Kentucky's Woodson steadies stock with solid pro day

Embattled Kentucky quarterback Andre' Woodson needed a strong pro day performance after struggling at the Senior Bowl and being limited to interviews at the combine due to injuries.

By all accounts, the SEC star provided the throwing session Wednesday he needed to stabilize his stock.

Back at the February combine, Woodson wasn't able to show off the arm. (AP)

Shrugging off a pesky hamstring injury, Woodson first impressed in running a pair of 40-yard dashes scouts timed in the 4.8s. His strong, accurate arm was on display throughout the rest of the day. Throwing to a host of Kentucky receivers, including Keenan Burton, Steven Johnson and Jacob Tamme, Woodson completed nearly every pass. In fact, only four passes thrown by Woodson fell incomplete during the entire workout.

He demonstrated the accuracy to handle throws in the short, medium and long range Wednesday. As one of the draft's best deep ball passers, it wasn't a surprise to veteran scouts that Woodson's touch downfield was among his most impressive feats Wednesday.

Despite his accuracy and strong arm, scouts remain divided on Woodson's potential for the next level. He has an elongated throwing motion that has drawn plenty of criticism. The concern is the slow delivery will tip off defenders, giving them the extra split second to break on the ball. Others argue that despite the slow release, the ball zips out Woodson's hand.

Despite the criticisms of his throwing motion, Woodson's only noticeable alteration was in holding the ball a bit lower Wednesday. In keeping the ball lower throughout the throwing motion, the pass should come out quicker. Scouts in attendance, however, felt there was no perceptible change in motion or speed of Woodson's throws.

Woodson's workout was one of the more highly anticipated of the early pro day season. With Kentucky's other high profile prospects working out at the combine, the 25 teams who attended Wednesday's session were clearly there to watch Woodson. Generally, workouts this heavily attended are reserved for only the most elite of talents. As a likely second- or third-round prospect, the heavy attendance speaks to the debate still raging among teams about Woodson's long-term potential.

While his quirky throwing motion will continue to draw concern from some teams, Woodson's strong effort Wednesday is sure to silence some of his critics. In fact, one of the seven teams not attending Kentucky's pro day -- the Atlanta Falcons -- have already scheduled a private workout with Woodson.

Rob Rang is a Senior Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.