5 players who helped themselves most at their pro day

Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State

One of the key aspects of the draft is risk management. The more data a team has on a player, the less risk in their evaluation. They may still get it wrong, but simply possessing more information allows a team to make a more informed decision.

So when a player like Goedert, who doesn’t have the experience of playing against big-time college football athletes, misses most of the pre-draft walkup with an injury, teams don’t have the opportunity to compare him side-by-side with his peers both literally and on paper.

Goedert had his pro day this week and the numbers were more or less what you’d expect. He didn’t run a 40, but at 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds, he jumped 35 inches and posted a 121-inch broad jump. He posted above average physical testing data across the board and looked fluid catching the ball, something that shows up on film.

Simply working out at all was a boost to Goedert’s stock. A small-school prospect doesn’t need another reason for NFL teams to question him. But he didn’t just show up, he showed out, and may have solidified his spot as TE1 in this draft. At the very least, it’s checking another box he’d previously left unmarked and that, in itself, is a big step forward.