4 Auburn players earn NFL Combine invites

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Auburn Football

4 Auburn players earn NFL Combine invites

Updated Mar 03, 2021; Posted Mar 03, 2021

 

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

Four former Auburn players have been invited to participate in this year’s NFL Combine, which is taking on a different format this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Wide receivers Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz, safety Jamien Sherwood and linebacker K.J. Britt were among the 323 prospects invited to participate in this year’s annual scouting event, the NFL announced Wednesday. Schwartz previously announced his invite on social media last month.

Williams led Auburn in receiving yards each of the last two seasons, including 760 and four touchdowns on 47 receptions as a junior last fall before declaring early for the draft. Schwartz, who also declared early, was the team’s leader in receptions last season and finished second in receiving yards, totaling 54 catches for 676 yards and three touchdowns as a junior.

Britt, one of Auburn’s four team captains last year, missed much of last season after sustaining a thumb injury during the Tiger’ second game and undergoing surgery. He finished his career with 118 tackles, including 13 for a loss, in 31 games. Sherwood, another early entrant into the draft, took over as one of Auburn’s starting safeties last season and finished third on the team with 75 total tackles, including three for a loss, to go along with three pass breakups and a fumble recovery.

The Combine is typically held in Indianapolis in late February or early March, but this year the league has changed up the format due to health and safety protocols, with much of the Combine taking place virtually this spring.

All player workouts this year will be held at each player’s respective college pro day, with the NFL working closely with schools to encourage consistency “in testing and drills across pro days and ensure that all clubs have access to video from those workouts, irrespective of whether the club is represented at a particular workout.” Auburn’s pro day is set for March 18 on campus.

NFL teams will also hold interviews and evaluations with players virtually during the pre-draft process, and the league and its teams are working on a way to obtain “comprehensive medical information on each of the invited prospects.” Those who received a Combine invitation will be called to Indianapolis in early April for the final step of the evaluation process, which could require invitees to travel to the city for two to three days.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

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So is the only difference between a "combine" invitee and a pro day participant pre draft evaluations?