NFL Draft prospects have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves during the process, and one of the most favorable opportunities for players comes on their own turf.
The NFL Pro Days are a staple of the spring, when the draft approaches each year. Surrounded by their teammates, players have the opportunity to showcase their skills and meet with teams in a familiar environment.
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What is a Pro Day and how is it different from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis? Here’s everything you need to know:
What are NFL Pro Days?
Pro Days are showcases for potential NFL prospects that take place on college campuses.
How is a Pro Day similar to the NFL Combine?
Like the NFL Combine, Pro Days are designed for prospects to be measured, exercised and interviewed by NFL coaches and evaluators.
Both events include similar drills, including the 40-yard dash and position-specific drills. They also include body measurements such as height, weight and wingspan and give players the chance to meet face-to-face with coaches after brief interactions at the Combine.
How is a Pro Day different from the NFL Combine?
While the combine is an environment where scouts can evaluate prospects on a level playing field, Pro Days offer a more personal environment for players.
Instead of being surrounded by hundreds of players from across the country, Pro Day workouts focus on a much smaller group of players from a particular school. The same goes for the coaches and people conducting the drills and measurements, as players can train under the instruction of people they know.
Since Pro Days take place after the combine, players have additional time to prepare. They can continue to improve in certain drills or use the extra days to either increase or decrease weight compared to what they would have measured at the combine.
The method for recording times and results also differs between the Combine and Pro Days. The 40-yard dash is laser-timed in Indianapolis and is usually hand-timed at Pro Days.
Do players have to train at the NFL Combine?
NFL prospects are not required to participate in drills at the combine. Many will postpone official workouts until their Pro Days.
Even if they are not training or measuring, most of the prospects who are invited to the combine will go to Indianapolis for interviews.
Players are not required to work out at their Pro Days, even if they do not work out at the combine.
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. notably chose not to train at the Combine or Ohio State’s Pro Day.
