Pro days notebook
This week saw three of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft take part in pro days. By design, a quarterback is supposed to look outstanding at his pro day. A quarterback's pro day is always a scripted affair where he may throw 50 – 60 passes from both under center and in the spread. The throws are basically an NFL route tree to both sides of the field. He will also go through some footwork drills to demonstrate his foot quickness and athleticism.
Being that it is scripted and usually run by the prospects quarterback guru, it is a heavily practiced event. Most quarterbacks will practice their pro day script five to seven times before the actual event. It is for this reason that NFL people expect nothing less than an excellent workout. Don’t forget, these quarterbacks are throwing against air. There is no defense on the field.
When quarterbacks go through a private workout for individual teams, perfection isn’t expected, because the player has no idea of what exactly he will be doing. With that said, let’s review the quarterbacks' workouts as well as some other pro day workouts over the last week.
Teddy Bridgewater – Louisville (SCOUTING REPORT) - From every one I talked to, Bridgewater’s pro day was average. His accuracy was questioned, and he didn’t throw a consistently tight ball. Bridgewater needs to have strong private workouts if he wants to have a chance of going in the top 10 on draft day.
Blake Bortles – Central Florida (SCOUTING REPORT) - Bortles had a very good workout. He showed good footwork and threw a tight ball. His accuracy on the shorter throws was very good but from all repots I have gotten his longer throws were inconsistent.
Derek Carr – Fresno (SCOUTING REPORT) – Carr was suffering from a bit of a stomach virus the day of his workout but still had a very good workout. Both Bridgewater and Bortles threw inside at their workouts, Carr threw outside. From all reports, Carr threw the ball very well showing a strong arm and a tight ball. His footwork was very good and his accuracy was excellent. By his own admission, he felt he threw one poor pass all day.
Davante Adams – Wide Receiver – Fresno (SCOUTING REPORT) – Adams improved on his combine numbers in the 40 and the long jump. He ran his 40’s in the 4.48 range, and did 10’6” in the long jump. In his positional drills, he ran very good routes and displayed soft hands catching the ball.
Scott Crichton – Defensive End - Oregon State (SCOUTING REPORT) – Crichton did only positional drills and showed very good initial quickness and pass rush moves.
Loucheiz Purifoy – Corner - Florida - Purifoy did not have a very good combine and needed to have a strong pro day to help his draft status. He didn’t have it. Because of poor weather, the Florida prospects ran indoors on a fast runner surface, Purifoy ran only 4.63 and 4.65.
Dominique Easley – Defensive Tackle - Florida (SCOUTING REPORT) – Easley is coming off a knee injury and did not workout. He will try to work for coaches and scouts sometime before the draft.
Marcus Roberson – Corner - Florida –Like Purifoy, Roberson needed to run fast and came up short. He averaged 4.70 on his two 40 tries.
Jon Halapio – Guard - Florida – The only measurable drills that Halapio did were the vertical jump (27”) and the bench press (32 reps). His positional drills for the coaches were very good and he helped his status.
Morgan Moses – Tackle - Virginia (SCOUTING REPORT)– Moses did not have a strong combine, running 5.35 with a 21.5” vertical jump. At his pro day, he improved his vertical jump to 26” and lowered his 40 time to 5.15. He was unable to do positional drills, as he pulled a hamstring running the 40. He will try and do positional work sometime before the May 8th draft.
Zack Martin – Tackle – Notre Dame (SCOUTING REPORT)– Martin only did position drills and had a strong workout showing good quickness and footwork.
Troy Niklas – Tight End – Notre Dame (SCOUTING REPORT)– Niklas was unable to work out at the combine because of an injury. It has been reported that he had surgery for a hernia recently and was unable to work out at the Notre Dame pro day. Having only played the tight end position two years and with no measurable numbers, NIklas becomes a “wildcard” on draft day.
Louis Nix – Defensive tackle – Notre Dame (SCOUTING REPORT)– Nix improved his 40 time to 5.35 and did good positional work. He will probably be the first nose tackle taken.
Stephon Tuitt – Defensive tackle – Notre Dame (SCOUTING REPORT)– The medical people found that Tuitt had a broken foot when he was examined at the combine. He recently had surgery and did not workout. I can’t see Tuitt getting drafted before the second round, and he may drop to the third depending on the results of his surgery.
Chris Watt – Guard – Notre Dame (SCOUTING REPORT)– Watt did not work out at the combine because of a knee injury sustained late in the season. He had an impressive workout at Notre Dame. He ran the 40 in 5.04. He had a 28” vertical jump and 8’8” on the long jump. His three-cone was 6.67 which is above average for an offensive lineman. I can see Watt being drafted in the fourth round area.
Kelvin Benjamin – Wide Receiver – Florida State (SCOUTING REPORT)– Benjamin only did two measurable drills, jumping 33” in the vertical and he ran the short shuttle in 4.49. His route running was very good and he caught the ball well. Look for Benjamin to be drafted late in the first round.
Tim Jernigan – Defensive Tackle – Florida State (SCOUTING REPORT)– Jernigan improved his 40 time to 5.04. He got mixed reviews for his positional drills. There were some coaches that felt he was not in the best shape as he got winded doing the work. Still, he should go in the mid to late first round.
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This story originally appeared on Nationalfootballpost.com
