Underdogs turn heads at pro days in Boulder and Ft. Collins

For a football junky that follows the NFL Draft year round, there’s nothing better than a pro day, well, unless that pro day has a top quarterback throwing scripted passes, which we didn’t have on Colorado and Colorado State’s annual draft showcases.

Regardless, on a day of back-to-back pro days that one scout called “draining,” we were on hand to witness the best the Centennial state had to offer, in a day full of surprises and one major disappointment.

CSU’s No. 2 steals the show from Preston Wiliams

This was his day, a day Preston Williams circled on his calendar in red ink, after being excluded from the NFL Scouting Combine due to a domestic violence incident from 2017.

The former highly-touted recruit and Tennessee transfer, who came to Fort Collins after turning down offers from UCLA and USC, would have been a sure-fire combine invite after his 96 reception, 1,345 yards, and 14 touchdowns last season with the Rams.

However, due to the NFL’s new rule, he was kept away from Indianapolis, making CSU’s pro day a must-see event for a receiver that has first-round type talent and some undrafted level off-field questions.

On the flip side, Lakewood native and fellow Rams receiver Bisi Johnson did get an invite to Indianapolis and showed out with some impressive jumps, and a respectable 4.51 40-yard dash.

Bisi’s problem is that he had to share touches with Michael Gallup first and then Williams. With those legitimate NFL talents playing across from him and a revolving door at quarterback, the production from CSU’s No. 2 wideout just wasn’t there.

However, Johnson kept up the positive momentum he gathered in Indy, showing smooth route running and strong hands when extending to make grabs away from his body. As he explained, he was comfortable back at his school, in front of 30 of the NFL’s 32 teams, after the high-stress experience in Indy.

Williams, on the other hand, measured in at 6-foot-4 and 211 pounds, with 33-inch arms, great measurements for a big wideout, but slightly smaller than some of the monsters at his position who possess above 35-inch arms and 228-pound chiseled frames.

It was all uphill from there for Williams who had to attempt several vertical jumps before he finally scored a lineman like 31.5-inch jump—had he been at The Combine that would’ve been one of the three worst scores from any WR. Williams’ problem was that he kept shuffling his feet prior to jumping, which forced him to have to redo the vert countless times.

The same thing happened with his broad jump, as scouts became visibly frustrated with his inability to nail a clean jump.

Williams settled on a 116-inch broad jump, which again would’ve been tied for third worst in Indy—for comparison’s sake, Johnson jumped 38 and 124 inches.

Then came the 40, where Williams, who regularly separated deep even in matchups against SEC teams like Florida and Arkansas, could’ve salvaged everything he’d done so far. Alas, the best he could do was run in the mid 4.5s with scouts clocking him between a 4.53 to a 4.57. For his size, that’s a solid score, but nothing to get excited about.

When drills came, Johnson looked crisp, making several stretched out grabs to the sideline and showing nimble footwork with toe taps to stay in bounds. Williams’ footwork also showed up, another area in which he excelled on tape, but he wasn’t nearly as sharp in and out of his breaks.

Aside from his size, Williams’ big calling card is his hands, and that showed up on the day as he was comfortable catching everything.

The talent is evident, but in the cut-throat world of the NFL draft, he lost ground to his counterparts.

When asked who the best cornerback he ever faced in his career was, the soft-spoken Williams didn’t hold back.

“All corners are good, I’m not gonna knock anybody, but I feel like ain’t nobody who can cover me.”

Teams who’ve had a great amount of success in developing receivers like the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers talked to Williams, who also said he had a visit set up with the Cleveland Browns, a team that has taken chances on character risks before.

Johnson is a reliable receiver who will compete for a roster spot, while Williams could go all over the board, from the top-50 to completely undrafted. Anything’s possible at this point.

The Denver Broncos, who had a handful of scouts in attendance, have had plenty of success with undrafted local products, from Phillip Lindsay to Shaquil Barrett and all the way back to Matt Lepsis. Either of these players would be a nice developmental piece in Denver.

Following in Phillip Lindsay’s footsteps

Yes, CU legend and Broncos’ rookie sensation Phillip Lindsay was on hand at Colorado’s pro day, and he was a source of inspiration for all after his big showing a year ago.

No one’s college resume at CU’s 2019 pro day stacked up with Lindsay’s, but there were still some big-time performances from the next generation of Buffs to the NFL.

The two most impressive were another pair of combine snubs, linebacker Drew Lewis and running back Travon McMillan.

McMillan, like Lindsay before him, ran a surprisingly fast 40-yard dash, with his best run clocking in at 4.47. That, combined with his power and jacked up arms at 5-foot-11 and 203 pounds, makes him that much more appealing to scouts.

“Right now they’re thinking sixth round or free agent,” explained the Virginia Tech graduate transfer about the draft range he had been hearing. “But I mean, they were expecting me to run a 4.6.”

Oh, how things can change when you run faster than all but two backs did at the 2019 Combine.

McMillan looked smooth on the day—even when catching passes—in an all-around fine showing. He doesn’t have many holes in his game and with this confirmed long speed is sure to have caught the NFL’s eye.

Lewis had already impressed at the East-West Shrine game at the start of draft season. He is a tough, versatile linebacker and has plenty of speed, too. In fact, Lewis ran a terrific 4.50 flat—and was clocked as low as 4.44 on some stopwatches—a time that would’ve put him among the top five linebackers in Indy, despite a stellar class of athletes at the position.

Not exactly a surprise, as Lewis has always been touted for his athleticism.

“Yeah, I hear that all the time; I’m on the ‘freak list,’ or I’m a ‘freakish athlete’ it’s sounding kind of wild at this point.”

Even more wild was Lewis’ 129-inch broad jump, which would’ve been second among all linebackers in Indianapolis.

Lewis is seen as a weak-side backer who fits ideally in the modern NFL where LBs are asked to do a little bit of everything—blitz, drop in coverage, defend the run, etc.— all areas in which the Washington native is right at home.

The one Buff who did get a combine invite was Evan Worthington, the big safety who can play all over. Worthington helped himself by running a respectable 4.59 40 and improving on the 4.63 he ran at Lucas Oil Stadium. It was a nice story that got buried behind McMillan and Lewis’ performances, not to mention wide receiver Kebion Ento jumping out of the gym with a 41.5-inch vert jump and a 133-inch broad jump.

When it was all said and done, for the most part, the Colorado kids impressed, showing more athleticism than most would’ve expected, but the big names were McMillan and Lewis.

Both standouts from Wednesday have talked to the Broncos, both could be nice depth pieces, with Lewis especially seeming tailor-made for Vic Fangio’s new defense.

If the Broncos stay local in the draft, they’re sure to find some potential gems at a bargain price, just as they have in the past.