Jan 1, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Laquon Treadwell (1) celebrates his ten-yard touchdown catch against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the second quarter of the 2016 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Photo Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Representatives from all 32 NFL teams took in Monday’s pro day workout at Mississippi to see a trio of projected first-round picks, including left tackle Laremy Tunsil — the favorite to go No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans.
The Titans were well represented at the workout with general manager Jon Robinson, head coach Mike Mularkey and offensive line coach Russ Grimm among those keeping a close eye on Tunsil.
Tunsil did not run the 40-yard dash Monday, claiming that he had a sore hamstring. He did, however, turn heads in the bench press, lifting the bar 34 times. Tunsil did not compete in this event at the scouting combine. No offensive linemen who did lift the bar in Indianapolis posted more repetitions than Tunsil Monday.
Tunsil looked “terrific” in positional drills in Indianapolis and it is easy to see his quickness, lateral agility and balance on tape. He only solidified his position as the favorite with Monday’s workout.
Tunsil’s polarizing teammates Laquon Treadwell and Robert Nkemdiche, on the other hand, raised some questions with their workouts.
At 217 pounds, Treadwell confirmed the relatively slow 40-yard dash time that scouts anticipated, getting clocked in the mid to low 4.6s on Monday.
While the time is slower than ideal, Treadwell’s tape is that of a first-round wide receiver. He’s drawn comparisons to playmaking receivers like the Cowboys’ Dez Bryant and 49ers’ Anquan Boldin from scouts because of his ability to physically manhandle defensive backs and win contested passes. Treadwell doesn’t win with speed on film, he dominates in other ways so Treadwell’s 40-yard dash shouldn’t hurt him too much.
“I didn’t run what I wanted to run, but it was fun. I’m proud of myself for what I did run most importantly,” Treadwell said after the workout. “I’m just a playmaker, when I get into the game it’s a different feel than the 40-yard dash.”
The more surprising result for Treadwell, in fact, wasn’t his 40-yard dash time but a relatively pedestrian 33-inch vertical jump. However, he checked boxes with his results in the 3-cone (7.00) and short shuttle (4.23).
Nkemdiche has well-publicized issues off the field and admitted to being “lazy” at times at Ole Miss, but he showed off his athletic gifts for scouts on Monday.
He has outstanding body control and fluidity with the raw power to be disruptive and basically confirmed what NFL teams already knew about him. However, Nkemdiche still has the question marks attached to him about whether or not he will ever live up to his potential.
The bottom line on Nkemdiche: he is a top-10 talent in this draft class, just not a top-10 football player.
Dane Brugler is a senior analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, owned and distributed by The Sports Xchange in cooperation with CBSSports.com.
