Hurst has NFL draft goal and thinks he knows the number to get there
When Hayden Hurst talks about the NFL tight ends he wants to emulate, it’s clear he has lofty goals for his professional career.
When Mel Kiper talks about what kind of NFL tight ends Hurst reminds him of, it’s clear those goals are attainable.
“I see similarities with Jason Witten,” said Kiper, ESPN’s longtime NFL draft analyst.
Kiper is projecting Hurst, South Carolina’s all-time leading pass catcher at tight end, to be a first-round selection at No. 27 overall to the New Orleans Saints.
“I think about all those great years Jimmy Graham had there, and (New Orleans quarterback) Drew Brees would like to have that back,” Kiper said. “I think Hurst would be a really good pick with the Saints.”
Hurst would like that, too. Since deciding to leave the Gamecocks following his junior year, he has been working with one thing in mind – to be a first-round draft pick.
“Oh man, I would love it. Golly,” he said. “It’s been my goal since the beginning of last season. I wanted to be All-SEC, I checked that box. The next thing on the list is I wanted to be a first-rounder. The way that I’m working right now, and with the numbers I am putting up, hopefully, I can make that happen in April.”
Witten has caught 1,152 passes for 12,448 yards in a 15-year NFL career with Dallas, and Kiper almost projected Hurst to go No. 19 overall to the Cowboys before finishing his most recent mock draft, Kiper said. Graham has 556 catches for 6,800 yards in an eight-year pro career.
The two names Hurst thinks of when he tries to envision what he could be at the next level are Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen and former New York Giants and New Orleans Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey. Olsen has played in the NFL 11 seasons and has 639 catches and 7,556 yards, while Shockey had 547 catches for 6,143 yards in a 10-year career.
“I grew up watching Jeremy Shockey; him and Greg Olsen are the two I would like to be one day,” Hurst said. “Especially Greg Olsen, the way he carries himself, too. Obviously, he’s a superstar football player, but you’d never know it by the way he acts. I’d love to be a guy like that.”
The 6-foot-5, 251-pound Hurst had 100 catches for 1,281 yards in three seasons at South Carolina. After leaving school, he signed with agent Hadley Engelhard and is working out with Pete Bommarito at Bommarito Sports Performance in Davie, Fla. Six days a week, he starts at 6:45 a.m. on a schedule that includes speed training, position work and lifting and ends around 3:30 p.m.
Hurst chose to train at Bommarito specifically to work on his 40-yard dash time because he believes that’s the number that will most set him apart in the evaluation process.
“I always knew I was really fast even though some people didn’t give me a lot of credit for it,” he said. “So far in testing, I have been 4.53, 4.55. That’s what I want to be at when I get to Indianapolis, and I think if I can run a 4.5, I can really turn some heads.”
Indianapolis is the site of the NFL combine, where Hurst and the other tight ends in this year’s draft class will begin their rotation on Tuesday. What Hurst does there could either cement or dent his status as a projected first-rounder. Both Kiper and NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock have Hurst ranked as the top tight end in this year’s draft class.
“It’s an opportunity for me to put myself as the No. 1 tight end coming off the board,” Hurst said. “I think the way I’ve been training, it’s going to be huge for me because I’m going to put up some numbers that I really think are going to turn some heads.”
A 4.53 40-yard dash would have been the fourth-fastest time among tight ends at last year’s NFL combine. Hurst also believes he can set himself apart in the interview process at the combine, and he’s eager to counter the argument that, at 24 years old, he already is closer to his maximum potential than younger players at his position.
“I just completely disagree,” he said, pointing out that he concentrated on baseball throughout high school and the two years he spent in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system. “I didn’t lift weights like a football player for five years, and I don’t have the wear and tear some other guys do. I don’t buy into the age thing. I think that’s bogus. (Former Alabama wide receiver) Calvin Ridley is 24 years old, too, and you’re not going to not draft Calvin Ridley because he’s 24. He’s the best wide receiver in the draft.”
Hurst is out to prove he’s the best tight end in the class, too.
“It’s kind of crazy. I’m humbled by it all,” he said. “I’d love to hear my name called on Day 1, but I’m prepared for anything.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2018 at 9:10 AM with the headline "Hurst has NFL draft goal and thinks he knows the number to get there."