Intriguing Cornerback Possiblity!

[BlackEngineer]

I had an intriguing thought while researching prospects these past few months. When Brandon Hardin was drafted last year by the Bears, NFL draft profiles had this to say about his strengths:

" Hardin is a physical cover corner who excels playing up close to the line. He has serious value for a Cover 2 team that likes big and physical corners who can support in the flats. He is a good athlete and has impressive hip fluidity for a man of his size, and he uses his length well in-phase.

Excellent size and athletic ability. Has played corner and safety and has extensive experience locked in man coverage. Good balance, hip flex, change of direction and body control for his size. Can turn and run vertical. Zone-aware. Supports the run aggressively. Heavy hitter. Plays with awareness and football intelligence. Has the traits and mentality for special teams. Outstanding character and makeup."

So my thinking is that with emergence of tall corners like Richard Sherman( 6'3), and Brandon Browner (6'4), and considering that Major Wright and Chris Conte looks like our Starters for the Future at Safety and are both only 24 years old. Shouldn't the Bears groom Brandon Hardin at Corner instead of Safety? I could seriously see Hardin being our nickel corner for 2013 and alternating with Tim Jennings on being on the inside or outside depending on whether they are covering a small receiver or a big receiver.

Hardin struggled, naturally considering his size, with small, quick receivers. So if the receiver in the slot is small, Tim Jennings would move inside while Hardin moves outside. He could match the physicality of Tall Receivers and Tight Ends as well as the speed.
Considering the emergence of Pass-Catching Tight Ends, I could see Brandon Hardin as a neutralizer to those Tight Ends because he can match up with size(6'3 217 lbs) and Speed (4.43 40 time). With Tight Ends like Rudolph, Finley, and Pettigrew in the NFC North, He could be HUGE for the Defense. .

This would also justify Emery spending a 3rd pick on him and when we already spend 3rd round picks on Safety the previous two years. He could eventually replace Tillman on the Outside. I just don't see him being able to replace either Chris Conte and Major Wright. They're all 3rd round picks. They're all at least 6'2 and they all have low 4.4 speed. With the starting experience that Conte and Wright have and the fact that they're still so young; they will only continue to get better. They will most likely be our starters for the next 5 years at least. He has a much better chance making a contribution on Defense if he played Corner.

[Hiphopopotamos]

Not a chance in hell Hardin can play corner in the NFL.

[BlackEngineer]

Not a chance in hell Hardin can play corner in the NFL.

You have to give me a better argument than that!

The only reason Hardin switched to safety is because he was considered a "over-sized" cornerback coming out of College. He didn't fit that "pro-typical size" for a Cornerback. The emergence of Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner is changing that.

Richard Sherman is 6'3, 200. Brandon Browner is 6'4, 220.

Richard Sherman was the 24th ranked Corner coming out of College and was projected to be a 6th round pick. He ended being chosen in the 5th.
Brandon Browner was undrafted and had to play in the CFL for 3 years before being signed to the Seahawks.
Sherman ran a 4.54 40 at the combine. Browner ran a 4.63 40 time.
They both now form the best Cornerback Tandem in the NFL.

Brandon Hardin is 6'3 217, runs a 4.43( with some scouts saying 4.38), and actually played Cornerback in college.

He started at Right Cornerback for Oregon State and that's the position he is comfortable at. He had never even played Safety before joining the Bears and considering we already have two good young Safeties who actually played Safety in College, Hardin would be better served as a Cornerback. It makes no sense to try to force Hardin in the role of a Safety( Which has a Huge learning curve), when he can just
refine his cornerback skills under Hoke and actually make a contribution on Defense.

[Hiphopopotamos]

He switched to safety because he wasn't a very good corner in college. He's a great athlete, but he never had the requisite coverage skills to be anything more than an average college CB.

He's got great straight line speed, but isn't quick and doesn't hAve the hips to play corner in the NFL. You found one scouting report that says he can maybe play CB - I'll show you a dozen that says he can't.

[BlackEngineer]

Yeah they said that about Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner too.

I never base my opinion on a single source of information. You don't think I scouted Brandon Hardin heavily and referenced "a dozen" sources before I formed my opinion? That's why I'm intrigued that you have so many sources saying he can't play corner. He played cornerback his entire career at Oregon State and going into the 2011 Season, his coach believed he was talented enough to make All-Pac 12 that season.

He has never played safety in college, never played in the box in run support. Fluid hips is essential for dealing with those smaller quicker receivers, which I mentioned, is not his strong suit. However, he would be a huge problem for Tight-Ends and Big Receivers.

[Iffybiz]

What I think he could do is play the MLB in a Tampa Two (a la Urlacher) in passing situations. In essence a third safety. Otherside of that he needs to make his living on special teams till he can be trained as either a safety or outside linebacker. He needs a LOT of work on his tackling form.

[DaDitka]

Again, he's a perfect fit for the "BIG NICKEL".

The interesting thing will be watching teams start to go nickle against 2 TE sets. Not something you traditionally think of but with more and more teams putting two dangerous receiving targets on the field from the Tight End positions I think your going to see more and more teams go into this defense in more situations then we're accustom to seeing.

While I agree that teams are going to be more open to larger corners going forward, Phil's back round is scouting and he's been rather transparent that he feels Hardin is safety, not a corner.

Besides, 9 times out of ten you #3 safety will start (nearly) half the games anyways do to the tendency of injuries at the position.

This kid has barely gotten his feet wet in the league, even if there were a position change in his future, I would expect it to be a time consuming process and I would not expect to see him manning anything but safety this year. If they move him, his reps will be in practice IMO.

[wab]

He's no Jason Sehorn.

[FaithInCutler]

It would be a waste not to at least try and play him at nickel. He could very well grow into a great one. He was a raw tallent. a lot of times coaching can go a long way. Look at Tim Jennings. Players come along when they are given a chance.