2015 NFL DRAFT

Fourth round (No. 123): WR Chris Harper, Kansas State

Apr 27, 2013, 10:36 AM | Updated: Apr 8, 2016, 10:51 am

By Danny O’Neil

The rationale: The Seahawks have spent more than a year looking for the big-bodied receiver to fill the role that Mike Williams played in 2010. It’s why Seattle look at Terrell Owens last year and the reason that Braylon Edwards made the team. Now Harper will get a chance to muscle his way into that role.



The Chris Harper file


Position: Wide receiver
School: Kansas State
Height/Weight: 6-1, 229 lbs.
Drafted: Round 4, 123 overall
Notable: Has drawn comparisons to NFL receiver Anquan Boldin because of similar size and physicality.

He is a great athlete, who initially went to Oregon, and in 2008 he became the school’s first player in eight years to score a rushing, receiving and passing in the same season. He transferred to Kansas State after that season with an eye toward playing quarterback, but ended up a receiver.

He caught 97 passes over his final two seasons with the Wildcats despite the fact they were primarily a rushing offense.

Under general manager John Schneider, Seattle has had great success with latter-round picks who are relatively new to their positions. Richard Sherman – a fifth-round pick – had played only two years at cornerback when the Seahawks drafted him in 2011. J.R. Sweezy played defensive line in college, but the Seahawks picked him out of North Carolina State last year and turned him into a guard.

The risk: He’s big, but not tall. Harper was listed at 6 feet 1, 234 pounds by Kansas State last year. A more recent story listed his weight at 224. Either way, 6-1 is not all that tall, which means Harper has to be aggressive going up to get the ball.

Seattle is already fairly deep at receiver with Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice, Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin all holding clearly defined roles with the team. That’s not to say there isn’t room for another playmaker, there certainly is, but the Seahawks also have high hopes for Stephen Williams, who was added for 2013, as well as Bryan Walters, who impressed in his practice-squad role last year.

From The Wichita Eagle: Chris Harper shows draft scouts statistics aren’t his measuring stick.

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Fourth round (No. 123): WR Chris Harper, Kansas State