It was a productive Pro Day for Georgia Tech tight end Tyler Davis at Tech’s John and Mary Brock indoor practice facility Wednesday.
After going through his athletic testing and position drills, Davis had three interviews set up and an invitation to the Falcons’ locals day in April. He’s 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds.
In addition to the Falcons, who suddenly are in the market for a tight end, Davis has interviews scheduled with the Jaguars and Bengals.
“It went awesome,” Davis said. “We worked so hard the last two months to prepare for this day. It’s awesome that it came, and we did our thing. I felt like we did really good. I felt fast out there. We’ll see what the numbers look like when they come back.”
In addition to Davis, defensive back Christian Campbell, running back Nathan Cottrell, offensive lineman Jared Southers and defensive back Step Durham (who played at Tech from 2014-17) participated before a smallish crowd of NFL scouts that included Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and Falcons director of college scouting Steve Sabo.
Davis caught 17 passes for 148 yards and one touchdown last season. He played only one season at Tech as a graduate transfer from Connecticut.
“I just wanted to show them my athleticism,” Davis said. “That’s my hallmark. That’s my game.”
He was closely watched by the Falcons, who could have an opening at tight end. Austin Hooper, the team’s two-time Pro Bowl alternate, is being allowed to test the free-agency market. The team has said it wants to re-sign him.
The Falcons also had national scout Phil Emery closely watching the tight ends at Auburn’s Pro Day on Friday.
“It was awesome to see how many coaches from the Falcons’ staff were here,” Davis said. “It was awesome to work with them, very knowledgeable coaches. It was just a cool experience to be with them and hear some tips from them.”
Davis was the first tight end featured in Tech’s offense since 2007. He was selected as one of the team captains and was on the 2019 John Mackey Award watch list.
At Connecticut, Davis played in 36 games and made 15 starts. He had 47 catches for 500 yards and seven touchdowns for the Huskies. He earned his bachelor’s degree in financial management in three years. He was pursuing a master’s in economics at Tech.
If the football doesn’t work out, after it’s over Davis wants to work on Wall Street.
But for now, he’ll get ready for those NFL job interviews.
“I felt like I left everything out there,” Davis said. “We were going at a pretty fast pace. I gave everything that I had. I was really proud of the day. It was just awesome to come out here one more time and do it in my Georgia Tech stuff.”
Campbell also felt that he had a strong day.
“They just really wanted to see how I could move,” Campbell said. “How you move is really key at the defensive back position. How tight I could stay when I opened my hips and getting out of my breaks.”
Campbell, who has an interview set up with the Falcons, hopes to get his shot in the NFL.
“Once you start playing, that’s the goal you want to reach,” Campbell said. “Once you reach college, what’s next? The next thing is the NFL. It feels really good to feel that you’re one step closer to that goal.”
Here are some of the numbers that the scouts collected:
Christian Campbell
6-0, 208
40 – 4.63
Vertical jump – 32
Broad jump – 10-1
Nathan Cottrell
5-10, 193
40 – 4.38
Vertical jump - 35
Broad jump – 10-6
Bench reps (225 lbs) – 18
Tyler Davis
6-4, 250
40 – 4.65
Broad jump – 9-5
Bench reps (225 lbs) – 23
Jared Southers
6-4, 305
Bench reps (225 lbs) – 27
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