DraftFix: Ed Oliver's showcase highlights the latest set of pro day workouts

by Site Admin

In the lead-up to the draft, we've been updating you on any interesting numbers from pro day workouts. Since our last update, the 2019 pro day has taken place for each of the following schools:

  • March 28: Arkansas State, Bryant, Dartmouth, Florida State, Houston, North Dakota State, North Texas, Ohio, Southern Methodist, Tennessee-Martin, Towson, Utah, Virginia
  • March 29: Bethune-Cookman, BYU, Mississippi, South Dakota State, South Florida, TCU, Virginia Tech

Here were the more interesting results:

At Florida State, safety AJ Westbrook ran a 40 in the 4.4 range, while Demarcus Christmas bettered his combine time by running a 4.9.

Defensive lineman Ed Oliver put on a show at Houston:

Wide receiver Raelon Singleton also had a good day but cornerback Isaiah Johnson, a combine standout, did not work out.

At North Dakota State, running back Bruce Anderson ran an official 4.58 40-yard dash and did 22 bench press reps.

At North Texas, linebacker EJ Ejiya impressed in positional drills and a potential late-round wide receiver made a good impression:

Cornerback Jordan Wyatt stood out at SMU's pro day:

A player that helped himself is one that battled an injury the last year of his SMU career in Wyatt, who showed his ability to change direction incredibly well. After clocking a 4.59 40-yard dash, the 5-11 cornerback clocked a blazing 4.13 20-yard shuttle and a blistering L-Drill at 6.68. The two times would have been good for 13th and 3rd, respectively, at the 2019 NFL Combine out of all defensive backs. The Wylie, Texas native's 10-4 broad jump and 20 bench press reps were more than respectable as well as the bench press number would have landed him in the top four of the combine testers.

Utah's best prospect may be linebacker Chase Hansen, who couldn't work out and revealed he has been dealing with a herniated disc in his back. Linebacker Cody Barton had an impressive day, but safety Marquise Blair underwhelmed.

The Jets special teams coaches were keeping a close eye on punter Mitch Wishnowsky and kicker Matt Gay. Wishnowsky has been working closely with his Australian compatriot and former Jet Tom Hackett.

A current Jet, Bronson Kaufusi, was on hand to watch his brother - 6-foot-9 defensive end Corbin Kaufusi at BYU, although he was unable to work out, having delayed surgery to play in the team's bowl game. BYU's top prospect, linebacker Sione Takitaki, did drills but opted not to run the 40.

At South Dakota State, cornerback Jordan Brown impressed by running a sub-4.5 40-yard dash. Sioux Falls offensive lineman Trey Pipkins was also there, but opted to sit on his combine numbers.

At Virginia Tech, defensive lineman Ricky Walker, who was previously listed at 305 pounds, weighed in at 285 and ran a 4.95 40-yard dash. He also did 25 bench press reps.

Most of the attention at Ole Miss was on quarterback Jordan Ta'amu and receivers AJ Brown, DK Metcalf and DeMarkus Lodge. Surprisingly, Lodge was the most impressive of the three. The Jets supposedly spent extensive time with safety Zedrick Woods.

Some other interesting nuggets from Tony Pauline:

[Possible first round tackle] Greg Little completed 16 reps on the bench press and touched 29 inches on the vertical jump. I’m told Little had five more reps in him, but the bar was pulled away early due to concern he was about to hurt his pectoral muscle.
[Tight end] Dawson Knox timed between 4.51 to 4.57 seconds in the 40 as well as 6.81 seconds in the three-cone. His shuttle times ran anywhere between 4.18 seconds and 4.26 seconds. Knox looked terrific in position drills, and his overall workout was rather remarkable when you consider he’s just 12 weeks removed from hernia surgery.

TCU's best prospects are both edge rushers, although neither worked out at their pro day. Ben Banogu, a projected day two pick, already has a workout scheduled with the Jets, while they have also shown interest in LJ Collier.

Linebacker Ty Summers also had a good day, according to Pauline:

He stood on his 40 mark from the combine, a clocking of 4.51 seconds -- one of the fastest from the linebacker group -- but did time 4.12 seconds in the short shuttle and 6.84 seconds in the three-cone.

Finally, at Virginia, defensive back Juan Thornhill is their top prospect, but cornerback Tim Harris stole the show:

Harris measured 6016 and 197 pounds and hit 39 inches in the vertical and 11-foot-7 in the broad. His times in the 40 ranged from the high 4.3s to the low 4.4s [...] The senior is an interesting story, as he looked like a legitimate top-100 pick early in his UVA career before injuries derailed him. Harris, who we mentioned during our Cavaliers scouting preview in early August, was graded as a street free agent by scouts but could now squeak into the last day of the draft.

There are just eight more pro days left to go. We'll update you on those at the weekend.