Recapping how former Missouri stars performed at their Pro Day
COLUMBIA 一 Missouri held its Pro Day on Friday with scouts from over 20 teams confirmed to be at the Stephens Indoor Facility to see 16 former Tigers participate led by Darius Robinson and Ennis Rakestraw, two players who have been mocked as high as first-round picks.
Here's the full list of participants:
Abrams-Draine, Kris (DB)
Carlies, Jaylon (DB)
Delgado, Xavier (OL)
Foster, Javon (OL)
Gaddy, Nyles (DL)
George Jr., Realus (DL)
Hopper, Ty’Ron (LB)
Jernigan, Jay (DL)
Johnson, Marcellus (OL)
Landry, Josh (DL)
Mevis, Harrison (K)
Peat, Nate (RB)
Rakestraw Jr., Ennis (DB)
Robinson, Darius (DL)
Schrader, Cody (RB)
Straatmann, Ben (LB)
Schrader said all 32 teams were in attendance but here are the teams PowerMizzou can confirm were in attendance:
Atlanta
Baltimore
Buffalo
Carolina
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Los Angeles Rams
Miami
New England
New Orleans
New York Giants
New York Jets
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington
Participants participated in the 40-yard dash, the 5-10-5 shuttle drill and the L-drill before moving to position work.
The Tigers had eight representatives in Abrams-Draine, Carlies, Foster, Hopper, Mevis Rakestraw, Robinson and Schrader at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. So, some didn't participate in some drills.
PowerMizzou caught up with some participants to recap how the draft process has gone and how they thought they performed at Pro Day.
Disclaimer: Official results weren't revealed to the participants or the media before the interviews. Also, interviews were at the discretion of the participants if they were available. Some players, like Robinson and Foster, didn't meet with the media due to immediate interviews with teams following their workouts.
Ennis Rakestraw
By Rakestraw's admittance, the pre-draft process has been a rough one. He suffered a groin injury while at the NFL Combine which hampered his performance.
That was the same injury that plagued Rakestraw most of the 2023 season and forced him to miss four games.
"These last couple of months have been a rocky start," Rakestraw said. "Obviously, I didn't perform how I wanted to at the combine and some of the uncertainties of some of the questions they asked me. But I'm coming back from injury. So, I just take it day by day."
Rakestraw only did the 40-yard dash and the shuttle on Friday.
He never intended to do positional drills at the combine or Pro Day because he's still rebounding from the December surgery on his groin.
"I still feel like there's a lot of things I can't do," Rakestraw said. "I can't push out. I can't show the explosion that I've got right now. Like, I keep saying back to the drawing board. I was just cut open a couple of months ago. Everybody wasn't cut open. They're 100%.
However, Rakestraw said teams have told him he's more than okay from a draft evaluation standpoint and shouldn't worry about testing because they've seen what he can do on film.
"(Teams have told me) that I'm good," Rakestraw said with a chuckle. "The tape speaks for itself. A lot of teams said they're really just amazed that I came out here and ran. I haven't ran since the combine. I just started running on Monday, just to show the willingness to still try to do it in a line. It just shows (my) competitive drive. Because now, they know it's on film and what everybody says of it, and now they've witnessed it again."
Rakestraw said he's met with almost every team in the league save for the 49ers, Cowboys and a couple of others.
He's got several pre-draft visits on the horizon, with one being with the Texans.
Kris Abrams-Draine
Rakestraw's running mate the last couple of seasons, Abrams-Draine, feels like he had a solid outing on Friday even without his official times. He also believes that teams should look at his upside at cornerback and how far he's come at the position despite coming to Mizzou as an offensive player.
"I feel like a team should be interested in me because I wouldn't say I'm new to the position but I just started playing defense three years ago, and I felt like I was one of the best cornerbacks in the nation this year and my stats prove it," Abrams-Draine said. "The only thing I had to do was the L-drill and the 5-10-5. I was training for that and I felt like I was smooth. Like, they say the smoother you are, the better. I feel like I did them smoothly. I didn't slip or anything like that. So, I feel like I did good."
The Alabama native has been frequently mocked in the third round by several mock draft machines and analysts but he said he's done watching mocks.
All he knows is there has been plenty of interest in him and that he has more meetings with teams leading up to the draft.
"Yesterday (Thursday), I met with the Saints, Patriots and the Vikings. And I just met with the Giants right there (before this interview). I'll meet with the Panthers tonight. So, I feel like a lot of teams have interest in me but you still don't know where I'm going or anything like that."
Also, he's got at least two top-30 pre-draft meetings with the Titans and Lions.
Jaylon Carlies
Carlies turned a few heads at the combine when he came in at 6-foot-3 and 227 pounds as a free safety and tested well, including running a 4.5 40-yard dash.
Since then, there's been chatter about Carlies moving from safety to linebacker when he gets to the league.
He participated in defensive back drills at Pro Day, but is willing to change positions if it means helping his team at the next level.
"I learned a lot of things (in the pre-draft process), like a lot of different teams like me at a lot of different positions and stuff like that," Carlies said. "So, I feel like that's just a blessing throughout this process. Knowing teams can put me anywhere and I can line up and play ball. That's part of being a football player, being willing to play any position that a coach needs you to.
"So, just hearing that throughout the process kind of makes me feel better about myself and gives me confidence because that just proves it to myself and that gives me the build of confidence that I can do anything I can in this league."
Carlies only competed in the shuttle drill and positional drills on Friday. He's met with a few teams and will meet with more leading up to the draft but he didn't disclose who he met with and who he will meet.
Cody Schrader
It was also a stressful month for Schrader, who was looking to bounce back on Friday after his day was cut short at the combine after tweaking his hamstring.
It was all new for Schrader, who didn't miss a game in his two seasons at Missouri. He'd been banged up before and always found a way to play the next game but it was different this time around trying to recover to do drills.
"Yeah, it (the pre-draft process) was good (and) very stressful especially playing a late bowl game and then only having a couple of days off and then getting right into training," Schrader said. "(The) Senior Bowl went really well. I thought I showed out there and then you train for the combine and then I run once and get hurt. Just adversity that I'm used to. And then I was able to bounce back. I got to come back to Mizzou and work with the people who have gotten me healthy all season and was able to come out and workout today.
"Oh yeah, definitely (in-season training is different than training for drills). I think because it's so 40-based there's a lot of resting and recovering and a lot of different stuff than what I'm used to training for a football season. So yeah, definitely it was a big adjustment."
Schrader looked spry and explosive in all of the drills he participated in which was every drill except the 40-yard dash. But his main objective has and continues to be, to show teams he's a football player and not a track star.
"I think finally, people are starting to understand that I'm a football player," Schrader said. "I think people see that. And I think that's the greatest compliment you can get. And that's where I want people to see me as, not a track athlete. You know, I'll do it. I'll train it. You know, I put up good times. But yeah, I'm all about football."
After a successful high school and college career, that saw Schrader break several records along the way, including the Mizzou single-season rushing record last year, Schrader wants teams to watch the tape but also realize his value is much more than stuffing the stat sheet.
"I'm highly productive," Schrader said. "From high school to Truman, Division II to Division I, I've been nothing but productive. I help build cultures. I'm a great locker room, teammate guy. So, I'm not just a football player. I can help build an organization and help be a part of something special."
Schrader didn't disclose teams he's met with but said he's met with "quite a few" of them.
The 2024 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 25-27 in Detroit.
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