic Ceiling: Functional athlete but lacks elite burst or bend compared to top NFL edge rushers.

• Coverage Ability: Limited experience and effectiveness dropping into space. Not ideally suited for heavy snap volume and is best as rotational or situational player.

• Play Strength: Can struggle to disengage once locked up by larger, more technical linemen. His dominance at FCS level has not yet translated consistently against NFL tackles.

Outlook

Hardy is best suited for hybrid front-seven defenses that value effort, physicality, and special teams contribution from their edge players. His most natural role is as a rotational outside linebacker or defensive end, particularly in packages where he can attack downhill or exploit favorable matchups from depth in wide 9 alignments rather than consistently win in isolation. Hardy’s toughness and willingness to do dirty work make him valuable depth in run defense and edge containment situations. Looking ahead, Hardy projects as a depth edge defender and core special teams contributor with developmental upside. While his ceiling as a full-time starter is limited by athletic traits and pass-rush refinement, his production history, effort level, and professionalism give him a strong chance to remain roster-viable and contribute in defined roles. Continued improvement in hand usage and counter moves will determine whether he can expand beyond a special teams-driven profile into a more consistent defensive rotation role.