There is a significant emphasis on Pro Days in pre-draft preparations for players and teams with the NFL combination canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the Pro Days that the 49ers attended was that of Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Although San Francisco might be in the market for a signal caller at the start of the draft, there is not a move they could make that would move general choice No. 1 and Lawrence away from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
So, why did they make the journey to observe the perspective of the stars? 49ers player team vice president Adam Peters explained to Matt Barrows in a fascinating look at the team’s adjusted preparations for this year’s draft.
“It wasn’t just Trevor Lawrence,” Peters told Barrows at Athletic. “There were some (Clemson players) there. And Ethan Waugh, our college principal, lives in South Carolina. So it’s an easy trip for him. And then Steve Rubio, who is our Southeast scout, there are some other Clemson players there along with some professional free agents. “
Peters also noted that the 49ers did some final work to close a report on Lawrence, who is about to go to the Jaguars with number one overall choice.
It makes sense that the team did not want to disclose exactly who was available to watch, but Tigers is a club loaded with a lot of professional talent, including running back Travis Etienne and striker Jackson Carman. 49ers 2020 rookie Chris Finke was one of the free agents present catching Lawrence’s balls.
While 49ers are still trying to figure out exactly how they want to navigate every Professional Day, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them appear in several of the best quarterbacks’ personal trainings. General manager John Lynch has already noticed that he attended Patrick Mahomes’ Pro Day as a smokescreen, but the club may also be looking at some of the main callers or some of the others who work that day.
Pro Day attendance is important, but it is not always what it seems, as was the case in the presence of San Francisco to attend Lawrence.