Chargers Draft: 5 players to watch at their pro days on Wednesday, March 22

Mar 22, 2023 - 4:15 PM

Another day, another lineup of exciting pro days, including Ohio State and Stanford.

Below are five players that the Chargers should be interested who will hit the field today.

Nebraska

WR Trey Palmer

Palmer has blazing speed that he used to torch Big Ten defenses and he showed that off at the combine with a 4.33 in the forty. Unfortunately, that was the only athletic testing he did in Indy. Today, he should be looking to round out his athletic profile with jumps and agilities to show scouts that he isn’t just a fast guy to take a flier on in the late rounds.

Scouts aren’t a big fan of his underdeveloped route tree, but his level of effortless speed will grab the attention of teams looking for some extra juice on offense. Additionally, he has only one real year of production at the college level which was his 1,043 yards and nine touchdowns he recorded in 2022.

Ohio State

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

There isn’t a lot for Smith-Njigba to do at his pro day to raise his draft stock as he’s already a consensus top-two player at his position this year. The only test he did not participate in at the combine was the 40 which is understandable as he’s not expected to blow anyone away with his expected time. However, I fully expect him clock a time today. I believe anywhere in the 4.5s would be an excellent punctuation to an otherwise stellar pre-draft process for the next great receiver out of Ohio State.

Stanford

WR Elijah Higgins & Michael Wilson

The Cardinal have an intriguing pair of sizable receivers in this year’s draft class. Higgins is closer to a move tight end (6’3 230) as opposed to a true wideout while Wilson is still on the larger side of receivers in his own right (6’2 213).

Wilson ran a 4.58 in the 40 while at the combine and he’ll likely look to improve on that number. His jumps in Indy were his best marks as he posted a 37” in the vertical and a 10’5” in the broad. Wilson was also one of the only wideouts to test on the bench and 23 reps, he seems to be one of the stronger receivers in the class.

With his size, any measurements and tests that Higgins can improve on will only further raise his stock. He showed great physicality at the catch point in Mobile at the Senior Bowl and could be an interesting addition as a big slot in an NFL offense.

UAB

RB DeWayne McBride

McBride did not test at the NFL Combine so today’s workout will be big for him after an electric final collegiate season where he rushed for 1,713 yards and 19 touchdowns. With NFL size at 5’10 and 209 pounds, he has a chance to be a steal in this year’s draft

His biggest red flag will be ball security issues, but there aren’t many backs in this draft who are as capable and comfortable playing in both zone and gap schemes. McBride has great vision once he breaks into the second and third levels and his speed was more than enough to house a number of long touchdowns.

If he is able to run in the 4.4s, I’d imagine he’d push for a day two pick.