Unheralded NFL Draft Prospects Opening Eyes at Pro Days

Even though crowds come to pro days to check out the top NFL prospects, the unheralded players often gain the most in terms of draft exposure. If you are an NFL head coach or general manager, you should have a good idea about who the top prospects are. So when a staff arrives on campus, it will do its due diligence on the lesser-known prospects also out there putting in work.

With the pro days all but wrapped up, it is time to dig in. Look for those guys who wowed at their respective on-campus workouts and hopefully put themselves in the mix to be selected in the draft. The league is stuffed with guys who won the offseason and found their ways onto NFL rosters.

However, before we dive into these eight players, it’s important to understand this isn’t about small colleges and hidden gems. Sometimes an unheralded guy can be in a major program but lost in the mix. These are the guys who will use the exposure their high-profile teammates afford them to open NFL eyes.

This list has a nice mix of the two but a common thread. It is all about athleticism at pro days. The great athletes can showcase themselves in these types of settings, and the positions represented here really prove that point.

So with that, let’s take a look at eight prospects who lit up their pro days and could end up on your favorite team.

Bud Sasser, WR Missouri

When you get an audience with 30 of the 32 NFL franchises, you’d better put on a good show. Most of the league descended on Columbia, Missouri, to check out defensive end/linebacker Shane Ray. Ray was unable to work out for teams at the NFL Scouting Combine, so the audience was there for him.

However, that didn’t stop wide receiver Bud Sasser from stealing a little attention. While Ray was running an incredibly slow three-cone drill, Sasser was opening eyes. He already had underrated film (77 receptions, 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2014) but was getting no love. According to NFL.com’s Gil Brandt, Sasser changed that:

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Wide receiver Bud Sasser (6-2 5/8, 219) ran the 40 in 4.53 and 4.57 seconds. He had a 34 1/2-inch vertical jump and 10 1/2-foot broad jump. Sasser ran the short shuttle in 4.31 seconds and the three-cone drill in 6.86 seconds. He also performed 18 strength lifts. Sasser runs really good routes and caught the ball really well. He could garner a late-round selection in the 2015 NFL Draft or be a priority free-agent pickup for a team following the draft.

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If you look at how deep and talented this wide receiver group is, there’s no doubt Sasser has an uphill battle. However, don’t be shocked if he finds himself landing on the third day of the draft after this performance. He can run all the routes and is strong after the catch, making him something of a natural slot wide receiver.

MIke Reilly, DE William & Mary

Even though everyone is enamored with dominant athleticism, there are always plenty of spots on NFL rosters for lunch-pail types of players: guys who go from the snap through the whistle and never let up. William & Mary defensive end Mike Reilly certainly falls into that category.

And it appears the league recognizes this as, according to the official William & Mary Athletics site, 18 teams came out to watch the workouts.

Those 18 teams got to see Reilly, a 265-pound whirling dervish of intensity and energy, put up some impressive numbers to pair with excellent college tape.

According to The Sports Life, Reilly put up admirable numbers on the stopwatch: 

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So as Reilly was warming up, my employer and I were talking and he said that the goal for Mike's 40 yard dash was somewhere in the 4.7's. For those of you who aren't big on the NFL Draft and stuff, that is pretty sick for a 260+ pound defensive end. And he goes up and rattles off a 4.76 and a 4.79, amazing numbers. He used his body to his advantage just running in a straight line and really wowed me, but more importantly, the scouts.

He did the 20 yard shuttle and got an amazing 4.18, and everyone there was either in shock, or applause. 

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Reilly looks like a pure 4-3 defensive end suited to play the strong side. He isn’t going to wow teams with his burst, but film shows him playing with great power and leverage. His hands are violent, and there is no quit in him.

DeVante Bausby, CB Pittsburg State University

If the name Pittsburg State University sounds familiar, it's because this is the Division II program that produced electric rookie wide receiver John Brown back in 2014. Brown had a dynamic pro-day workout (which I attended) and had every team in attendance shaking their heads. 

So fast-forward to 2015, and the Gorillas have another prospect trying to impress the league enough to get a shot in the NFL. Cornerback DeVante Bausby has all the NFL prerequisites in the terms of triangle numbers, and his pro day backed that up.

Bausby checked in at a lean 6’1” and 180 pounds. That sounds thin, but he has a solid build and doesn’t look frail in the least.

Once the drills got going, he continued to impress. He had a 4.42-second 40-yard dash, a 37.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot long jump.

Film on Bausby is solid and, truth be told, probably shows him as a bit faster and more athletic than his numbers showed. Nevertheless, no one left Pittsburg without feeling he has a legitimate NFL skill set.

Cody Fajardo, QB Nevada

I almost considered not including a quarterback on this list at all. Why? Because for a quarterback, the pro-day workout should always be impressive.

Think about it like this: It is the ultimate controlled environment for the signal-caller. He is playing on his field, throwing to his receivers and everything is scripted. It is probably more disconcerting when a quarterback struggles.

However, as Stone Harper of The Nevada Sagebrush reported, quarterback Cody Fajardo was tremendous, so he gets a mention here.

As Harper pointed out, Fajardo had already put on a show at the NFL Scouting Combine. The Nevada star was among the most athletic quarterbacks in Indianapolis, but questions still remained. The knock on him was the system at Nevada. While several NFL teams run the pistol, Fajardo needed to show he can work under center.

And at his pro day, that’s exactly what he did:

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It was very important for me. My workout today was probably 85 percent under center just to show the scouts that I can be coachable. I focused my whole offseason under center stuff, if you turn on the tape I was 100 percent shotgun so they can get their shotgun work and then I showed them what I can do under center today.

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Fajardo is part of a jumble of quarterbacks vying for a draft spot. His mix of athleticism and arm skills is enticing, and some team could get a nice developmental prospect. One goal of these pro days is to answer questions teams have that can't be answered on film. It sounds like Fajardo did that.

Adrian Coxson, WR Stony Brook

It seems that the 2015 NFL draft has become the draft built for speed. Every year, 40-yard-dash times are a hot topic, but the sheer volume of fast prospects this season is amazing. Every guy who runs fast becomes a headline, so why not add one more to the list?

This time around, it is Stony Brook wide receiver Adrian Coxson. According to his bio, he originally signed with Florida out of high school before later choosing Maryland. He then found his way to Stony Brook after a year at Maryland and had a solid career.

At his pro day, Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun notes, Coxson opened plenty of eyes with a 4.28-second 40-yard dash. Granted, this is a hand time, but even adding a little to it, this kid can fly. And his pedigree, going back to high school, is great.

Only six teams attended the workout, but once word gets around about Coxson’s speed, plenty of other teams looking for a burner will check out his film. Is he a draftable prospect at this point? It is hard to say, but it only takes one team to see that sub-4.3 time and wonder whether he can learn to play enough football to take advantage of it.

Ray Drew, DE Georgia

Even in a down year for prospects, the University of Georgia finds a way to draw a crowd. With no player as a lock for the first round, all 32 NFL franchises still came to town to check out draft-eligible players. This is more impressive when you consider that the team’s top prospect, running back Todd Gurley, couldn’t work out.

However, one guy who could show his skills to the league was defensive lineman Ray Drew. When he arrived at Georgia back in 2011, hopes were high. Unfortunately, things never worked out, and he failed to get any kind of traction as a member of the Bulldogs.

Drew measured in at 6’4” and 265 pounds at the pro day, significantly lighter than he was at Georgia. This weight loss was evident with some nice numbers in drills and a general sense that he was more comfortable playing at this weight.

Shauyan Saki of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution caught up with Drew, and it's clear he is confident and ready to take that next step in his career: 

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I can play inside at the zero technique, obviously at the five technique and everyone knows I can play with my hand off the dirt at linebacker as well. At the end of the day I want to help my team win games and be as productive as possible. I’m going to miss everyone on the defensive line. Mike (Thornton) and Toby (Johnson) and I were close and I wish them the best. But, I am excited to go and compete in the highest level and show my parents that the sacrifices they made for me helped me accomplish my dreams.

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This was an ideal situation for Drew, and it sounds like he made the most of it. At 265 pounds, he could line up on the strong side in a 4-3, but as a natural 5-technique, a team might want to get a good 15 pounds back on him and play him in a 3-4 defense.

DeAndrew White, WR Alabama

Sticking with the theme of lesser-known guys in powerhouse programs, we move to Alabama wide receiver DeAndrew White. The Crimson Tide wide receiver spent the entirety of his college career in the shadows of other players—or injured—giving teams little to look at. That doesn't diminish the fact that he was a heralded recruit and incredibly talented.

So White built on a solid combine with an even better pro day. Jonathan Biles of Yellowhammer News was on the scene, and it sounds like White had a great day. Running a sub-4.4 40 is a great way to open eyes, and following that up by not dropping a pass helps even more.

At this point, White has a lot of untapped potential. His pro day could easily bump him up into the later portion of the third day. If speed is enough to warrant consideration, that paired with his experience (15 career starts) should tempt a few teams to take a shot on him.

Bryce Callahan, CB Rice

The NFL covets big cornerbacks. If you aren’t a tall cornerback, you’d better do everything well. This means you must not only be athletic, but your technique better be spot on. This is a tall task, indeed. However, Rice cornerback Bryce Callahan appears to have accomplished that at his school’s pro day.

According to Houston Texans analyst John Harris, Callahan checked off plenty of boxes.

With 26 teams on hand, Callahan showed a great mix of measureables and technique, as Harris noted:

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He wasn’t done as he ran a 4.4 40 yard dash and that was a conservative time as I had him in the 4.3 range on my watch. He’s so fluid with his movements, explosive with his speed and dynamic in his jumps. He hit 11’ with his broad jump and nearly jumped off the mat that the Rice strength coaches laid out for the drill. He also knocked out 15 reps of 225, which was a strong number at 183 pounds.

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In addition, Callahn pulled off an impressive 43-inch vertical leap. According to Harris, this jump alone brought about “oohs" and "ahhhhs” from those in attendance. Plenty of cornerbacks under 5’10” have success in the league. The key is to get them into systems that fit what they do best.

Callahan’s change of direction in drills indicates he would make a great man cornerback in the slot.