Penn State Trio Offers Los Angeles Rams 3 Late-Round Cornerback Targets

The Los Angeles Rams don't need to draft a corner after their splurge in free agency, but Penn State provides multiple late-round options in the secondary.

Nov 4, 2023; College Park, Maryland, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Daequan Hardy (25) / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

It’s not often a team loses three members of the same position group to the NFL Draft in a single season. The Washington Huskies will watch their three-star receivers head to the next level, presumably all in the top 100 picks. Across the country, the Penn State Nittany Lions are losing a remarkable amount of talent in their cornerback room.

Corners Kalen King, Johnny Dixon, and Daequan Hardy – all starters this past season – are headed to the league, though each of them are projected to be drafted on Day 3, taking three separate paths to the later rounds of the NFL Draft.

Coincidentally, each offer the Los Angeles Rams viable options for its seven Day 3 selections.

Nov 4, 2023; College Park, Maryland, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Daequan Hardy (25) / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams made significant additions to their secondary in free agency, bringing in veteran cornerbacks Tre’Davious White and Darious Williams, along with safety Kamren Curl, to shore up a secondary that was far too prone to explosive plays in 2023. 

These moves are legitimate upgrades and should be treated as such, but they aren’t without risk. Los Angeles has little in the form of long-term prospects in the secondary, and taking developmental corners in a couple of weeks could pay dividends down the road.

King is the most notable of the Nittany Lions corners but has certainly lost his luster during the draft cycle. As a member of the CB1 conversation ahead of the season, King struggled mightily in 2023. He gave up 290 yards in coverage – and while coverage statistics can be misleading – lackluster ball production matched what most witnessed.

His athletic testing numbers only hurt his stock, too. A 4.61-second 40-yard dash is never going to inspire optimism at his position. However, if he can develop his strengths in press coverage and optimize his length to make more plays on the ball, there’s a path to playing time on the boundary.

Dixon, meanwhile, may prove to be the Rams’ favorite of the bunch. Of the three, his game best reflects White’s, who is recovering from a second Achilles injury. 

Like King, Dixon is at his best while aligned in press coverage. Yet, he boasts more NFL-ready coverage skills in zone coverage and is strong at the catch point. Minor athletic limitations hinder his recovery speed and could mitigate those catch-point opportunities, but there’s reason to believe Dixon can be an adequate fourth corner and a potential starter down the line, even if he lacks the upside of other late-round prospects.

Lastly, Hardy is likely the most exciting of the bunch. His athletic profile is easily the best of the trio, boosting his stock with a 4.39 40-yard dash and a remarkable 42.5-inch vertical. Hardy is an athlete, through and through, though troubling size concerns – standing 5-foot-9, 179 pounds – may limit him to special teams duty.

If not, he’s likely stuck inside, where Los Angeles could look to develop him as the slot corner of the future. 

Quick feet and adequate physicality at the catch point are desirable traits, but there’s a chance his size ultimately dooms him, rendering him a liability against bigger slot targets and the ground game.