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5 Pro Days to Watch: Big week for Pac-12 QBs
The demand at quarterback in the NFL is at an all-time high, but the supply in the 2015 NFL Draft class is underwhelming, especially after the top two: Florida State’s Jameis Winston and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota. But this week offers the opportunity for several Pac-12 quarterbacks to stake their claim as to why a team should invest a draft pick in their future.
Mariota, UCLA’s Brett Hundley and Oregon State’s Sean Mannion will audition for NFL teams this week at their respective pro days. All three competed at the NFL Scouting Combine last month and will look to continue that positive momentum through this week, as Mariota is competing to be the No. 1 overall pick and Hundley and Mannion are battling to be the third quarterback drafted.
Here are five storylines to watch this week on the pro day schedule.
5. Arizona wide receiver Austin Hill fights to earn a draftable grade (March 10).
Hill put himself on the NFL radar with 81 catches, 1,364 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2012, but he hasn’t looked the same since tearing his ACL in the spring of 2013. He missed all of his junior season and although he rebounded nicely with 49 catches in 2014 as a senior, he seemed like a shell of his sophomore form.
Hill was one of the more notable NFL Combine snubs, so many around the league are eager to get him in front of a stopwatch. He is known as a hard working grinder and with a positive showing at Arizona’s pro day, Hill might be able to go from afterthought to draftable.
4. Ohio State tight end Jeff Heuerman and defensive tackle Michael Bennett finally get their chance (March 13).
Still recovering from nagging injuries from their senior seasons, Heuerman and Bennett weren’t able to participate in the Senior Bowl or work out at the Combine. Heuerman, who has battled a sprained ankle, said he is near 100 percent healthy, and Bennett hopes to be at full health as both are expected to be full participants at the Buckeyes pro day.
Heuerman is expected to test well and despite only 17 catches in 2014, he could be one of the top tight ends drafted with good numbers at his pro day. Bennett is one of the better three technique prospects in this class and should show well with his combination of initial quickness and strength.
3. Troubled, but talented wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham back on the football field (March 11).
Aside from the Combine, scouts haven’t been able to see Green-Beckham on the field in over a year, so the pro day will be a great opportunity for the polarizing receiver to show off his skill-set. Along with seeing him run the full route tree and catch the ball, NFL teams are eager to see his interaction with the coaches and how he carries himself.
Green-Beckham’s talent isn’t a question, but his reliability is and the receiver could help himself considerably by simply being on time, hustling and following through with every drill asked of him. The sky is the limit, but it’s up to DGB to sell himself as a sound investment.
2. March 11 might be the busiest day for pro days this season, where will the top decision-makers go?
Alabama, Louisville, Oklahoma, USC and Wisconsin will all hold their on-campus pro day this Wednesday, a stacked schedule that will cause some logistic complications among NFL teams. Front offices are used to splitting up resources during the pro day process, but this day will be particularly interesting to see where general managers, head coaches and other top decision-makers end up.
Connecting dots can be an exercise in futility, but which coaches will bypass Alabama, USC and others to see Melvin Gordon catch passes in Madison? Will any head coaches go to Norman to see Green-Beckham in person? With several other teams also scheduled for March 11 pro days (Rutgers, Marshall, Colorado State, Cincinnati), it will be a busy Wednesday. And luckily for some teams, quarterback Garrett Grayson will throw March 23 at his own pro day, not at the Colorado State’s pro day as he continues to rehab from a hamstring issue.
1. Pac-12 passers make their closing arguments.
Brett Hundley (UCLA pro day, March 10), Marcus Mariota (Oregon, March 12) and Sean Mannion (Oregon State, March 13) are three of the most accomplished and decorated quarterbacks in Pac-12 history. And this week, each will have a chance to convince teams they have the traits worth drafting in the spring.
With years of game film on record, teams know each very well, but a pro day is the type of setting that helps reinforce what the tape says. For Mariota, NFL teams want to see him take snaps from under center and be efficient with the footwork in his drops, something that isn’t as easy to see on film due to Oregon’s shotgun offense. As for Hundley and Mannion, opinions are all over the map depending on who you talk to in the NFL, but both are in the conversation to be the third quarterback drafted. Any positive momentum achieved at their pro day won’t hurt.
(Dane Brugler is an analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, a property of The Sports Xchange distributed in partnership with CBSSports.com).
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