NFL Analysis
4/11/25
9 min read
NFL Draft Sleepers: Pro Day Standouts Who Deserve Day 3 Buzz
The combine and pro day circuit is a critical part of the draft process that allows us to cross-check what we see on tape, but I rarely make a significant change to a player's grade based on an impressive 40-time or disappointing broad jump. I think athletic testing is most useful as a filter that points me in the direction of new players to watch. Even though we're just two weeks away from the Draft, there are still plenty of day three sleepers to find, and with pro day season officially in the books, there’s an overwhelming amount of new information to sort through. Impressive numbers don’t always translate to the field, but it makes sense to start with the best athletes. After watching dozens of the best pro day performers, these are the players whose tape matches the testing.
CB Korie Black – Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State cornerback Korie Black is big, fast, productive, and experienced. That’s an archetype of player that doesn’t stay on the board for very long. At 6002/192, with a 79th percentile wingspan, Black ran a 4.35 in the 40-yard dash and posted a 39-inch vertical jump. Darien Porter was the only other ≥ 6’0” cornerback in this class to run a 4.35 or faster.
Black has three years of starting experience and over 2,300 career snaps, but he’ll only be 22 years old when he gets drafted. In 2024, he led the Big 12 with twelve total pass breakups and interceptions, and his role was as demanding as any corner in this class.
Many college defensive backs benefit from zone-heavy schemes that limit their exposure and inflate their production, but Black played 48.3% of his snaps in man coverage last year. Jordan Clark (Notre Dame) and Travis Hunter (Colorado) were the only corners in the 2025 class with a higher man coverage rate. Most of his “zone” reps were still single coverage with no help – he was covering the opposing team’s best receiver essentially every play. Korie Black was almost playing a different sport than players like Jahdae Barron (17.9% man coverage rate), Will Johnson (13.7%), and Quincey Riley (18.4%), who will likely get drafted a day or two ahead of him.
Black is a battle-tested corner who’s comfortable on an island and ready to contribute as a rookie, but he’s also a young player with tremendous athletic upside. Considering that he wasn’t invited to the combine, it’s unlikely that the NFL views him as a day two player, but I think he’ll get selected early in the fourth round. In a thin cornerback class, teams will have a hard time passing on his combination of potential and pro-readiness.
G Bryce Cabeldue – Kansas
After three years as Kansas’ starting right tackle, Bryce Cabeldue moved to the left side of the line in 2024 and had the best season of his career. Based on his final year of tape and his pro day performance, I expect Cabeldue to be an early day three pick. He’ll most likely play guard in the NFL, but his experience playing both tackle spots could be valuable in an emergency. Cabeldue is a phenomenal run blocker with a blend of power, explosiveness, and balance that will allow him thrive in any offensive scheme. His movement skills are hard to miss on tape, but he put on a show at Kansas’ pro day and verified his athletic ability.
His 4.95 40-yard dash and 114-inch broad jump were both third best among offensive linemen in the 2025 class. He also had an 80th percentile short shuttle, which is the most translatable drill for offensive linemen.
Cabeldue’s film is littered with pancakes, textbook reach blocks, and athletic blocks in open space. Watch any of Devin Neal’s 16 touchdowns from last year and there’s a good chance Cabeldue is the one leading the way and carving an open rushing lane. His tape is especially easy to project to the next level because he’s proven the ability to execute any block on any rushing concept.
Cabeldue’s an exceptional zone blocker who can secure difficult backside cutoffs with ease. He has the burst out of his stance to win leverage off the snap and the hip flexibility to seal the defender out of his gap. His explosiveness also results in quick, decisive wins on angle drive blocks, as he surges into his fit and generates displacement on initial contact. When pulling or climbing to the second level, Cabeldue is balanced connecting to moving targets and coordinated sustaining the block. He has the versatility and finishing mentality to upgrade an NFL running game early in his career.
Cabeldue’s pass protection is much more of a work in progress and the reason I only gave him a 5th round grade. He has a soft outside hand and struggles to endure swipes and cross chops, which resulted in him losing the corner fairly often. His lack of length compounds the issue and makes him an easy projection to move inside at the next level.
S J.J. Roberts – Marshall
J.J. Roberts led the FBS with twelve forced incompletions in 2024, and he followed up his monster season with a dominant pro day. His 1.46 10-yard split (99th percentile) was the second fastest among all players in the 2025 class and the best among defensive backs. His 40-yard dash, short shuttle, 3-cone, and vertical jump were all 86th percentile or better. At just 192-pounds, Roberts is built more like a nickel, and his lack of size is the biggest knock on him as a prospect. But I think his athleticism and coverage skills are special enough to earn him a role in the NFL.
You don’t have to get very deep into J.J. Roberts’ tape to confirm that he’s more than just a workout warrior. His speed and burst show up consistently and make him a force in deep zone coverage. Roberts is a pure deep safety, which is a rarity in today’s NFL. He lined up at free safety on over 71% of his defensive snaps last year and does his best work the further away he is from the line of scrimmage.
He has the range to patrol the sidelines from single-high and the explosiveness to drive on passing lanes over the middle of the field. When he plants and drives on an in-breaking route he looks like he was shot out of a cannon. But Roberts brings a lot more to the table than just raw athleticism. At free safety, he has very good field vision and is capable of processing routes in his peripheral while keeping his eyes on the quarterback.
While he lacks the ideal physical profile to play in the box, Roberts is still a high-impact run defender. Most safeties that line up as deep as he does are understandably absent in run support, but Roberts’ rare closing speed allows him to practically teleport from a deep alignment and cut off angles to the edge.
Playing man on third down can be risky against a mobile quarterback, since every defender is fixated on their coverage assignment downfield. But Roberts was consistently able to shut down scramble attempts that would have moved the chains against most defenses. His quick trigger downhill and blazing pursuit speed allowed him to close on the ball before the quarterback even crossed the line of scrimmage:
This ability also makes him a weapon in underneath coverage, as he can instantly recover leverage and erase angles to the flat:
EDGE Elijah Ponder – Cal Poly
Elijah Ponder is an intriguing day three edge prospect who I believe has some upside as a designated pass rusher. He makes it look easy on tape, but that’s to be expected given his level of competition. Over the last two seasons, the only FBS team the Cal Poly played was Stanford. But his pro day proved that he isn’t just an elite athlete relative to FCS tackles – he has the athletic traits to succeed in the NFL.
Ponder had the best vertical jump (41) and broad jump (132) in the 2025 edge class, and his 1.56 10-yard split was second to Garmon Randolph (Baylor). He was 79th percentile or better in every other drill. At 6027/251, he doesn’t have the prototypical size for a three-down edge defender, but he’s far from an outlier in the modern NFL and his length is actually decent for his position.
Ponder’s first step, closing speed, and bend completely overwhelms offensive linemen in the Big Sky. His upfield burst threatens power and speed simultaneously and puts blockers on their heels, while his lateral quickness gives him the freedom to cross his opponent’s face on a dime and infiltrate the pocket. He has violent hands to slice through the blocker’s strike and he’s flexible turning the corner at the top of the rush. He keeps tackles guessing with a variety of moves, including a cross-chop, ghost-rip, double swipe, and inside swim. He can also translate his first step explosiveness into power at the point of contact.
Wins won’t come nearly as easy in the against better competition and he’ll need to continue to refine his hand usage to reach his potential as a speed rusher. His bull rush is also a bit too dependent on creating early knockback to soften his opponent’s anchor. He doesn’t have the sustain power to drive his legs and push the pocket slowly. But his explosiveness and bend will translate to the next level and he’ll still have an athletic advantage over most NFL tackles he lines up against.
