Looks like LA Rams will debut rookie OLB Daniel Hardy

If you have been patiently awaiting the debut of rookie outside linebacker Daniel Hardy, you are not alone. With the current cascade effect of the LA Rams injuries leading to so much lack of success, the resiliency of LA Rams fans is shining through.

Let’s look at the younger LA Rams players is the message that has been the unanimous consensus right now. And why not? Injuries have already impacted the availability of DL Aaron Donald, QB Matthew Stafford, WRs Cooper Kupp, and Allen Robinson, practically every offensive lineman on the Rams roster not named Rob Havenstein, and a host of other players.

But winning is not the only problem facing the LA Rams organization in 2022. Now, the question becomes how best to prepare this team for 2023.  Perhaps the best way to do so is simply to get their rookies and underused young players on this roster and see what they have to offer in terms of skills, attitude, and playmaking ability. And one such player who has been on the list of almost every fan since he was selected by the team with the 235th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Hardy hails from the same college as WR Lance McCutcheon, and you can see the similarities in how they approach their time on the football field.

Pick 235: Edge Daniel Hardy

The Rams wished to increase their outside linebacker depth in the draft, but due to the way that their draft board fell to them, were only able to add one pass rusher, and then only in the seventh round. Because he was injured before the season started, nobody knows what he may bring to the table, yet.

Hardy seems to be on the same end of the spectrum as the Rams’ drafting strategy in 2021. In short, he is a highly athletic football prospect who fell on many teams’ draft boards due to a lack of experience. And like many additions from the 2021 draft class, the Rams have been patiently on hold awaiting Hardy to heal up well enough to debut this year.

Well now that he is on the road to recovery, what can fans anticipate from him? Daniel Hardy saw action in the LA Rams preseason, appearing in two games to record four tackles and one quarterback hit. When he was on the football field, he had all of the hoped-for energy coming off the edge. While he did not record a sack in two games, he did get close enough to ignite some optimism over his chances to do so this season.

Hardy is listed as a  6-foot-3 240-pound outside linebacker for the LA Rams, making him the shortest and likely smallest edge rusher on the team. But do not judge him by his size. All-Pro veteran outside linebacker Von Miller stands just 6-foot-3 and weighs a similar 249 pounds, and he’s done quite well in the NFL.

No, Hardy is not being compared to Von Miller. But he has the right tools to become something quite special. That journey will begin in 2022, and to be quite honest, Rams fans are eager to see it begin.