The Oregon Ducks are set to have multiple player hear their names get called in the 2026 NFL Draft next month.
But while players like tight end Kenyon Sadiq and safety Dillon Thieneman will dominate most of the headlines for Oregon during the draft, one potential overlooked Duck, offensive lineman Alex Harkey, is receiving some notable interest from around the league after the NFL Combine.
Alex Harkey Lands Private Workout With Cowboys
Per On3’s Pete Nakos, Oregon offensive lineman Alex Harkey has landed private workouts with the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams after impressing at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis last week.
Harkey also had formal meetings at the Combine with teams like the Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, and Denver Broncos.
Harkey, a native of Austin, Texas, spent just one season at Oregon but used his time in Eugene to catapult himself into the NFL Draft conversation. There’s no doubt that his rise to the professional level has been impressive considering where he was at a few seasons ago.
Alex Harkey’s Rise to NFL Has Been Impressive
Harkey went from not having a full-time offensive position a few years ago to landing multiple visits with NFL teams.
After starting out as a tight end at Tyler Junior College in Texas in 2021, Harkey moved to right tackle for the remainder of the season.
The transition proved to be worth it, as Harkey landed with the Colorado Buffaloes the following year where he appeared in 12 games. He then headed back to his home state of Texas in 2023 to join the Texas State Bobcats, where he once again received snaps at tight end but had established himself as a solid offensive lineman,
This past fall, Harkey admitted that it was tough to move from Colorado to Texas State and that he never thought he would leave the Bobcats.
“Honestly, it was just tough mentally to come down from the Power 4 level at the time. . . . ” Harkey said. “I honestly never thought I’d leave. I thought I’d finish out the year prior and then go to league. But just like looking back at it, I made the right decision to come here and then give another year and prove myself.”
Harkey spent two seasons in San Marcos before hitting the transfer portal once again. He committed to Oregon last offseason, and it’s clear he impressed Dan Lanning and the Ducks coaching staff.
“Yeah he’s a guy that has juice every single day in practice, and it shows up on game day,” Lanning said this past season after a win over Wisconsin. “I didn’t get to see those particular blocks, but there were some big blocks, and they were doing a good job early on us, not getting hats on hats at the line of scrimmage. They were swimming some blocks for us. I think, you know, the coaches made some good adjustments, but guys like Alex and his physicality is going to show up in a game like that.”
