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There was a massive crowd on hand at Texas pro day, as nearly 100 general managers, head coaches, position coaches and scouts made their way to Austin to watch the Longhorns work out. Several players were very impressive.
Texas has two receivers who could end up in the first round -- Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell. Worthy ran 4.21 seconds in the 40 at the combine, while Mitchell looked terrific catching the football. On Wednesday, it was Worthy who stood out in position drills.
Xavier Worthy impresses NFL scouts
The explosive receiver tipped the scales at 169 pounds, four more than his combine weight. He did the long jump with the hopes of hitting 11 feet, one inch better than his Combine mark, yet he fell short.
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Worthy then looked terrific in position drills. He ran great routes, translated his track speed onto the field and caught everything thrown to him. His hands were very impressive, as Worthy consistently snatched the ball away from his frame and had no bobbles or double catches.
Worthy was with the Cowboys on Tuesday night after spending the bulk of Monday afternoon with the Bears, Texans and Patriots. After practice Wednesday, he met extensively with the Steelers and Colts.
Mitchell dropped a few passes, and his inconsistency and streakiness are a drawback. The word on Mitchell from pro day was unanimous; he has an NFL body and great upside, and if he ever puts it all together, he will be a No. 1 receiver in the NFL.
AFC teams' hunt for Ja'Tavion Sanders
Almost a half-dozen tight end coaches, as well as Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and general manger Chris Grier, were on hand for Ja'Tavion Sanders.
Sanders was smooth and caught the ball well, something he did his entire career for Texas. The Patriots, Colts and Texans met at length with Sanders, as did the Dolphins.
While McDaniel and Grier took in all the pass-catching workouts, they were on hand specifically for Sanders, a player I’ve had mocked to them at pick 21 on two separate occasions.
Texas Pro Day: Notes on Christian Jones, Jonathon Brooks, Byron Murphy and Jaylan Ford
Offensive tackle Christian Jones was drilled by the New Orleans Saints, and he looked good. Teams are looking at him as a right tackle on Sundays. One team keen on Jones is the Houston Texans, who could use the 86th pick to draft him.
Running back Jonathon Brooks, who tore his ACL during the 10th game of the season, was on hand but did not work out. He's expected to be ready on July 1. The Cowboys sent offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to pro day specifically to meet with Brooks.
Defensive tackle Byron Murphy, looking like Mr. Universe as he worked out shirtless, looked terrific in drills, just as he did during the combine. The Bears, Falcons and Colts met Murphy the last two days, as did the Vikings.
Word since the Shrine Bowl was that the Vikings would take Murphy with the 11th pick of Round 1. Obviously the focus has shifted to the quarterback position. Yet the feeling they were giving off at pro day is that Murphy would be their contingency plan at 11 if no signal caller is available.
Linebacker Jaylan Ford had a terrific day. His 40 times clocked between 4.63 to 4.68 seconds, better than expected. He touched 10-foot-6 in the broad, timed the short shuttle in the low 4.2-second area and did 7.1 seconds in the three-cone. Ford also completed 18 reps on the bench.
Ford gutted out position drills and looked very good despite the recommendation he sit them out. Ford, who suffered a significant groin injury during the 2023 season, had just 10 days of workouts to prepare for pro day as he continues to return from the injury.
He was unable to work out at the combine. Ford met with the Saints, Vikings and Texans over the last two days.
