With headliners out, Pro Day a chance to shine for Ladd McConkey, others from UGA football

The latest batch of pro prospects from the Georgia football pipeline to the NFL was on display Wednesday in the school’s indoor practice facility minus two of the most prominent ones.

Kirby Smart’s program is expected to have multiple first-round draft prospects again to add the eight that were scooped up the last two seasons, but some of the luster of this UGA Pro Day was taken off because projected first-round picks Brock Bowers and Amarius Mims didn’t work out.

There’s no doubt that Bowers will go in round one, but just how high the three-time All-American goes is a question considering he is a tight end which isn’t seen as a premium position.

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Bowers said he tweaked his hamstring two weeks earlier and that kept him from working out in front of NFL scouts and three head coaches.

“I’d rather be working out here with all the guys and doing it today, but stuff happens,” Bowers said.

Mims, the huge offensive tackle, also isn’t supposed to last beyond Day 1. He didn’t go either after sustaining a hamstring injury at the NFL combine 10 days earlier.

Mims ran an impressive 5.07 40 at the combine at 6-foot-8 and 340 pounds.

“Most of these guys performed at the combine so I feel today is a little anticlimactic,” coach Kirby Smart said.

Wide receiver Ladd McConkey and cornerback Kamari Lassiter also are viewed as prospects that could go as early as the end of round 1 so they were the main attractions on the day among the 11 other Georgia players.

Bowers and Mims will hold another workout that Bowers said will be in early April. Mims did 22 reps on the bench press Wednesday, according to the NFL Network.

“Those boys will put on a show,” McConkey said. “It will probably be just as crowded as it was today.”

McConkey said he naturally wants to go as high as possible in the draft but he wants it to be the right fit.

“I guess we’ll see when draft day comes,” McConkey said. “Everybody is always like where do you want to go, where do you think you’re going to go. I have no idea. Whoever picks me.”

McConkey did the 3-cone drill in 6.69 seconds Wednesday, but stood on a 4.39 40 at the combine, saying “I was super pumped about that.”

Bowers wants to top that.

"I always tell Ladd we could race and I’d beat him, but I don’t know about that, we’ll see,” Bowers said.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan were in attendance. So was Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce and Titans head coach Brian Callahan, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter) from Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy.

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and tight end Oscar Delp watched from above with former Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm and tight end and Charlie Woerner down low.

Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton threw for the wide receivers and running backs.

“It felt like home,” McConkey said. “This is the easy stuff. I really enjoyed it. It was good to see some faces of my teammates, coaches. Coming back is always special.”

Smart said of McConkey: “His ability to separate is probably one of his key things. In the NFL, there’s less touching, you’re able to run routes and that’s going to be advantageous for Ladd.”

Lassiter didn’t run a 40 at the NFL combine and ran an unofficial 4.60 Wednesday. Other unofficial 40s included 4.62 for running back Kendall Milton, 4.70 for running back Daijun Edwards and 4.69 for wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint.

Lassiter's time may not have helped his stock, but Smart said: “He has a really good knack for finishing on the ball and getting the ball out."

Smart said he doesn’t get many questions about Bowers.

“The tape speaks for itself,” Smart said. “They’ve been to our practices, they know what he can do.”

ESPN’s Mel Kiper called Bowers “a do it all guy,” who can play fullback and H-Back and can outrace cornerbacks.

“He is a fear factor player,” he said on the “First Draft” podcast.

Safety Javon Bullard said Smart addressed the Bulldogs going through Pro Day before the workout, saying he appreciated them.

Georgia could have multiple first-round draft picks in 2025 with guys like Beck and safety Malaki Starks, but Smart isn’t taking anything for granted.

“I don’t know that’s always going to be the case,” he said. “With the portal, you can bring in a first-rounder. So there’s years you might not have them but you can bring them in. That’s not going to go forever, it’s just been a good run and we’ll continue to recruit well and develop well. Some year you may have three or four seconds and not a first. …It’s about getting good players and getting buy in from each other. I don’t get caught up in what round they’re in. I want them to go as high as they possibly can.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Ladd McConkey, Kamari Lassiter center stage at Georgia football Pro Day