QBs, WRs take stage at NFL combine: How did Fresno State’s Haener, Moreno-Cropper fare?

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener and wideout Jalen Moreno-Cropper took their next steps toward the NFL draft on Saturday, going through on-field work at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.

For Moreno-Cropper, they were some very fast steps.

The Bulldogs wideout, who caught 83 passes for 1,086 yards and five touchdowns in his senior season, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds and backed that up minutes later with a 4.41.

That was tied for sixth-fastest among the receivers who ran the drill, with Jalin Hyatt from Tennessee.

Nebraska wideout Trey Palmer posted the fastest 40 time at 4.33 seconds, third-best so far at the 2023 combine.

Haener, before a strong throwing session, also displayed some athleticism with a 35-inch vertical leap, second-best among quarterbacks and 25th among quarterbacks all-time before Anthony Richardson from Florida went 40.50 inches and Clayton Tune from Houston had a 37.5-inch jump.

“Today was good,” Haener said in a phone interview from Indianapolis. “Crop ran really fast. Crop had a good day. Overall, I think it was a really good day for us both.”

The vertical leap by Richardson was the best all-time among quarterbacks, but Haener still ended up fourth among quarterbacks this year. He also had a broad jump of 9-6. Cropper’s broad jump was 10-1.

Richardson, who left Florida after his redshirt sophomore season, put up big numbers at the combine. His 4.44-second 40 was third all-time for quarterbacks and his broad jump of 10-9 also was the best all-time by a quarterback.

The quarterbacks that he passed are not exactly NFL household names: Josh Portis from California (Pennsylvania) in the vertical jump and Brad Smith from Missouri in the broad jump. Richardson and every other player to go through the combine this weekend still have plenty of questions to answer.

Haener, Cropper as well as a group of Bulldogs that includes running back Jordan Mims, defensive end David Perales and wideout Nikko Remigio will get that chance at the Fresno State Pro Day on March 30.

For Haener, he might have answered one of those questions at the combine with his ability to drive the ball down field. During his senior season, the Bulldogs got off to a slow start with their deep passing game, but were much better after Haener returned from what originally was thought to be a season-ending ankle injury.

He finished the season hitting 72% of his passes for 2,896 yards with 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions, and 43.6% on his passes that traveled 20 or more yards down field. But he threw the ball well during his on-field session and his velocity Saturday was measured the same as Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, who is regarded as having one of the bigger arms in this draft class.

“I feel pretty good about it,” Haener said. “I thought I threw the ball timing-wise pretty well. I don’t think I had that many incompletions. I hit throws down the field.

“I feel like I did what I needed to do. I don’t think I could have done much else.”

This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 4:43 PM.