Wednesday was the chance for seven former Thundering Herd players to impress NFL scouts and for Dunbar native Aaron Dobson, it was an opportunity to prove he belongs in the discussion as a first day draft pick.
Prying eyes from 22 NFL teams turned out for Marshall’s annual Pro Day at Edwards Stadium and for the first time got a chance to see Aaron Dobson run through drills and sprints.
Dobson attended last month’s NFL combine in Indianapolis but was hampered by a pulled right hamstring he suffered during workouts in the weeks leading up to the combine at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. He took all the tests and did all the interviews but could not show off his speed or agility.
That’s why Dobson was excited about his chance to workout for scouts at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Dobson ran the 40-yard dash twice clocking times of 4.42 and 4.40 seconds. Last summer, Dobson was ran a 4.30 40-yard dash during Marshall’s official testing.
Scouts from Arizona, Baltimore, Buffalo, Carolina, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Miami, Minnesota, New England, New York Giants, New York Jets, Oakland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego and San Francisco were all in attendance. Now, Dobson will have to wait until the NFL Draft on April 25th to find out just how much he impressed them.
Most draft experts are predicting Dobson could be drafted as high as the second round. If he is selected that high he’d join Vinny Curry, Darius Watts, Paul Toviessi and Rogers Beckett who were all selected in the second round. Of course, Randy Moss, Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich were all first round selections.
While the main attraction was The Herd’s top receiver six others also put their skills on display for scouts. Receivers Antavious Wilson and Andre Snipes-Booker, running back Martin Ward, safeties Okechukwu Okoroha and Dominick Legrande and linebacker Devin Arrington all worked out for the 30 scouts on hand.