Despite an impressive amount of statistical production in his final college football season, there's no guarantee former Tennessee Volunteers receiver Jauan Jennings will be one of the 255 players selected in this year's NFL draft.
The same could be said of safety Nigel Warrior, another Tennessee senior this past season.
Jennings and Warrior could have leaned on the chance to impress scouts during the Vols' pro day, but the opportunity to go through drills in Knoxville was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. That has made each player's draft outlook more murky than it might have been, although Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt believes the effect will be limited.
"I think these are two guys that over the past year have put a lot of really good play on tape," Pruitt said last week during an online video news conference. "They're both very consistent. They both were very, very good playmakers for us this past year. They were leaders on our team. You look at them over the course of the year, they both continued to improve. I think their best football is way ahead of them."
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tennessee safety Nigel Warrior signals a fourth down against Missouri during the teams' SEC matchup in November 2018 at Neyland Stadium.But will enough pro coaches and executives believe that to give each a chance to see his name scroll across the TV screen as a pick when the NFL draft is held April 23-25?
"I don't think it's going to hurt them," Pruitt said of the canceled pro day. "I think teams will look and see how they played on tape. If they're going to draft them or bring them into their organization, they're bringing them there to play football. I think what's on tape over the past year has been really good for both of them."
Good catches?
The 2020 NFL draft was originally scheduled to be held in Las Vegas - where the Raiders are set to debut later this year after making the move from Oakland - but in view of the pandemic, league commissioner Roger Goodell has instructed teams to make their picks virtually. Team personnel have been instructed to work from their homes, according to a memo sent by Goodell this week and obtained by The Associated Press.
Among the former Vols who are now draft hopefuls, only outside linebacker Darrell Taylor appears to be a lock to be taken in one of the seven rounds. He and Jennings had the benefit of participating in the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis this past winter, along with receiver Marquez Callaway and tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson. But a pro day, which was supposed to take place March 26 on campus, could have helped all of them in some capacity.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Jennings set career highs in catches (59), receiving yards (969) and touchdown catches (eight) in 2019, all team highs for the season. He also developed a reputation for being hard to bring down - evidenced by multiple occasions in which he broke tackles and extended plays - as well as a knack for making tough, contested catches.
Staff file photo by C.B. Schmelter / Nigel Warrior is counting on a standout senior season as a Tennessee Vols safety being enough for an NFL team to use a draft pick on him later this month. He did not take part in the league's annual scouting combine in Indianapolis this past winter, and the Vols' pro day was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein called Jennings a "big slot target with size, savvy and toughness, but lacking in functional speed and general quickness."
"Jennings can be clever in stemming and tilting coverage enough to open throwing windows, but getting away from press coverage is going to be difficult for him," Zierlein wrote. "What he can't do may keep him from being drafted, but competitiveness at the catch point, with the ball in his hands, and as a blocker should get him into camp and give him an outside shot as a big, possession slot."
The same could be said for Callaway (6-2, 204), who averaged 21.2 yards on 30 receptions and had six touchdown catches. He was an All-Southeastern Conference selection in 2019 as a return specialist, with one highlight a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown in an Oct. 26 win against South Carolina.
Wood-Anderson (6-4, 257) wasn't targeted an awful lot during his two seasons at Tennessee, but he increased from 2018 to 2019 in catches (17 to 21) and receiving yards (140 to 268) while proving to be a solid receiver and blocker for the Vols.
'D' for draftable?
Warrior (6-0, 190) was probably the biggest surprise on the team in 2019, when he was voted to the All-SEC first team after making 70 tackles and tying for the league lead in the regular season with four interceptions. After falling off most draft radars prior to his senior year, a rekindled love of the game aided his return.
ESPN.com recently wrote of Warrior: "A combine snub, Warrior was a team captain and three-year starter who picked off four passes in 2019. He breaks on underneath routes and tends to limit production after the catch, but he reacts more than he anticipates. He lacks the range to regularly play center field. He wraps and drags ball carriers to the ground. Poor angles lead to some missed tackles."
There's also linebacker Daniel Bituli (6-3, 252). He totaled 19 tackles in a Nov. 19 win at Kentucky and helped the Vols turn things around to post an 8-5 record despite their dismal start to last season, but Bituli appears unlikely to be drafted.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tennessee wide receiver Jauan Jennings, left, makes a 13-yard touchdown catch while covered by BYU linebacker Chaz Ah You during the first extra period of the Vols' 29-26 double-overtime loss on Sept. 7, 2019, in Knoxville.When it comes to projections about what the aforementioned players might be capable of at the next level, there are questions in each case. That's even true of Taylor (6-4, 255), who totaled 19.5 sacks in his final three seasons with the Vols.
One more chance to perform in front of scouts, to be interviewed by pro teams, might have pushed a couple of additional players over the edge and onto the scrolls of major television networks during the draft.
Now, even more than before, it becomes a waiting game.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.