Pro Day Verdicts - Who Helped Themselves and Who Left Questions Unanswered

The 2026 NFL pro day circuit closed on April 1 in Bloomington and the scouting community is heading into draft week with a sharper read on this class than it had leaving Indianapolis. March was the month that separated the players who used their final public platform and the ones who wasted it. Some answered questions. Some ducked them. A few raised new ones nobody was expecting. Pittsburgh opens April 23. Here is what happened between the combine and now.

Mendoza Finally Throws

Fernando Mendoza passed on on-field drills at the combine entirely, letting his Heisman Trophy season do the talking in Indianapolis. That made Indiana's April 1 pro day the only chance scouts got to watch him throw before the draft. The Raiders had a significant crew in Bloomington. They've already signed Kirk Cousins as a bridge option and everyone in the building knows where pick one is going, but teams want to see their quarterback move before they put pen to paper. Mendoza explained the combine decision simply: throwing to strangers in a rented gym doesn't tell anyone anything real. "At the combine, you're throwing to different receivers," he said on The Pat McAfee Show. "It's a whole different thing." He showed up in Bloomington, worked with his own guys, and the Raiders left with nothing left to settle.

Ohio State Had Half the League's GMs in the Building

Every one of the 32 teams sent at least one rep to Columbus on March 25. Six head coaches and six general managers walked into the Woody Hayes Athletic Center: Bills HC Joe Brady, Giants GM Joe Schoen and coach John Harbaugh, Jets GM Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn, Steelers GM Omar Khan and Mike McCarthy. That kind of front-office presence tells you what was on the field before a single forty gets run.

Carnell Tate skipped further athletic testing and worked routes exclusively, insisting on Julian Sayin throwing to him specifically. Timing routes without your quarterback are just running. His session was sharp: clean breaks, reliable hands, proper footwork at the top of cuts. The 4.53 combine forty has been the number everyone keeps circling, but scouts in Columbus came away noting that Tate moves quicker in position work than that time suggests. He's scheduled visits with the Titans, Giants, Commanders, Saints, and Chiefs, which covers every pick between four and nine. That's not a coincidence.

Caleb Downs did full DB work but skipped athletic testing again, same as in Indianapolis. A report had surfaced earlier in the spring about a partially torn meniscus and a potentially degenerative ACL. Downs didn't dodge it at the pro day. "They already answered it," he said. "That's not what my medical says." Multiple executives had already told ESPN the medical file wouldn't change their interest, and his full participation in position drills backed that up. After the workout he was photographed talking with Giants coach Harbaugh for several minutes. New York has him on their 30-visit list. Arvell Reese was sharp in linebacker bag work, looking every bit the prospect who ran 4.46 and posted 6.5 sacks in 2025. Kayden McDonald hadn't tested at the combine and came out of his Columbus workout as Daniel Jeremiah's biggest riser on his most recent board. Sonny Styles watched in a shoulder sling after electing to get the surgery four days post-combine rather than wait. His reasoning was straightforward: he'd already posted a 4.46 forty and a 43.5-inch vertical in Indianapolis and didn't need another workout to make his case. The sling comes off shortly and he'll stay in Columbus for rehab until draft day.

Caden Curry was reported as moving well by reporters in the building, holding his Day 2 edge position. Davison Igbinosun went through DB drills in Columbus while Pittsburgh assistant GM Andy Weidl watched the full Buckeyes defensive group.

Knoxville Delivered the Circuit's Biggest Performance

Nobody moved the board further at a pro day this spring than Jermod McCoy. He hadn't played a down since 2024. He sat out all drills at the combine. His evaluation was built entirely on tape and on the physical reputation that tape created. Tennessee's March 31 pro day gave scouts the numbers they'd been waiting to see. McCoy ran 4.38, put up a 38-inch vertical, and hit 10'7" on the broad jump. Those marks would have led or come close to leading the combine cornerback group. B/R has him No. 2 at the position and No. 14 overall, and the first-half-of-round-one projection now has real data under it rather than just belief. Some evaluators who have studied the film most closely still think he's the best corner in this class if the knee is fully right.

Colton Hood worked alongside McCoy in Knoxville and kept his late first-round corner profile intact. Wide receiver Chris Brazzell II participated as well, a rangy pass-catcher who has drawn real day-two interest. Linebacker Deontae Lawson also turned out for the session, with Pittsburgh area scout Ike Taylor making the trip to Knoxville to evaluate the Tennessee defensive group.

Alabama: Simpson Puts the Arm Strength Talk to Rest

The one knock that had followed Ty Simpson all spring was arm strength. Scouts who had done their tape work came away uncertain. He walked into the Alabama pro day on March 25 with something to prove on a specific point and left having proved it. Throwing to guys he's been working with for years in Tuscaloosa, Simpson was consistent at every level and closed the session with a 60-yard strike that got a reaction from the scouts watching. One NFC executive who'd publicly said the arm looked average on film changed his tune after the workout, saying it played considerably stronger in person. Simpson has been a fringe first-rounder for months. He looks like a genuine Day 1 pick now.

The Steelers had area scout Zack Crockett and scout Ike Taylor in Tuscaloosa. Offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor went through his session with the Detroit Lions already reported as targeting him specifically at pick 17, per Jeremiah. Wide receiver Germie Bernard worked through receiver drills as a Day 2 prospect. Center Parker Brailsford, linebacker Justin Jefferson, defensive lineman Tim Keenan III, edge rusher LT Overton, and cornerback Domani Jackson all participated and worked to lock in their draft ranges.

LSU: One Number Changes Delane's Entire Conversation

Everything about Mansoor Delane's evaluation had checked out except one thing: nobody had a confirmed forty time. He ran sub-4.4 at LSU's March 23 pro day. Jeremiah moved him to eighth overall on his next board update. The Saints, sitting at pick eight, hosted him on a 30-visit soon after. Delane is the current DraftKings favorite to be the first corner off the board, and that sub-4.4 is a big reason the conversation starts with him and not McCoy, who carries injury questions, or Terrell, who some have lower than Delane. Safety A.J. Haulcy was solid in positional work and enters draft week with an early Day 2 standing intact. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw in Baton Rouge with Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier watching from the sideline. His father watching his pro day workout is not exactly a neutral evaluation environment, but New Orleans is going to address the quarterback position in this draft and Garrett is in the conversation. Wide receivers Barion Brown and Aaron Anderson both went through their sessions working to pin down Day 2-to-3 positions.

Miami Put Three First-Round Talents on the Same Field

The Hurricanes' March 23 workout featured an edge rusher, an interior pass rusher, and an offensive tackle who could all go on night one. Rueben Bain Jr. showed what the film shows: explosive off the snap, relentless effort, violent hands when he gets there. The arm length numbers from the combine aren't going away. Sub-31 inches, with some teams clocking him closer to 32. We here at NFL Draft Buzz put it plainly: at roughly 265 pounds with those measurements, Bain doesn't fit as a traditional edge rusher but is too explosive to move fully inside. The most realistic projection is a hybrid role that keeps him outside as the base while allowing interior moves against guards when passing situations call for it. His pro day did nothing to resolve that question either direction, because no workout drill fixes a measurement. What it did confirm is that the athlete is real. Akheem Mesidor went through his session showing the interior pass-rush ability behind 22 combined sacks between the two in 2025. Offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa went through his workout in front of evaluators who had already logged a PFF pass-blocking grade of 87.0 on him across three starting seasons. He is the consensus top tackle in this class, period. Safety Keionte Scott rounded out Miami's group and kept himself in a Day 2 safety conversation.

Notre Dame: Love Watches, Fields Opts Out

The South Bend pro day on March 24 had two stories and they pointed in opposite directions. Jadarian Price ran well and gave teams exactly what a No. 2 running back needs to give at a pro day: nothing to worry about. His season résumé carried the real argument anyway. He rushed for 674 yards, scored 13 total touchdowns, returned 22 kickoffs for 450 yards with two touchdowns, and was a First-Team All-American as a returner. Jeremiyah Love was in South Bend but didn't work out. He ran a 4.36 forty in Indianapolis and had 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground in 2025 plus 280 yards receiving. There was nothing left to show. Guard Billy Schrauth suited up having missed the final five regular-season games with a knee injury, and teams watching needed to see him move to feel comfortable about where they'd invest a pick. Tight end Eli Raridon was fully healthy after blaming a lingering issue for a poor combine and went through blocking and receiving drills freely. Tackle Aamil Wagner ran a forty and did position work. Safety Jalen Stroman participated and worked to build a late-round case after taking over the starting role at Notre Dame midway through 2025.

Then there was Malachi Fields. He came into the spring with WR1 buzz, a 6-foot-4 frame, 218 pounds, and contested-catch ability that drew Marques Colston comparisons from coaches who had studied his tape. Then he ran 4.61 at the combine. Second-slowest time in the entire wide receiver group in Indianapolis. The Notre Dame pro day was supposed to be the reset. He could have run a new forty in front of scouts who were specifically watching for improvement after the combine number. Fields declined to run at all. He went through receiving drills, caught the ball well, showed the things he was already known for. But leaving South Bend without giving anyone a new time was a choice, and it was noticed. The first-round case for Fields is hard to build on most boards without confirmed speed numbers, and the projection has shifted toward Day 2.

Oregon's Historic Combine Numbers Held Up on Campus

Oregon's March 17 pro day at the Moshofsky Center gave Dillon Thieneman and Kenyon Sadiq a chance to back up what they'd already done in Indianapolis. Thieneman ran a 4.35 forty at the combine, one of the fastest safety times in recorded combine history. He also posted a 41-inch vertical and a 10'5" broad jump and earned the top athleticism score among safeties from Next Gen Stats. At Oregon in 2025 he led the Ducks with 812 defensive snaps, posted a 91.0 overall grade from PFF, and put up a 91.1 coverage grade second among all FBS safeties. The campus workout confirmed what Indianapolis had already said. Sadiq ran 4.39 at the combine, the fastest forty ever clocked by a tight end. He added 51 catches for 560 yards and eight touchdowns during the 2025 season, including a six-catch, two-touchdown game against USC. His pro day kept the first-round conversation intact. Guard Emmanuel Pregnon and linebacker Bryce Boettcher also went through their workouts in Eugene, with Pittsburgh sending personnel specifically to monitor the Ducks' group that day.

Utah Sent Two Tackles to the Same Pro Day

Thirty-one of 32 teams had scouts at Utah's March 19 pro day inside the Spence Eccles Field House. Spencer Fano came out smiling after a workout that backed up a first-round projection most analysts have inside the top 20. He measured 32 and 7/8-inch arms. At the combine he took centre snaps in addition to tackle drills, which prompted some evaluators to raise the interior possibility, though the consensus still has him at tackle. Caleb Lomu ranked second among offensive tackles in combined athletic score at the combine, and the pair have been going through this entire process together since meeting on a recruiting visit in 2022. "He's been my best friend," Fano said. "To be able to go through all of this with him has been awesome." Jeremiah drew an Abraham Lucas comparison on Lomu and the 2025 season saw real growth in his pass-protection consistency. Tight end Dallen Bentley caught passes and kept a Day 3 position. Linebacker Lander Barton had sat out drills at the combine due to injury and used Salt Lake City as his first real public workout. He even caught passes in tight end drills on short notice. "I didn't know I was going to do tight end drills until a few days ago," he said. "I'm open to doing whatever."

Clemson's Group Spanned Four Positions Worth Watching

Pittsburgh's VP of player personnel Dan Rooney Jr. made the trip to Clemson's March 12 pro day alongside area scout Zack Crockett. Peter Woods went through his workout as the top-ranked interior rusher on B/R's big board, a player whose leverage, quickness, and pass-rush plan have generated genuine first-round projections. Edge rusher T.J. Parker worked through a session as a top-25 prospect on most current boards, showing the first-step burst scouts want from a player at that size. Offensive tackle Blake Miller, who set the Clemson record for career snaps at the position, went through a full workout and kept his position as B/R's third-ranked tackle in the class. Cornerback Avieon Terrell worked through DB drills and kept himself in the late-first-round conversation at a corner position that has real depth in this class. Interior lineman DeMonte Capehart and quarterback Cade Klubnik also participated, with Klubnik attracting Day 2 interest from teams scouting developmental quarterback options.

Georgia, Missouri, Penn State, and the Mid-March Wave

Pittsburgh's most senior delegation of the entire pro day circuit went to Georgia on March 18. McCarthy, Khan, and Crockett all made the trip to Athens to watch Monroe Freeling, CJ Allen, Daylen Everette, Christen Miller, tight end Oscar Delp, wide receiver Zachariah Branch, and linebacker Raylen Wilson. Freeling came in with combine testing that had scouts projecting him inside the first round, though where exactly is still debated given how wide evaluator opinions vary on the tackle market behind Mauigoa. Allen is a physical, instinctive linebacker who has appeared in late first-round mock drafts from multiple services. Miller measured 6-foot-4 at 305 pounds and is B/R's fifth-ranked interior defender.

Missouri on March 20 gave edge rusher Zion Young a home track to produce athletic testing that turned heads. Analysts at the workout drew comparisons to Jaelan Phillips and DeMarcus Lawrence based on his violent, physical pass-rush approach. Young has appeared in first-round projections consistently and the Columbia workout gave those projections firmer ground. Cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. worked out and held a mid-round standing, while wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. went through his receiver session in Columbia.

Penn State's mid-March workout saw guard Olaivavega Ioane officially measure in at 326 pounds and go through a full session that supported his standing as the top interior lineman in the class on multiple boards. Jeremiah compared him to Kevin Zeitler. Edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton measured 6-foot-6 and 261 pounds with 26 bench reps, keeping his Day 2 edge position. Quarterback Drew Allar threw at 6-foot-5 and 232 pounds in front of teams looking for developmental options behind a starter. Safety Zakee Wheatley measured 6-foot-3 and went through drills that kept his Day 2 position intact at a safety spot Penn State has been an NFL pipeline for years.

Indiana's Supporting Cast

Mendoza owned the room on April 1, but Indiana had more on the field worth watching. Wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. has been climbing boards quietly all spring, drawing genuine first-round interest from Pittsburgh and others. The Steelers sent director of player scouting Mark Sadkowski to Bloomington. Cornerback D'Angelo Ponds, who had a formal sit-down with the Raiders at the combine, went through his session as one of the better corners available outside the top tier. Edge rusher Mikail Kamara also worked out, looking to push onto Day 3 boards.

Texas, Texas Tech, and the Lone Star Workouts

Texas held its March 24 pro day with linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. as the headliner. Hill has appeared in first-round mock drafts and scouts at the combine came away impressed with his range for his size. Safety Michael Taaffe went through DB drills as a Day 2 option, while corner Malik Muhammad and tight end Jack Endries both participated with Pittsburgh monitoring the full Longhorns group.

Texas Tech on March 26 brought David Bailey out as the most debated prospect at his position in this draft. Both Schrager and Jeremiah have publicly said the Jets are considering him at No. 2 overall. Bailey worked through a pass-rush session and showed the technical detail and first-step polish that have put him on top-five boards. Defensive tackle Lee Hunter went through his workout as B/R's fourth-ranked interior defender, while linebacker Jacob Rodriguez and wide receiver Reggie Virgil also participated in Lubbock.

Auburn, Texas A&M, and Washington

Auburn's March 24 pro day featured edge rusher Keldric Faulk back in front of scouts for the first time since the combine, where he measured 6-foot-6 and 276 pounds. B/R has him second among all defensive linemen in the class, and his long frame plus pass-rush ability have kept his name in first-round conversations. Center Connor Lew went through his workout and held his standing near the top of the interior line group.

Texas A&M on March 25 brought edge rusher Cashius Howell out as a player B/R places among the top five edge rushers in the class. Wide receiver KC Concepcion, who built genuine first-round buzz after transferring from NC State, participated alongside guard Chase Bisontis, one of the stronger interior line options available on Day 2. Washington's pro day put wide receiver Denzel Boston in front of scouts as a 6-foot-4, 210-pound boundary option with first-round interest from multiple teams. Cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock, running back Jonah Coleman, and tackle Carver Willis all participated at the Huskies workout, which drew Pittsburgh personnel.

Tyson Never Showed Up

The most significant pro day development of the spring didn't involve a bad workout. Jordyn Tyson skipped combine drills and missed Arizona State's March 27 pro day. A hamstring that cost him three games in 2025 kept creating problems through the spring and the absence of any public workout data has done real damage to his draft position. ESPN's Matt Miller says Tyson is now viewed as the fourth receiver in the class by some evaluators and is trending outside the top 20. Dane Brugler at The Athletic compared him to Stefon Diggs on pure film, which is a statement about ability, not health. He put up 75 catches for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024, then 61 catches for 711 yards and eight scores in nine games in 2025 despite the injury. The talent is not in question. Durability is. A private workout is scheduled for April 17. That is his last window before the picks go in.

Caleb Banks is the other notable faller. He broke out in 2024 with 7 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks before breaking his foot at the combine. He'll be out until June. Jeremiah dropped him from 36 to 42 on his latest board and teams are adjusting his projection downward as injury history stacks on top of what was already a pattern of inconsistency on tape.

Where Things Stand

McCoy answered his questions in Knoxville. Simpson answered his in Tuscaloosa. Delane answered his in Baton Rouge. Fields didn't answer his in South Bend. Tyson didn't show up in Tempe. McDonald surprised people in Columbus. That's essentially what the 2026 pro day circuit produced: a class with its top end better defined than it was in February, and a handful of prospects heading into Pittsburgh with question marks they had every opportunity to remove and didn't. The draft starts April 23. Some of those questions have answers. Others are going to be somebody's problem for the next four years.