FORT WORTH – I spent most of my day Thursday taking in TCU's Pro Day from the Sam Baugh Indoor Practice Facility.
I spend most of my time during the draft process watching tape of prospects, so it was nice to actually get out to a college campus and watch some of these guys in person.
Here are my notes from the morning session, which featured a handful of intriguing draft targets:
- The main attraction of the day was the talented wide receiver Josh Doctson. I have always believed there was a possibility that he could have had a chance to end up in Dallas as the Cowboys' No. 34 pick, but I just don't feel that's the case now. Docston stood on his numbers from the Combine and just did field work with his teammate Trevone Boykin. Doctson caught passes for Boykin during his portion of the workout but then later worked on his own with Derek Dooley from the Cowboys, Ken Zampese from the Bengals and Mike Zimmer from the Vikings. He has the makings of a first-round pick.
- Dooley had Doctson working on high-pointing the ball in the end zone and back shoulder throws as well. Dooley was doing everything in his power to try and disrupt Docston from getting to the ball – but he didn't have much success.
- Zampese had Doctson running various breaking routes at depth. He was watching to see how quickly he could get in and out of his breaks, then find the ball. What was clear from Zampese's drills was how explosive Docston was off the line. There was not any wasted motion and his hands were always in position for the catch no matter where the ball from Boykin was placed.
- Zimmer then had Docston releasing off the line versus press coverage. With each rep, Zimmer tried to get his hands on Docston, but he just wasn't able to jam him at the line. It was clear that Docston has been working on this because there are times on his game film where he would struggle when he faced the press and when defensive backs would get physical with him.
- Overall for Josh Docston it was a good day. He not only helped himself with a couple of teams selecting late in the draft, but he was there for Boykin who had a big time target to throw the ball to and make him look good while doing it.
- Speaking of Trevone Boykin, he threw scripted routes against air with the majority of those snaps coming from under center. The throws he missed came in situations where he had to drop straight back, set his feet and deliver the pass. There were a couple of snaps where his footwork and arm angle were not on the same page.
- Boykin was better on throws on the move where he appeared from more comfortable. Where Boykin did improve was throws in the middle of the field. On film, there are snaps where he doesn't appear to have the touch or the feel for where the ball needs to be. During this workout, he also lined up as a receiver and not surprisingly caught the ball well for the teams in attendance. If he gets an opportunity, I believe it's as a receiver and not a quarterback.[embeddedad0]
- If there is a player that the football staff is really cheering for, it's safety Derrick Kindred. I can't begin to describe the love for this player and what he means to this program. Kindred played the entire season with an injured shoulder and no one knew about it till the season was over. The entire day, all I heard was the word "tough." I now understand while studying his tape where there are snaps where you see the huge hits, then others where he would miss badly -- due to the shoulder. There was no question that Kindred wanted to be part of the action but his physical limitations robbed him of that consistent success.
- The Oakland Raiders put him through the workout and he moved as he did on tape. He's a short strider that plays with quickness. He's not going to cover a great deal of ground in regard to range plays. He has a better chance to deal with anything in front of him, rather than over his head. He can high-point the ball when he is in position, but there is a tick of tightness trying to get him to that point. You could see this when the coach was spinning him during the drill.
- Derrick Kindred fits into the mold of a Gary Patterson defensive player, tough, smart and a willing hitter. On my draft board I have him in the fourth or fifth round. He should be a better player with a healthy shoulder.
- I have to admit it was nice to once again be back out on the road watching players work out for an upcoming draft. Before I began working in media, I made a stop in 2007 with TCU, so it was nice to see some familiar faces at their Pro Day. Many of those folks still mean a great deal to me and I just wanted to say thanks to them for welcoming me back.
