Notre Dame Football: Josh Adams Helped Himself at Pro Day

Josh Adams helped his NFL Draft stock at the Notre Dame football Pro Day.

Nine former Notre Dame football players took part in the program’s Pro Day Thursday in South Bend. Every player in attendence had something to gain from the event –be it experience working out in front of scouts in a more private, intimate environment or just showing them something they hadn’t seen before. No player in attendence, however, helped his own cause more than Josh Adams.

When healthy, Adams was easily one of the top five running backs in the country during the 2017 college football season. As a pure runner and ball carrier alone, you could make the argument that he was the best. That said, injury concerns and a subsequent limited NFL Combine showing left scouts and draft experts wondering how or where they should project and grade him in regard to next month’s NFL Draft.

Adams likely eased the concerns of any teams interested in his services on Thursday.

He clocked a 4.48 in the 40-yard dash. That time was just .08 seconds slower that what Penn State’s Saquon Barkley posted at the combine and would have put Adams in the Top 5 in his position group.

His agility and quickness drills were what really jumped off the charts. He posted a time of 6.75 seconds in the three-cone drill, which would have bested all running backs at the NFL Combine. His 11.31 60-yard shuttle time would have been second-best among all running backs in Indy.

What does it all mean?

If anything, his performance yesterday coupled with his game film almost guarantees that he will be drafted — it’s just unknown as to when and where he’ll go. A crowded running back class muddies things — as does a possible foot surgery in the near future.

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Because Adams has never been projected as a guy who was going to get into an NFL camp and immediately claim the starting role, the foot surgery is not likely to be a concern. Any team that drafts him will be doing so as a bit of a long-term investment, willing to allow him to both heal and get comfortable in the organization.

The worst case scenario?

Adams doesn’t get drafted. That’s not a death-sentence for an NFL-career, however, as we’ve seen over the years with guys like Arian Foster and more recently Corey Clement.

Best case?

Adams is a mid-round pick who gets healthy and takes over as a lead back sometime in the second half of the 2018 NFL season.

Next: Notre Dame's Secondary Could Be Elite in 2018

We’ll know more as the pro day numbers are digested and the mock drafts around the web are updated.

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