Harden did not have any stars coming out of high school in Miami, Florida. As a result, he committed to play at South Dakota. Harden received freshman All-American status during the 2020 season and second-team All-American in the 2023 season. I saw multiple people saying Harden was the “steal” of the 7th-round. Burglar gave him a 5th-round grade and said he could start at nickel as a rookie. That is some high praise!! In my opinion, this is who the Browns have been missing in their secondary. A tough and gritty player who can cover receivers in the slot and is a SOB in the run game. He ran a 4.5 40-yard dash, but his 10-yard split was 1.52. Also, his shuttle was a 3.88, which helped earn him a “great” grade on his Relative Athletic Score. I will post some of his highlights in this post. In some plays, he completely blows up the receiver to get to the ball carrier.
I love that he stuck with South Dakota even though he could have left for a bigger school and probably some decent NIL money. It shows he is loyal and loves the game of football. Not going to lie, I am pretty excited about this pick after doing some research on Harden. This year, he will be a key player on special teams, and I think will get a decent amount of snaps on defense. It will be great for him to learn from an experienced defensive-back room. I hope he leans on Mcleod, who was undrafted coming out of Virginia. The best-case scenario is that after his rookie year, Harden becomes the Browns starting nickel and eventually earns a second contract.
