Virginia Tech held its pro day Thursday, and Hokies QB Tyrod Taylor didn't do much to help his draft stock.
Various NFL personnel in attendance in Blacksburg told me Taylor followed up his subpar throwing performance at the NFL combine with similar struggles on campus. Taylor missed high and/or behind on some throws, his footwork looked choppy and he often failed to properly transfer his weight from back to front.
Most importantly, I'm told the ultra-athletic Taylor turned down the opportunity to field punts when some of the scouts in attendance asked. We at Scouts Inc. have felt all along that, given Taylor's lack of size (6-foot-06, 216 pounds) and spotty accuracy, his best fit is in a versatile "Slash"-type role, and he likely missed a chance to improve his stock by not fielding kicks and running routes as a receiver.
Taylor is a high-character prospect that deserves credit for his confidence and determination to make it as an NFL quarterback, but given his overall skill set his likely role in the NFL will be a jack of all trades who lines up as a Wildcat quarterback, plays some wide receiver and contributes in the return game.
He has not thrown the ball well in controlled environments during the pre-draft process and might do well to consider the case of former West Virginia QB Pat White, who put up similar resistance coming out of college and spent last fall playing minor league baseball, despite being a second-round pick by Miami in 2009.
Taylor has adequate arm strength, but his other limitations put his grade in the early-Day 3 range, and he could have done himself a favor by branching out a bit and showing some versatility.
RB Ryan Williams shines
Williams had a good workout, according to the talent evaluators I talked to. Williams ran the 40-yard dash in the low-4.5 second range (an improvement over his 4.59 at the combine) and, by catching the ball well, he showed he can be a three-down back in the NFL.
On film, Williams shows the ability to quickly get in and out of traffic, make defenders miss in the hole and accelerate through cuts, and if he can put his durability issues behind him I give Williams a chance to eventually become the best back from the 2011 class. He currently carries an early-second-round grade.
CB Rashad Carmichael holding steady
Carmichael reportedly ran the 40 in the mid 4.4s, confirming the recovery speed we see on film. He also shows some savvy in man coverage, and while he will bite on double moves at times Carmichael's speed allows him to make up ground when caught out of position. However, he does not have elite size (5-10, 192) and gets outmuscled at times by bigger wide receivers.
Carmichael is a poor tackler who takes questionable angles and fails to wrap up properly. He remains in the early-Day 3 area.