One of the best pro days ever was Jamarcus Russell's. One of the worst? Peyton Manning's.
Yet USC quarterback Sam Darnold's pro day matters -- at least, it does to NFL teams. Sure, pro days are just a sliver of the evaluation process for NFL draft prospects. But they aren't completely useless, and we're talking about a potential No. 1 pick here -- a potential No. 1 pick with competition. It magnifies things a little more. Yes, scouts and front-office personnel have watched mountains of tape, talked to people who know the prospects they have their eyes on and sometimes even met with the prospects, either at the combine or on in-person visits.