We are breaking down the Notre Dame prospects hoping to hear their names called in the upcoming NFL Draft being held in Detroit from April 25th through the 27th. Today, we look at a lanky veteran corner whose best years could be ahead of him in the pro ranks.

SPECS

Name: Cam Hart
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Position: CB
Height: 6-3 (per NFL Combine)
Weight: 202 (per NFL Combine)
40: 4.50
Vertical: 39.5
10-Yard Split: 1.57
Broad: 10′ 10″
3-Cone: 7.12
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.24
Bench Press: 11

STRENGTHS:

Elite size for the NFL with a cornerback frame that is hard to beat in this draft class. Leaves Notre Dame after a stellar, if a little underappreciated career. Not shy physically, but really thrives athletically with a tantalizing talent given his length. Played really well in big games. His stats aren’t great but teams eventually figured out to stay away from him.

WEAKNESSES:

A great combination of size and speed but not an athletic freak for NFL standards. Hart could play more physically and improve as a tackler at the next level. He’ll need to prove he can become a dependable playmaker when the ball is thrown his direction. A history of shoulder injuries and surgeries looms over his NFL stock heading towards the Draft.

OVERVIEW:

At times, the shoulder injuries were overshadowing Hart’s NFL aspiration. But, he ended up putting together a fine career at Notre Dame and impressed enough during workouts that he should be comfortably drafted. If he’s not picked, you can bet too many teams will be leery of his injury history. For his sake, I hope that it works out and he finds himself in a good slot when things kick off in Detroit.

PREDICTION:

5th Round, 163rd Overall to the Buffalo Bills

There are some mocks and positional rankings that have Hart sniffing around the top 10 cornerbacks in this draft class, although a more conservative guess has him somewhere in the no. 15 overall range. Perhaps a team really falls in love with his potential ceiling, ignores the shoulders, and makes him a pick inside the top 3 rounds but I think it’s unlikely.

The Bills have a pair of picks in the latter stages of the 5th round and could be an excellent landing spot. Buffalo let former All-Pro corner Tre’Davious White go this off-season after back-to-back brutal injury-filled seasons and have a major need to upgrade the defensive backfield.

Is everyone sold that Hart will play corner in the NFL? The Bills might focus on a starting-level corner earlier in the draft, perhaps in the 2nd round, and could bring Hart on as a cheaper rookie option who possibly provides positional flexibility down the road.