2017 NFL Draft: Hardy Nickerson Jr Scouting Report

Where does the draft stock for Hardy Nickerson Jr, son of the legendary Hardy Nickerson stand?

Son of the Tampa Bay legend, Hardy Nickerson Jr transferred from Cal to Illinois to play for his father for a final year before entering the pros. He’s a very impressive mike linebacker prospect who could become an effective Joker in a 3-4 front(interior blitzer).

At first glance before delving into his tape, his size is very concerning. He’s listed at 6 feet, 226 lbs. Realistically, he’s probably only 5’10” and 200 lbs and needs to put on some weight. However, the first glance was completely wrong.

The most impressive thing to me watching the tape is how natural he is at swatting off blocks-even from offensive linemen-and knowing how to hide himself from the linemen so that they open up a hole for him to take.

He’s going to be an undersized Mike, unlike his much bigger father but despite this size he’s done well with goal line/short yardage stands where he’s stood up a RB and stopped him at the line of scrimmage.

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And he takes such great angles. He clearly inherited his father’s love of watching tape and seems to know what the offense is going to do before they do it.

Ideally, he would be asked to play the Mike in a 4-3 defense where he can hide behind two big defensive tackles much like London Fletcher built a Hall of Fame career doing.

One potential concern with him is that transferring over to Illinois could disrupt his development and he might plateau before headed into the NFL.

Draft grade: late 1st round

I’d probably take him over Raekwon McMillan right now. McMillan lacks range and doesn’t have Hardy Nickerson’s instincts.

McMillan is the better blitzer but that’s about it. I’d really like to see Nickerson show more in pass coverage. His size limits him to covering backs and slot wideouts, but with his speed and quickness I think he could handle a Z wide receiver.