Oregon held its much-anticipated NFL Pro Day on Friday as Ducks players tested in front of 31 of the 32 NFL teams. The Ducks had six players participate in the NFL Scouting Combine last month, and that group was joined by five more players Friday giving them an opportunity to work out in front of scouts once again as the pre-draft process continues ahead of the NFL Draft later this month.
Kayvon Thibodeaux, Johnny Johnson III, Devon Williams, CJ Verdell, Mykael Wright and Verone McKinley III were joined by Jordan Happle, Anthony Brown, George Moore, Nick Pickett and former Oregon receiver Devon Allen as the group representing the program Friday.
Thibodeaux, who is expected to be one of the top picks in this year’s draft, was the top attraction at Oregon’s pro day inside the Moshofsky Center. His profile as an NFL prospect has become a hot topic this offseason, and Friday’s pro day gave him another opportunity to perform in front of scouts after cutting his time short at the combine.
“As long as people are talking about me and I consistently stay to who I am and I know that I’m doing everything in my power to do things the right way and I talk to the coaches and creating a relationship with the coaches, I let the media run wild,” he said. “You guys can make what you want. Just gets me more followers.”
He opted out of running the 40-yard dash Friday, and Thibodeaux decided not to participate in the bench press either. He did take part in on-field drills Friday after bowing out of those events at the combine.
The Oregon edge rusher hit the 9-foot-11 mark in the broad jump, and he turned in a time of 7.23 in the three-cone drill.
“I think I did great,” he said. “The coaches really loved it. I got to do a lot of linebacker, a lot of D-line, and it kept going. So, I was able to show my stamina, my footwork, my hands. Everything we put in the last eight weeks, 12 weeks to get to this point.”
It was also an important day for McKinley as he was able to have another opportunity to get in front of scouts after participating in the combine last month. The Oregon safety decided not to run in Indianapolis, but that changed Friday as McKinley opted to take part in the 40-yard dash finishing with times of 4.65 and 4.69.
He also finished with a time of 7.12 in the three-cone drill. McKinley could end up as the second Oregon player selected in the draft, but he hopes to continue raising his stock in the coming weeks.
“I didn’t run at the combine, so I definitely wanted to make sure I run solid solid 4.5s, around there,” he said. ‘Run solid. Then I would say just continue to do what I do. Be myself. Show that I can move, show that I can do everything.
“Then whatever comes, any meetings or anything like that, just show my IQ. So, I felt that I accomplished everything today.”
There are plenty of unknowns for someone like McKinley, who could land in any number of positions in the draft. His conversations have not centered on any group of teams up to this point leaving some mystery about where he could ultimately end up later this month.
“I’ve talked to almost every team at this point,” he said. “It’s a mixture. It’s one of those things you really never know. You have conversations and talk to different people, different people on the staff, and just go about it. As we get closer I’m sure it’ll start to narrow itself down. Just sticking with the process.”
One of the more intriguing stories to come from Oregon’s pro day was the return to the field for former Ducks receiver Devon Allen. He had to deal with major knee injuries during his time with the Ducks pushing him to focus on track. Allen eventually turned pro on the track and participated in the Olympics in both 2016 and 2020.
Now he is eyeing a return to football with the hope of participating in both sports moving forward.
Allen turned in a 4.35 in the 40-yard dash at Oregon’s pro day marking the best time of the day among the participants. He also had the second-best vertical jump at 34 1/2 inches to finish behind only Johnson, who ended his day with a mark of 35 1/2 inches.
“I’ve honestly been playing football since I was five years old, so it’s almost like more natural to me than running track because I’ve been doing it longer,” he said Friday after completing the pro day. “I first started running routes maybe six to eight weeks ago I was like, ‘Man, it doesn’t feel like I took any time off.’
“Obviously, I need some work slowing down, because I’ve been running full speed the last five years, but other than that it’s been good.”
His focus is still going to primarily remain on the track, but he does want to have football as part of his future as well.
“I’m pretty much going to put football on the back burner for now,” Allen said. “I just wanted to come to pro day and announce that I’m taking it seriously. The goal is to get ready for worlds, compete at worlds, win, break the world record, do that whole thing and then July 18 when worlds is done go to camp the next week.
“... That’s kind of the goal I envision in my head to make it work, and I feel like that is quite possible.”
The World Athletics Championships will take place in Eugene this summer.
Other highlights of the day included Williams leading the group with a 10-foot-11 broad jump mark while Wright had the best three-cone drill time at 6.82. Moore hit 26 reps on the bench press with Johnson finishing second among the group with 18 reps.
Verdell also reached double digits in the bench press as he had 11 reps at 225 pounds.
The NFL Draft is set to begin April 28 and will run through April 30 in Las Vegas.
Click here to see a breakdown of the times and measurements for Oregon's NFL Pro Day participants.
