On Friday, Clemson’s superstar and alleged general choice # 1 of 2021 Trevor Lawrence held his Pro Day. One element of the event surprised ESPN draft expert Todd McShay.
In the last episode of the ‘First Draft’ podcast, McShay talked about what he saw at Lawrence’s Pro Day. With 16 NFL teams sending scouts or front office members, McShay was surprised to see so many franchises represented. After all, no one expects Lawrence to go beyond general number one.
“16 NFL teams were represented (on the professional day), whether it was a GM, a coach, a scout … and that shocked me,” said McShay. “When Clemson told me 16 teams, I expected maybe five. Just knowing that it is a 99.99 (percent) situation, it will end up being the overall No. 1 choice for Jacksonville. “
In trying to explain why so many teams would have appeared for Lawrence’s Pro Day, McShay believes that part of this is that future quarterback opponents want to have a head start on their scouts. In addition, the event was in a convenient location for many scouts.
“Probably some teams want to self-recognize and see the ball go out of their hand and see if there is a weakness or something he does that they can see why they are going to have to play against him, right?” Said McShay. “And another thing that I think is part of is the pandemic. And many scouts live near Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte, where the main airports are.”
The other factor that may have played a role on Pro Day, with a large audience, is the COVID-19 pandemic. According to McShay, many scouts only wanted an excuse to leave their homes after they hadn’t been able to hit the road much in the past year.
“And I think there are a lot of scouts in that mid-Atlantic region who are sitting at home, watching their kids every day, trying to type in their notes and doing all those other things,” said McShay. “‘Do you know that I have a chance to really interact with other human beings, and to be close to football people, and to be close to football?’ And I think part of the reason there are so many teams that they were, yes, just give me half a day away before I have to drive home and deal with everything else. “
A few days after his Professional Day, Lawrence had shoulder surgery that he didn’t play, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. The timetable for Lawrence’s return puts him on the right track to be ready for action this fall.
“Trevor Lawrence’s left shoulder (no-throw) surgery is over and ‘went very well,’ said the source,” Pelissero tweeted. “Doctors expect Lawrence – the supposed No. 1 overall choice in the draft – to be 100% for the training ground.”