Laremy Tunsil and Laquon Treadwell are known commodities, while Robert Nkemdiche is very much unknown.
Ole Miss' pro day on Monday helped provide some validation for Tunsil and Treadwell as perhaps the first offensive lineman and first wide receiver to be chosen in the 2016 NFL Draft. Nkemdiche? Not so much.
"Tunsil, I know exactly what I'm getting. I look at Treadwell, and I know exactly what I'm getting. Nkemdiche is the wild card. That's the one where the packaging is not clear," NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on NFL Network. "You're going to open that thing up and you're going to find out whether you've got something you really love, or whether you want to return that to the store."
Analyst Bucky Brooks went a step further, calling the Rebels' enigmatic defensive tackle the draft's biggest boom-or-bust prospect. Of course, a pro-day workout wasn't exactly the setting for Nkemdiche to do anything but validate his athleticism; more important for him are the interviews with NFL clubs that preceded the pro day, and those that will certainly follow.
Here are eight other things we learned from the Rebels' pro day:
- Treadwell ran 40-yard dashes clocked at 4.63 and 4.65 seconds, which would have ranked in the bottom quarter of wide receivers at the NFL Scouting Combine last month. Still, as a bigger receiver (6-foot-2, 221 pounds) who relies more on strength than speed, the time wasn't too surprising. Treadwell likened his game to that of Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant. "I've kind of got a similar style, just going up and getting the ball, beating you on back-shoulder fades, just giving the quarterback a chance every time the ball is in your area," he said on NFL Network.
- The Tennessee Titansweren't caught short on personnel in Oxford for Tunsil's workout. When a general manager, a head coach, a college scouting director, an offensive coordinator and an offensive line coach are all at the same pro day, you can bet there's a reason for it. The club holds the No. 1 overall pick and according to analyst Bucky Brooks, Tunsil should be the first pick.
- Speaking of Tunsil, NFL scouts saw a little less of him than they were likely expecting. Tunsil didn't go through drills at the NFL Scouting Combine, and didn't go through all the physical testing Monday, either. Tunsil didn't run a 40-yard dash or perform the 20-yard shuttle, something NFL Media senior analyst Gil Brandt made a historical note of with regard to his 29 years of experience with the Dallas Cowboys.
- WR Cody Core's 37 1/2-inch vertical jump was the best vertical of the day. That was a vast improvement over the combine (31 1/2 inches), where Core clocked an impressive 4.47 40-yard dash.
- Tunsil repped 225 pounds on the bench press 34 times, the same number that led all offensive linemen at the combine (Arizona State's Christian Westerman posted 34 in Indianapolis). Long-armed left tackles often don't fare as well on the bench press as interior linemen, whose arms are typically shorter and thus better-suited for the bench press. Tunsil said his goal was to reach 30 at a minimum. Tunsil still hasn't run a 40 or short shuttle for NFL teams.
- The fastest 40-yard dash clocking of the day went to WR Quintavius Burdette (unofficially 4.45).
- Ole Miss legend Archie Manning and ex-Rebels RB Dexter McCluster were among the former players who watched the workout.
- The 63 NFL personnel on hand for the workout, representing all 32 NFL clubs, was a school record.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
