The chances of a sixth-round draft pick making the roster of a team that has won four consecutive division titles and is considered to be in a Super Bowl window are usually not great.

And then throw in the fact that defensive back Daequan Hardy stands just 5-foot-9 and weighs a mere 179 pounds, and the odds sink even lower for him in his quest to make it with the Buffalo Bills.

However, Hardy has one ace up his sleeve as he battles through training camp at St. John Fisher University, and then in the coming weeks when the team moves back to One Bills Drive and starts playing preseason games. He can return punts, and he might be able to return kickoffs.

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“The return element was really why he was drafted,” coach Sean McDermott admitted. “That was the biggest reason why he was drafted. And from spring to now, he’s done a great job of getting more and more comfortable under the ball in the return game, the punt return in particular.”

Daequan Hardy was a skilled punt returner in college

Last year, Hardy returned 17 punts for 248 yards and two touchdowns at Penn State as his 14.6 average ranked fifth in the country. If Hardy can show some of that dynamic ability that helped lead the Bills to using the 219th overall pick on him out, he could carve out a spot on the 53-man roster.

Following a stellar high school career at Penn Hills in Pittsburgh, Hardy almost began his college career at the University at Buffalo. He had dreamed of playing for Penn State and he made an official visit in 2019, but as a 160-pounder he left Happy Valley pretty unhappy as Nittany Lions coach James Franklin didn’t offer a scholarship.

He committed to UB, but then Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith called with the offer he was hoping for, and he immediately told UB that he was sorry, but he had received the offer he could not refuse.

“I was definitely kind of surprised at how late they offered me,” Hardy told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last December when he was asked to recount the situation. “But I just took the chance and ran with it.”

Though not right away, particularly as a return man. He played sparingly in 2019 before finally earning a starting job at cornerback in 2020, and he ultimately played 48 games in five seasons, made 60 tackles, broke up 25 passes and had five interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.

But as a return man, despite his constant pleas to be given a chance, Franklin did not acquiesce until 2023, a decision he probably regretted once he saw what Hardy could do.

“I was telling them since I was a freshman that I wanted to do punt return,” Hardy said Monday, just after finishing practice by catching a few punts off the Jugs machine at Fisher. “It was just some other things that coach Franklin had decided that limited me from doing it, but eventually they let me get some returns and I showed them my abilities.”

Bills cornerback situation

Hardy is facing steep competition at cornerback with Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam locked in for the boundary spots, and Taron Johnson and Cam Lewis manning the nickel cornerback spot. Hardy will have to separate himself as a returner if he hopes to avoid being cut and perhaps added back to the practice squad.

“It’s been going good, just getting a feel for the guys, just being around them, learning from the vets,” he said of his time with the Bills. “Just trying to go out here and show the coaching staff that I can make plays, so I think it’s been going good.”

The Bills have had several players catching punts and no one has stood out above the others. Hardy has been back deep along with KJ Hamler, Khalil Shakir, Andy Isabella and Ty Johnson.

“A lot of good choices catching punts back there,” special teams coordinator Matt Smiley said.

Hardy knows the punt return piece, and possibly the kickoff return piece, is critical for him, but he also has to prove that he can play defense because it’s rare today for teams to carry players whose only job is returning kicks.

“Well, knowing the defense, one, and that’s going to continue to unfold as he’s a rookie,” McDermott said when assessing what Hardy needs to do. “And then two is, the physicality that you got to bring in our defense to the table. We don’t play with 10 guys out there when it’s a run and 11 when it’s a pass. So corners in our defense are expected to play physical in the run game as well.”

Hardy gets the message, and with confidence he said, “Just show my physicality as a smaller guy, continue to make plays on the football, and I think my play will speak for itself. I think I’m a plug-and-play type of guy. If you want to put me inside, you want to put me outside, you want to put me in the edge, I can play any position in the back end. These preseason games are going to tell a lot, so just trying to get those reps in practice.”

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Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Daequan Hardy will lean on return ability to make Buffalo Bills roster