Baldwin shines as big draw at Pittsburgh’s pro day
No question Jon Baldwin was the player to see at Pittsburgh’s recent pro day, and he didn’t disappoint.
Baldwin, who measured in at 6-foot-4 and 224 pounds and stood on all of his measurables from the NFL Scouting Combine, was outstanding in his workouts. Working with receiver coach Richard Mann, he ran 18 scripted routes. Throwing to him was Josh Portis, a quarterback from California University of Pennsylvania who looked good at the combine. Portis, one of the most sought after quarterbacks out of high school, started at Florida and transferred to Maryland before ending up with the Vulcans. But his job yesterday was throwing to Baldwin.
I will say it was the first time I’ve ever seen a scripted workout by a player other than a quarterback.
Baldwin will probably be the third receiver off the board at the draft. He’s in my top 100 between 31-40 overall, a likely second-round pick.
A total of 10 players worked out at Pittsburgh’s shared facility with the Steelers, running inside on FieldTurf. All 32 teams were in attendance, including Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and GM Kevin Colbert. Here are the numbers for five players, who all worked out at the combine:
FB Henry Hynoski (6-foot, 5/8, 255 pounds) – He didn’t work out after suffering a hamstring injury at the combine and hasn’t set a date to work out for teams.
RB Dion Lewis (5-6 7/8, 194) – Ran 4.47 seconds in the 40-yard dash and had a 1.51-second 10-yard split after not running well at the combine (4.57 and 4.62). He did position drills that impressed teams, and kept the rest of his numbers from the combine. Some teams question why he left school early, but after this workout you can see why. Lewis will be a sixth- or seventh-round draft choice.
OT Jason Pinkston (6-3 3/8, 214) – Ran 5.31 and 5.28 in the 40. He did 22 reps in the bench press and kept the rest of numbers from the combine.
DE Greg Romeus (6-5 1/8, 265) – He had 24 bench press reps with an 84-inch wingspan. Romeus didn’t work out due to a right ACL injury he suffered late during season and probably won’t be able to work out for teams until summer.
DE Jabaal Sheard (6-3 1/8, 263) – He stood on his 40 times from the combine. He had a 32 ½-inch vertical, a 9-foot-4 broad jump, a 4.65-second short shuttle and a 7.34 in the three-cone drill.
- Gil Brandt
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