{"id":579876,"date":"2026-04-03T16:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/579876\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T16:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:14:10","slug":"why-alex-harkey-suddenly-has-nfl-draft-scouts-paying-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/579876\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Alex Harkey Suddenly Has NFL Draft Scouts Paying Attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teams love versatility in the NFL Draft and Oregon offensive lineman<\/a> Alex Harkey has displayed his throughout the process. Returning from an injury to perform at the Ducks’ Pro Day, Harkey looked smooth during position drills. He’s flexible enough to play all four guard and tackle positions.<\/p>\n

Harkey recently spoke exclusively with NFL Draft On SI. Harkey discussed his Pro Day showcase, meeting with a bunch of NFL teams in attendance, his favorite plays to run in the playbook, and so much more.<\/p>\n

NFL Draft Interview: Oregon OL Alex Harkey Drawing Significant Interest<\/p>\n

JM: You recently took full advantage of your Pro Day showcase. You looked really good during position drills, getting back on the field after suffering a late-season surgery. I imagine you were satisfied with the overall performance?<\/p>\n

Alex Harkey: Yeah, I was more or less happy with how I did at Pro Day. I felt like some of my testing times were a little slower than what I was doing in training. In terms of the position drills, I felt really good out there. I felt like myself.<\/p>\n

JM: You\u2019ve shown terrific positional versatility throughout this process. You\u2019ve played both guard and tackle. Where do NFL teams see you playing at the next level? Has there been a consensus?<\/p>\n

Alex Harkey: A lot of teams have been asking for my feedback. They want to know what I think I can play. They\u2019re asking if I\u2019m open to playing anywhere else besides tackle. I\u2019m telling everybody I\u2019m just willing to get the job done, and that includes playing guard and center.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t really matter to me.<\/p>\n

JM: Is playing center within the realm of possibility? Have you been working on snapping the ball?<\/p>\n

Alex Harkey: Yeah, I\u2019ve for sure been working on snapping the ball. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be ready to play a game tomorrow at center, but that\u2019s what this process is for. I\u2019m getting better. I\u2019m adding value by getting comfortable snapping and becoming more versatile. I\u2019m getting the reps.<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq, center, celebrates a touchdown with Oregon offensive lineman Alex Harkey as the Oregon Ducks host the Montana State Bobcats on Aug. 30, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan\/The Register-Guard \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

JM: Is Alex Harkey athletic in space, or powerful in a phone booth? If you had to pick one\u2026<\/p>\n

Alex Harkey: I think I\u2019m athletic in space. Looking at the tape, I excelled on those quick screens and as a puller in space. I constantly make contact with a defender in space. It\u2019s pretty rare that I whiffed on those opportunities.<\/p>\n

A lot of linemen are scared to whiff on those opportunities. I feel like that area of my game is a strength of my game.<\/p>\n

JM: What was your favorite play to run in the playbook this past season? I always love hearing this answer from an offensive lineman. Break it down for me.<\/p>\n

Alex Harkey: To piggyback off my last answer, it would probably be a transportation run. The tight end is down blocking and I pull around. I\u2019m basically either one-on-one with the linebacker, or if that defender gets picked up, I\u2019m one-on-one with a cornerback or safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It can be a quick out throw, or a sweep to the running back. It just depends on how we dress it up. The tight end is down-blocking and I come up around the alley to the boundary.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an opportunity to get me in space and kill that guy (laughs). It\u2019s a pleasure.<\/p>\n

JM: That\u2019s a fantastic answer. Did you meet with any teams at pro day? Do you have any upcoming in-person visits or Zoom meetings?<\/p>\n

Alex Harkey: I\u2019ve met with a bunch of teams. I\u2019m talking to at least one every single day. Teams are starting to finalize their draft boards. I\u2019ve met with a good amount of teams. I met with the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers at pro day.<\/p>\n

I met with the Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, and Miami Dolphins on Zoom. I met with the Tennessee Titans in some fashion at the NFL Combine.<\/p>\n

JM: We\u2019ve appreciated your time today. There\u2019s a lot of interest in you and it\u2019s easy to see why. Why should a team use one of their NFL Draft picks on Alex Harkey?<\/p>\n

Alex Harkey: I\u2019ve been through ups and downs. I\u2019m always willing to fight through adversity for the team. I\u2019m going to put my best foot forward. When the going gets tough, I\u2019ll rise to the occasion. That\u2019s what I do.<\/p>\n

I always stay even keeled. I can\u2019t wait to get to work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teams love versatility in the NFL Draft and Oregon offensive lineman Alex Harkey has displayed his throughout the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-579876","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}