The Rams used their sixth selection in the 2022 NFL Draft on outside linebacker Daniel Hardy, who was chosen in the sixth round, 218th overall.
Here's what you should know about him.
1) Continuing the Rams' small-school pipeline
Hardy helped continue the trend of the Rams drafting small-school talent for the second year in a row.
Last year, they picked up outside linebacker Chris Garrett from Division II Concordia St. Paul. This year, they grabbed Hardy and defensive back Decobie Durant (South Carolina State) from the FCS level.
2) Explosive athlete
Kent Lee Platte evaluates players' measurements on a scale from 0 to 10 in what he terms a Relative Athletic Score (RAS). Hardy's 9.34 RAS ranked 161st out of 2419 linebackers from 1987 to 2022 and included an "elite" composite explosion grade.
3) Comes from a big family
According to his school bio, Hardy is one of eight children in his family.
4) Multi-sport background
In addition to playing at Valley Catholic High School in Beaverton, Oregon, Hardy also played basketball.
Take a look at photos of newly drafted Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Daniel Hardy from his time at Montana State.
Montana State outside linebacker Daniel Hardy
Montana State outside linebacker Daniel Hardy
Montana State outside linebacker Daniel Hardy
5) Never not working
TheRams.com asked each of the team's draft picks, as you have developed in your football career from high school to now being drafted into the NFL, can you share how you were Always Working to get to this point?
Here was what Hardy had to say:
"When my father passed, before he passed, I let him know that I was going to be there to take care of my mom and little sister. All of this has been process. Everything I've done, every decision I've made has been with that end goal in mind. It's really, it was just a daily thing, just getting one percent better every day and taking steps toward being the best possible player I could be."
