If you were to ask anybody on campus to name any player from the Idaho Vandals team, most people would say Hayden Hatten. Hatten made a name for himself throughout his five years in Moscow and is now continuing his career and chasing his NFL dreams, as he declared for the NFL Draft in December.
Overview
Hayden Hatten plays Wide Receiver , and in his time at Idaho he cemented a prestigious legacy. In his five seasons, Hatten was able to tally 3,444 receiving yards on 243 receptions and an Idaho program record 33 receiving touchdowns. He ranks second all-time in yards and receptions for the team. Back when Hatten joined the team, he arrived as a Tight End, flipping to the receiver position when injuries struck the team in his freshman season. Hatten was also able to collect plenty of accolades throughout his time here, becoming a two-time First Team All-Big Sky Conference Team wide receiver and making First Team FCS All-American in 2022 and Second Team FCS All-American in 2023.
Physicals
Hayden Hatten stands at 6-foot-1, and weighs in at 209 pounds, which is slightly above average size for all WRs in this year’s class. Hatten has some physical size concerns when it comes to his arms and hands, as his arm size and wingspan ranks in the lower quartile of this year’s draft class.
At Idaho’s Pro Day, Hatten was able to make or break himself by showing off athleticism and try to create some eye-popping numbers. The biggest thing to come out of his pro day was his outstanding vertical jump of 39 inches, which shows offhis jump ball capabilities and ranks near the top of all 2024 WR’s.
Strengths
After getting to watch Hatten play in person these last two seasons, his game seems to be very sharp and shows little to no mistakes when on the field. His ability to work in space is NFL level, as he shows off his quickness and agility when he is able to create space on his routes. His ability to make plays is phenomenal, as he is able to make the most out of the worst situations when the ball is in his hands. Hatten’s hands may be viewed as small by scouts, but he has some of the strongest hands in the draft. Very few times will one see Hatten drop a catchable ball, and his ability to bring down 50/50 passes is next level. He has a certain type of fluidity in his game that makes his routes crisp, and his catch and run ability has almost no drop off in speed.
Weaknesses
Hatten ran a 4.68 second 40-yard dash at pro day, which ranks near the bottom in times ran by WRs this year. Hatten has something called in-game speed, where he seems to lose no quickness on the field and is still able to beat corners downfield. Another weakness in his game is that his size is above average and because of that his run blocking capabilities could see some improvement. His size also leads him to rely on the run after catch to breakaway and seems to not break as many tackles right after the catch.
Projection
As a Vandal student and a fan, I would love to see Hayden Hatten get his name called on draft night, and I think he could be a valuable piece to a team, starting on a practice squad and getting a chance later down the path. However, I rank Hatten around the WR35-40 in this year’s draft, which lands him outside of the draft. If a team spends their time on him, he could very well be a 7th Rounder, but it is more likely he will end up an undrafted free agent, and sign with a team quickly after the draft.
Bryce Norwood can be reached at [email protected]