Scout: Florida DB’s pro day drills best since Rodgers-Cromartie
An NFL area scout, who also happened to be a former defensive back in the league, told Shutdown Corner on Tuesday that Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III turned in an impressive workout in cornerback drills at the Gators’ pro day.
“He is so sweet,” the scout texted from the Gators’ new indoor facility. “Killing drills. Maybe best DB [pro day] workout I’ve seen live since DRC.”
That would be Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who was the 16th overall pick in the 2008 draft despite playing at I-AA Tennessee State. The scout also noted that Hargreaves, nicknamed VH3, displayed very good ball skills in the positional drills and guessed that any questions about his height or athleticism would be answered with the strong workout.
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Asked if he thought Hargreaves solidified a spot in the top half of the first round, the area scout says his team’s grading method did not pertain to rounds specifically but that he was one of the higher-rated DBs he has written up in the past few seasons. That would include higher than 2015 draft picks such as Wake Forest’s Kevin Johnson, who was the 16th overall pick of the Houston Texans last spring, and Florida State’s Ronald Darby, a second-rounder who had a standout rookie season with the Buffalo Bills.
Hargreaves chose to stand on his athletic testing from the NFL scouting combine, and it appears to be a wise choice. The Gators’ pro day was held in the school’s brand new indoor facility, and the scouts in attendance were blaming some of the slower 40-yard dash times for the new surface being a bit sticky.
Although no head coaches or general managers were spotted at the pro day, likely because of the overlap of the NFL owners meetings happening down the road concurrently, there were several coordinators and positions coaches in attendance, including Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin (who spoke at length with Hargreaves’ parents after the workout) and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker coach Joey Porter, even on his birthday no less.
Other observations from the pro day:
• Defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard, who checked in at No. 48 in Shutdown Corner’s top 50 2016 draft prospects, displayed “explosion and power” in the bag drills. “Beast” was one word the scout texted after watching him perform.
• Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, per the scout, looked “good on tape but very average” at this workout. Robinson also was dinged previously by a few teams for poor interviews at the combine.
• Defensive lineman Alex McCalister has an intriguing frame at 6-foot-6, 240 pounds. He worked out in linebacker drills at the pro day as well because of his unusual dimensions but “looked rough” in those and also appeared to have a “bad body.”
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
