Purdue Boilermakers receiver Rondale Moore surprised with just about every measurement during his pro day on Tuesday. Moore’s college highlights showed he was an off-the-charts athlete, but few could have expected the showing he had.
He logged an unofficial 4.29-second 40-yard dash to go with a 42.5-inch vertical. His 3-cone times were wild, too. He logged 6.65 to 6.68-second times. Even though he didn’t do the bench press, he posted a video of him putting up 24 reps, just in case there were any lingering questions about his athleticism. (There weren’t. Have you seen pictures of this dude?)
The only problem? Well, it seems Purdue inflated his height. Moore is actually 5-foot-7 — which is significantly smaller than what teams thought (5-foot-9). That might be a problem.
NFL scout at Purdue pro-day just texted that WR Rondale Moore measured 5070, not 5077 as previously reported. Still a dynamic playmaker. With this gross height deficiency many NFL teams might now be projecting him into more of sub-downs RB role than when they thought he was 5’9”.
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) March 23, 2021
There is just one NFL receiver listed at 5-foot-7: Dolphins wideout Jakeem Grant. A handful of receivers measure at 5-foot-8, including Cole Beasley and Isaiah McKenzie. Andrew Hawkins, now retired, is one of the few receivers to excel at 5-foot-7.
So there’s no doubt that Moore’s outstanding athleticism is dazzling. But his height is a problem. He was going in the second round of most mock drafts before his pro day and now he’s probably locked into Day 2.
Purdue WR Rondale Moore ran an unofficial 4.29 40-yard dash, and jumped 42.5" inches in the vertical, helping him earn a 99 athleticism score according the NGS draft model.
🔹 Production Score: 69
🔹 Athleticism Score: 99
🔹 Overall Score: 84 https://t.co/S6vMYfAnvE pic.twitter.com/A04TpkrE9a— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 23, 2021
It’s weird to think there’s a line that says, “YOU MUST BE THIS TALL TO PLAY NFL RECEIVER.” But the pre-draft process is an extremely strange, and NFL teams are extremely fickle.
[listicle id=999397]