NASHVILLE – The road to the NFL Draft once again looks different this year.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the NFL Combine in Indianapolis was canceled last month.
As a result, NFL Pro Days are even more important this year leading up to the April 29-May 1 draft, and they're about to crank up in full force.
Teams wanting an up-close look at the prospects – along with a chance to get official measurements and results of on-field drills – have their chance with Pro Days, which begin on Friday.
Titans General Manager Jon Robinson is expected to make a number of trips, as usual, but he said last month his travel schedule hinges on a number of factors.
"What are the players actually going to do, and is it worth the trip to a particular college? Can you have interaction with the coach? With the player?," Robinson said. "We're just being mindful of all of the state guidelines as it relates to travel and then the campus guidelines when we're on campus.
"I think that with the colleges there's so many different guidelines as it relates to the states, how they're dealing with the regulations with COVID. I think that every state is kind of different, so it's hard to have a uniform set of rules in place. I do think we're going to have to provide a negative COVID result that we can have here, and you have a text message of it on your phone or whatever, to show the universities when we show up on campus within I think it's 48-72 hours. I think that's pretty much standard, but everything else ... Where is the pro day going to be? Does it have to be outside the stadium? Can you have it inside of the bubble if there's inclement weather? What contact can you have with the coaches? I think all of that is going to be up to the individual universities."
This offseason, the NFL has limited teams to having no more than three combined representatives from their front-office, scouting and coaching staffs at each pro day. Many of the same personnel were able to attend Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Alabama, back in January.
Here's a look at the schedule of upcoming pro day workouts, which is subject to change:
Friday, March 5 — Kansas.
Tuesday, March 9 — Kansas State, Northwestern, Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Wednesday, March 10 — Arkansas, Marshall, Maryland, Wisconsin.
Thursday, March 11 — Clemson, Nevada, Texas.
Friday, March 12 — Arkansas State, North Dakota State, Oklahoma.
Monday, March 15 — Army, Kent State, Middle Tennessee State, Vanderbilt.
Tuesday, March 16 — Georgia Tech, Temple.
Wednesday, March 17 — Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Pittsburgh, San Jose State.
Thursday, March 18 — Auburn, Buffalo, Central Arkansas, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, Stanford, Troy, West Virginia.
Friday, March 19 — Memphis, Ohio, TCU.
Monday, March 22 — Air Force, Bowling Green, Colorado State, Florida State, Iowa, Missouri, Toledo.
Tuesday, March 23 — Alabama, Central Michigan, Iowa State, Nebraska, Purdue.
Wednesday, March 24 — Michigan State, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Southern California, Virginia.
Thursday, March 25 — Georgia Southern, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Texas, Penn State, San Diego State, Southern Methodist, Tennessee, Western Michigan.
Friday, March 26 — Boston College, Brigham Young, Michigan, South Dakota State, Virginia Tech.
Monday, March 29 — Arizona State, Duke, Louisiana-Lafayette, Miami (Fla.), Miami (Ohio), North Carolina.
Tuesday, March 30 — Alabama, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Louisville, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Tulane, Washington.
Wednesday, March 31 — Boise State, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana State, Notre Dame, Wake Forest.
Thursday, April 1 — Central Florida, Minnesota, UNC Charlotte, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, South Florida, Western Kentucky.
Friday, April 2 — Oregon, Tulsa.
Wednesday, April 7 — Texas Tech.
Friday, April 9 — Alabama-Birmingham, Ball State, Houston.
