It's pro-day season, and College Football 24/7 is your one-stop shop for information and analysis on the on-campus workouts that allow draft prospects to make an up-close impression on NFL club personnel. Here's a look at the key takeaways from Tuesday's action.
One thing to keep in mind: Pro-day testing results tend to be more favorable for prospects than NFL Scouting Combine results.
Florida: Tabor slides, Davis shines
Big draw:LB Jarrad Davis
Don't forget:CB Teez Tabor
Attendance:New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was in Gainesville, and 28 NFL clubs were represented at the workout.
The skinny:For two of the Gators' top prospects -- Davis and Tabor -- pro day carried quite a bit of importance. Tabor hoped to rebound from a disappointing clocking of 4.62 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting combine, but instead, he ran even slower with an unofficial 4.75 and opened the door for continued questions about whether his speed is adequate for the cornerback position.
"That's really going to hurt, and that's going to be a polarizing conversation in draft rooms," said NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock, who attended the pro day. "A lot of people talked about him as a potential first-round pick. He's going to slide a little bit."
Tabor's message to NFL scouts: "Just press play." Mayock said he expects Tabor to be selected on Day 2 of the draft (Rounds 2 or 3).
"He's got really good tape in probably the best conference in college football, the SEC. But corners who run a 4.75 raise a major red flag," Mayock said. "The special teams coaches are going to weigh in and say 'If he doesn't start, what am I going to with a 4.75 guy on special teams?' So that's going to hurt him there. Then the conversation will go to character off the field and 'What do we really believe on this kid?' At a certain point they're going to say 'If he gets to a certain (draft) level, we'll take him.' My personal opinion is, it's a great corner draft and I don't think he's going to go in the first round. I anticipate him going somewhere on Day 2."
One area where Tabor did improve from the combine, albeit slightly, was his vertical jump (32 inches). ... For Davis, it was his first chance to perform in physical testing for scouts because an ankle injury kept him from doing so at the combine. Davis recorded a 38.5-inch vertical jump, a 10-9 broad jump, and ran a 4.56 40-yard dash, all stellar results for an inside linebacker weighing 238 pounds. He also bench pressed 225 pounds 23 times. Mayock said he expects Davis will probably be chosen in the first round. ... S Marcus Maye ran a 4.48 40-yard dash after being unable to run at the combine, and Mayock projected him as a Day 2 choice (Rounds 2-3). ... Mayock projected Florida LB Alex Anzalone, a Reese's Senior Bowl standout whose game experience at the college level was limited, as a third-round pick.
FSU: Cook gives scouts another 40 clocking
Big draw:RB Dalvin Cook
Don't forget:DE DeMarcus Walker
Attendance:All 32 NFL clubs were represented at FSU, though no head coaches attended.
The skinny:About four weeks after a combine performance that wasn't quite as good as expected, Cook showed scouts his speed one more time with 40-yard dash results that weren't too far off his 4.49 from Indianapolis. Perhaps more surprisingly, he skipped all other testing, including the vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill and shuttle runs, none of which provided him a top-10 finish among combine running backs. He did go through position drills, and even ran pass routes from the slot. Former FSU star Jalen Ramsey, the Jacksonville Jaguars' first-round pick last year, attended FSU's workout and said he'd like to see the Jaguarsselect Cook at No. 4 overall. ... Walker reportedly ran an unofficial 4.76 40-yard dash and weighed in at 281 pounds, a remarkable clocking for that size. He also recorded a 9-7 broad jump, 20 reps on the bench press, and personnel evaluators told NFL Network's James Palmer, who attended the pro day, that Walker really helped himself.
Texas: Foreman puts on a show
Big draw:RB D'Onta Foreman
Don't forget:TE Tyrone Swoopes
Attendance:All 32 NFL clubs were at the Longhorns workout, including running backs coaches from the Lions, Bengals and Steelers, per NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt.
The skinny:It was a banner day for Foreman, who needed a strong performance after missing most of the physical testing at the NFL Scouting Combine. He responded with a 4.45 40-yard dash at 234 pounds, with a 33-inch vertical jump. It was a money-making day for the 234-pound Foreman, who rushed for 2,028 yards last year for UT. ... After playing quarterback and running back at Texas, Swoopes is attempting to make the NFL as a tight end. At 247 pounds, he reportedly clocked an unofficial 4.65 40-yard dash Tuesday, and has drawn interest from the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Also in action Tuesday: Eastern Washington, Florida A&M, Iowa State, Miami (Ohio), Stony Brook, Texas State, UNLV.
On deck for Wednesday:Bowie State, Florida International, Fordham, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Navy, North Dakota State, Ohio, SMU, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
