Cleveland Browns: 2019 7-Round mock draft, Vol. 4
By Peter Smith
Round 6: Penny Hart, WR, Georgia State – 5-8, 180 lbs. (Senior Bowl)
- 74 receptions for 1,121 yards (34.5 percent), 8 touchdowns in 2017.
Age: 22 years old (Born July 5, 1996)
Penny Hart made some noise at the Senior Bowl with some impressive performances in the practices, particularly in drills. His speed and quickness were evident and he drew some comparisons with Andy Isabella due to being almost the same size. Add in a guy like Olamide Zacchaeus from Virginia and this class has an interesting number of short, dense space players with remarkable speed that make plays at multiple levels of the field.
Particularly in his junior year, Hart’s production was excellent. Not only did he rack up a sizable amount of market share, but he had more receiving yards than the next three receivers combined.
One of the areas that stood out with Hart in the practices at the Senior Bowl and was the same with his tape is how little time he spends getting in and out of his breaks. If a defender is unable to get hands on quickly, it becomes a foot race and he hasn’t faced opponents who are going to beat him there. When he catches the ball, that quickness shows with how he’s almost immediately able to try to make an opponent miss.
Despite his diminutive size, Hart has a pretty solid catch radius, able to reach out and pluck balls out of the air cleanly. He’s a player that could run a drag, a deep in or go route and be a threat to score at Georgia State. In practices in Mobile, he looked more than capable of doing it against better competition, but it will be a lingering question until he proves it in the NFL.
Hart will likely draw comparisons to former Brown and current Chicago Bear Taylor Gabriel, who was half an inch shorter than Hart. It’s worth pointing out that Hart is 13 pounds heavier than Gabriel was when he tested at his Pro Day. One of the things that will be worth watching is if the fact players like Isabella and Zacchaeus is a benefit or a hindrance to Hart. The supply may hurt him, but with the way the NFL rules favor offense and protects receivers, more teams may be looking for their version of Tyreek Hill or T.Y. Hilton.
The match between Hart and the Browns may also simply out of anyone’s control and a matter of fate.
Some Other Interesting Possibilities Foregone: Carl Granderson, DE, Wyoming; Alex Barnes, RB, Kansas State; Greg Dortch, WR, Wake Forest; Andrew Wingard, S, Wyoming; Gardner Minshew II, QB, Washington State