Florida's Jaylen Watkins is widely considered the third-best defensive back prospect from his own school, behind cornerbacks Loucheiz Purifoy and Marcus Roberson, but the versatile former Gator intends to grab plenty of attention with his 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
And despite recovering from an ankle injury sustained at the Senior Bowl, his training for the combine in Boca Raton, Fla., has sparked immense confidence.
"I think I'm going to run pretty good," Watkins said, according to foxsports.com. "I've been testing really good here. I know I'll go 4.4 or lower. That's going to be good because I know any time someone can run a 4.4 that's pretty good."
Pretty good, indeed. Out of 333 athletes at last year's combine, only a dozen ran under a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash. Only five of those were cornerbacks, and none were safeties, which could ultimately be Watkins' pro position. The half brother of Clemson draft prospect Sammy Watkins, Jaylen Watkins made 52 stops for UF last season and is working with former NFL stars Cris Carter and Samari Rolle in preparation for the combine.
If he runs in the 4.3s as he expects, you can bet Watkins' name will be a board-climber leading up to the draft.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter *@ChaseGoodbread.*