Essentials Inside The Story
- A chilly Navy Pro Day in Annapolis still heated up the scouting world
- Several NFL teams watched two unexpected standouts deliver eye-catching performances
- One Navy playmaker may have boosted his draft stock
Most of the league showed up for Navy Pro Day in Annapolis, Maryland, on Wednesday. The workout started at 4 PM, later than most Pro Days, as it could not begin before classes at the Naval Academy had ended. A day that started warm, the temperature dropped drastically as the sun went down. The workout was outdoors, and by the time the drills were run, it was very cold. Regardless, there were some terrific results from two separate players.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
The Washington Commanders, Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and San Francisco 49ers were just some of the teams on hand.
Eli Heidenreich emerged as one of the best prospects
Running back Eli Heidenreich sat on his forty time of 4.44 seconds from the Combine, but improved his vertical jump by one-half inch to 35 inches. He blistered to a three-cone time of 6.5 seconds, the number written on the sheets, yet some stopwatches recorded faster times. His short shuttle time came in as fast as 4.03 seconds. Heidenreich tipped the scales at 202 pounds, four pounds heavier than his weight from Indianapolis.
He did only receiver drills, the majority of which were led by the New York Giants, and was not asked to participate in any running back drills. Heidenreich made several terrific catches, and teams are now viewing him as a Julian Edelman-type receiver.
The Naval Academy chose Heidenreich as one of the five athletes for this year whose military service will be deferred, meaning he can play on Sundays in 2026 if he’s drafted. And he will most certainly be selected in the draft. The explosive skill player has a pair of official 30 visits, which are still being scheduled since athletes from the academies prefer to fly and meet teams on the weekend so they don’t miss classes.
Landon Robinson turned heads among scouts
Shrine Bowl participant Landon Robinson was put through defensive line and running back drills.
He measured 5-foot-11, 291 pounds, two more than his weight from the Shrine. Robinson completed 30 reps on the bench, hit 32.5 inches in the vertical, and 9-foot-2 in the broad. His forty time came in as fast as 4.78 seconds, with a 20-yard shuttle of 4.5 seconds and a three-cone of 7.3 seconds. I’m told that when put through running back drills, Robinson caught the ball extremely well.
Quarterback Blake Horvath was timed unofficially at 4.51 seconds, and to many people looked better in receiver drills compared to throwing the ball.