You walk in and your eyes are immediately drawn to it.
Suspended against the wall, illuminating part of the store with its vivid 1080p resolution is the TV you've been saving up for. Displaying a bald eagle snapping a salmon out of the water, that TV mesmerizes you. You get lost in the picture, and by the time the salesman walks up to you, you're already pulling out your wallet.
When you get to the checkout line and you're finally paying, you're prompted with a question.
"Would you like to purchase a three-year warranty for this?"
You look down at your two four-year old sons running around thinking, soon these guys will be sending things flying around the house and you know. You just know you'll regret it when your big investment is knocked off its stand by a soccer ball. You'll know that you'll have wished you had taken this simple warranty precaution for your investment.
When NFL teams are investing in a brand new franchise-altering quarterback, they too, have shown a tendency to take that precaution on their big investment. These teams often double down on their quarterback picks by providing some additional help in their subsequent pick. This secondary pick is sometimes a blue-chip offensive lineman, capable of stepping in day one and helping protect his blindside.
It could also be an offensive weapon with the hope that the quarterback can grow and develop that early chemistry with that player for the foreseeable future.
The agile Hardy blew away the competition in the 3-cone drill courtesy of Mockdraftable.com. Fun fact -- Hardy's 3-cone drill time was the fastest among all wide receivers at the combine this year -- a feat that Harry Douglas shared during his 2008 combine as well.
Even more fun is juxtaposing Hardy's combine numbers next to Douglas' to see where they differ.
| Player | Hght | Wght | Arms | Hands | 40 yd | Vert | Broad | 3 Cone | 20 SS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Hardy | 5' 10" | 192 | 32 1/8" | 10" | 4.56 | 36.5 | 114 | 6.63 | 4.21 |
| Harry Douglas | 5' 11" | 176 | 32 1/8" | 7 3/4" | 4.51 | 31 | 120 | 6.57 | 4.12 |
One thing that immediately stands out is the difference in weight -- something that has been widely talked about this offseason -- and how Hardy comes out on top by a good margin.
Possessing a much larger hand size and vertical jump scores than Douglas, Hardy should be able to come in and help the Atlanta offense right away by working the middle of the field. Hardy has shown an ability to climb the ladder, displaying his impressive vertical prowess even for a "smaller" receiver which should help Matt Ryan in a plethora of ways.
How Hardy will Fit in Atlanta
Justin Hardy enters a fast-paced offense with new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan running the show in which the entire Atlanta offense could see a big uptick in production in 2015. In fact, our own Joe Juan opined that Julio Jones may be in store for his best season ever as Julio enters his age-26 season and Shanahan's heavy use of the "X" receiver.
While Shanahan's offense notoriously showcases the number-one wide receiver, Justin Hardy will still be able to cut out a role for this team on a shallow depth chart. When analyzing the new coaching changes for the Falcons, Joe Redemann asserted that Shanahan may have Matt Ryan use more high-percentage short passes while implementing his West Coast offense.
These short passes could also find their way to Hardy, an area in which he capitalized on heavily in college. Working the middle of the field, Hardy should be peppered with targets consistently as he's working against nickel corners and possibly even more if mismatched with a safety or linebacker trying to keep up with new, agile Falcon.
Even after bringing in two new tight ends this offseason in Tony Moeaki and Jacob Tamme, Atlanta still misses Tony Gonzalez and his routine 70-plus receptions and what they did for this offense. During the five-year overlap Gonzalez had with Harry Douglas, Gonzalez stole many of the intermediate routes, subsequently handicapping the value of Douglas in Atlanta's offense.
It is this lack of a soon to be Hall-of-Famer that gives Hardy a much higher floor in his rookie season than Douglas ever had in Atlanta. While injuries are something all teams must endure, Roddy White's and Julio Jones' health history being less than pristine may open the door even further for the young rookie to make an imprint in his 2015 debut.
Justin Hardy may not be the fastest or the biggest receiver out on the field, but he enters an opportunistic situation in Atlanta that could pay immediate dividends for the agile, productive slot receiver.