2021 NFL Draft: Late Pro Day winners

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Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images

Standouts from the final series of college pro days

Without the benefit of a formal, televised NFL Scouting Combine, the focus this late in the draft process has solely been on college’s respective spring Pro Day workouts. Without the proverbial “Underwear Olympics,” Pro Days are now the only place where teams have access to clear athletic testing numbers as well as medical information for NFL prospects. This increased emphasis has meant that most these college events have been extremely well-attended by team scouting departments. For example, NFL Network reported on Thursday that

Oklahoma State’s Pro Day drew representatives from 30 NFL teams.

We’re now finished the bulk of Pro Days, including some highly anticipated ones from Oregon, Penn State and LSU. Along with official NFL attendees, the NFL Draft reporting community has descended on these colleges. In doing so, it has been helpful in tallying the testing results, which prospects aren’t meeting the particular height/weight/speed thresholds, and defining particular standouts. Below are five more players who may have raised their draft stock with these final workouts.

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WR Rashod Bateman (Minnesota)

Once considered to be in a similar elite tier with LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase, Bateman only played a portion of the year for the team after opting out due to COVID for a time. That meant he needed to remind teams on his potential with his workout, and while measuring in smaller than his listed school height of 6’2” wasn’t ideal, running a 4.39 40-yard dash is much more important. That, combined with solid vertical (36-inches) and broad jump (123-inches) results insures he’ll be picked in the first round come later this month.

CB Isaiah Dunn (Oregon State)

Dunn had a long career with the Beavers, but because the team hasn’t been particularly good throughout his time there he’s flown a bit under the radar. That may change given that he recorded a 4.39 40-yard dash, as well as decent short shuttle and 3-cone drill times. Although a clear late round pick, teams can now rest assured that he has the requisite athleticism to compete for playing time for whichever team drafts him.

OT Teven Jenkins (Oklahoma State)

Everyone knew Jenkins was a tough, highly technical protector on the edge, but there were questions about his length and ability to stay at tackle. Measuring in with 81-inch wingspan may allay some of those judgments and then Jenkins overshadowed that by turning in a complete performance. His vertical jump (32.5-inches), bench press (36-reps) and short shuttle times were all above the typical NFL averages. Those results essentially make him a fit for anywhere along the offensive line, and have commentators comparing him to Bryan Bulaga.

S Darrick Forrest (Cincinnati)

I wrote about Forrest in a recent article about safeties that are worth drafting and developing, and Forrest made that list mostly thanks to his immediately apparent athleticism on tape. So it wasn’t surprising to see that his testing numbers were good, but it was surprising to see just how good they were. A 4.38 40-yard dash, 21 reps at the bench, a 39-inch vertical, essentially every athletic test came up positive for the former Bearcat. We’ll see if he can become a later rising safety in the process similar to players like Kyler Dugger or Jeremy Chinn last year.

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