Audric Estime Answers A Major Question Mark At Pro Day
Notre Dame held their Pro Day on Thursday, an opportunity for their 2024 NFL Draft prospects to showcase their talents in front of every scout, general manager and coach in attendance.
In total, the Irish had over 11 former members of their 2023 team, including quarterback Sam Hartman, running back Audric Estime, offensive tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste, linebackers JD Bertrand and Marist Liufau, nickelback Thomas Harper, cornerback Cam Hart, long snapper Michael Vinson and placekicker Spencer Shrader.
One player who had one major question to answer was Estime, who had an overall impressive 2024 NFL Scouting Combine performance but turned in a less than stellar 4.71 second forty yard dash time. It was four to five seconds of anticipation that NFL decision makers wanted to see.
Historically speaking, running backs who run 4.70 seconds in the forty yard dash haven’t had much success in the NFL. According to Mockdraftable, only two running backs that came out since the year 1999 had at least one 1,000-yard season. Those two were LaGarrette Blount (Oregon) and Orlandis Gary (Georgia). Those two only combined for three 1,000 seasons between the both of them.
Obviously the track record was against Estime, who wanted to showcase that he is more than just a power back and short yardage runner. It was especially important since Estime posted a 38 inch vertical jump and 10’5” broad jump in Indianapolis, both of which were fantastic numbers.
Not only did Estime improve his forty time on Thursday, he bettered it by over a tenth of a second, coming in with an official time of 4.58 seconds. Some teams had even faster on their watches, which is an excellent sign.
The vertical and broad jump numbers both tied for fourth among all the running backs at the NFL Scouting Combine this year. The players tied with him or better than him ran 4.42 or better, which made Estime's 4.71 harder to grasp. The 4.58 is much more in line with the other testing numbers Estime posted at the combine, and is more in line with the film during his Notre Dame career.
Estime was a busy man both during and after the workout, meeting with several teams during the process. The Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders were a few of the teams who were showing substantial interest in Estime. Although there has been some hesitation since his forty time in Indianapolis, there is still belief that Estime could hear his name called on Day Two (rounds 2-3) come April.
The final step is top 30 visits and zoom interviews with teams. Estime is well liked in NFL circles, and did a great job to quiet the naysayers at the Pro Day.
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