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Well, that was annoying: We told you last week that NFL Network would have all-day coverage of UNC’s Pro Day that took place yesterday, and that was technically true, but only just. The Pro Day wasn’t aired live, but rather we just got NFL Network’s normal programming with periodic interruptions by Steve Smith to tell us how the Pro Day was going or had gone. I think there were more full replays of the events and drills at the evening, but that was super misleading. I guess it might have been expecting too much for what national media thinks of UNC as a program to expect a full day of the NFL Network to be devoted to its Pro Day, but a live hour or so would’ve been nice. Anyways, whether or not we were watching, the Pro Day happened, and here are the results, per GoHeels.com:
Michael Carter
Testing:
Height: 5’7 7/8” (I’m refusing the #### system because it’s dumb)
Weight: 201 lbs
Arm: 29 1/8”
Wingspan: 73 3/8”
Hand Size: 8 6/8”
Vertical Leap: 34”
Broad Jump: 9’11”
40-yard Dash: 4.50 s
Short Shuttle: 3.98 s
3-Cone Drill: 6.87 s
Bench Press: 16 reps
Summary: I don’t have Mockdraftable spider charts for you this time, but I can give you aggregate data and where Carter ranks among running back prospects historically. He’s obviously quite small for a running back, but he’s stocky enough that you don’t expect him to break against NFL defenses. His hands are proportionally smaller than average, and given his early history of fumbling a little more than you’d like, you’d be forgiven for balking at them. His explosiveness metrics (that is to say, his vertical and broad jump) are right about average, and his 40-yard dash is well above average for a running back but not game-breaking, which is what you’d expect for a guy who’s much quicker than he is fast. Accordingly, his short shuttle and 3-cone drill are excellent, ranking inside the top 25 and top 55 respectively out of all running back prospects since 1987, per Kent Lee Platte’s RAS system. They probably would both have been inside the top 3 in most NFL Combines.
Javonte Williams
Testing:
Height: 5’9 5/8”
Weight: 212 lbs
Arm: 30 7/8”
Wingspan: 74 7/8”
Hand Size: 9 3/8”
Vertical Leap: 36”
Broad Jump: 10’3”
40-yard Dash: 4.55 s
Short Shuttle: 4.09 s
3-Cone Drill: 6.93 s
Bench Press: 22 reps
Summary: Javonte tests out like a much more typical running back prospect, with very few truly exceptional numbers here. His bench press, short shuttle, and broad jump are all well above average, but there’s nothing here that pops like Carter’s agility testing. But there’s nothing he does at a below average level, either, which is valuable in and of itself, giving him a very good 8.34 Relative Athletic Score per Platte. His 40-yard dash compares favorably to that of similar backs like Josh Jacobs, so he’s fine on the speed end. And of course, what Williams does best isn’t really measured against air — his contact balance and tackle-breaking, in conjunction with his intelligence as a runner, ensure that he maximizes everything he has in a way that very few backs do.
Dyami Brown
Testing:
Height: 6’0 5/8”
Weight: 189 lbs
Arm: 32 6/8”
Wingspan: 77 2/8”
Hand Size: 9 5/8”
Vertical Leap: 35.5”
Broad Jump: 10’ 8”
40-yard Dash: 4.44 s
Short Shuttle: 4.35 s
3-Cone Drill: 6.90 s
Bench Press: 18 reps
Summary: Brown, the deep threat, has at times been dinged for having what some people call “good-not-great” speed, so he probably needed to be closer to 4.40 than 4.50 in order to legitimize his ability to beat defenses deep. He wasn’t going to be a game-breaker like Henry Ruggs or Tyreek Hill, but running something closer to 4.4 even would make him fast by NFL standards - a 4.44 tracks with guys like D.J. Moore (4.42), Calvin Ridley (4.43), and the receiver he’s been most often compared to, Stefon Diggs (4.46). All of those guys have shown the ability to run away from defenses and get open deep with speed, so Brown passes that benchmark. Other than that, his testing is mostly unremarkable other than a pretty nice bench press, which confirms his strength at the catch point, and a disappointing short shuttle, which won’t help answer questions about his ability to run intermediate and shorter routes. But that doesn’t have to hurt him: Just look at D.K. Metcalf, who played the same position in the same offense in college.
Dazz Newsome
Testing:
Height: 5-10 1/8
Weight: 190
Hand: 9”
Arm: 29 7/8”
Wingspan: 72 6/8”
40-yard: 4.59
Vertical: 34” Broad: 10’1
Short Shuttle: 4.39
3-Cone: 7.43
Bench Press: 12
Summary: Newsome had probably the most disappointing testing day of UNC’s prospects, which he acknowledged in a post-event interview, saying “I am not really that great of a testing guy.” Even though he profiles as exclusively a slot receiver in the NFL, you’d still like to see better than 4.59 speed, and you’d especially like to see better agility numbers, given that his agility on tape is elite. You wouldn’t guess from the tape that he’d be comfortably beaten by Brown on both the short shuttle and the 3-cone, and while he’s clearly shown on tape that he has the short-area quickness and acceleration to separate against off coverage, the lack of testing confirmation might mean that it’s going to take a team willing to take some risks to take him Day 3.
Chazz Surratt
Testing:
Height: 6-2 1/8
Weight: 229
Hand: 9 5/8”
Arm: 30 2/8”
Wingspan: 75 4/8”
40-yard: 4.59
Vertical: 31.5”
Broad: N/A
Short Shuttle: 4.18
3-Cone: 7.03
Bench Press: 25
Summary: Surratt’s stock had cooled significantly after the House of Athletes Combine where he appeared to run a 4.70 40-yard dash that was later corrected to 4.64, which looked disastrous and was corrected to average. His erstwhile fans will be happy to see his Pro Day results, which line up much better with the elite athlete that they hoped to see from a prospect who needs athleticism to make up for his lack of processing experience. His agility numbers are also very good for an off-ball linebacker, which bodes well for his blitzing ability at the next level. And while the vertical leap is poor and the lack of broad jump is uninspiring, linebacker is one of the positions where I can’t see explosiveness mattering too much. All in all, this was a great day for Surratt to confirm his athleticism that we can see on tape, after it had been questioned for a while post-HOA.