Branden Mack shows unexpected speed as 21 NFL scouts show up at Temple Pro Day

Mack, a wide receiver known more for his size (6-foot-5, 217 pounds) than speed, said his 40 time could turn some heads.

Temple wide receiver Branden Mack reaches for the ball against Navy cornerback Elijah Merchant.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

by Marc Narducci

Published Mar. 17, 2021, 10:58 a.m. ET

Branden Mack was happy with his 40-yard-dash time, one that especially for a wide receiver can often be a difference-maker in determining where a player is drafted by an NFL team, or even if he is selected at all.

A redshirt senior receiver for Temple, Mack could have returned for another season since the NCAA didn’t count this year on football players’ eligibility. But having earned his degree in human development & community engagement, he decided to declare for the NFL draft.

Temple held its Pro Day on Tuesday, and Mack and defensive tackle Dan Archibong were the headliners.

They are the Owls’ two best NFL prospects from this year’s team. With no NFL combine this year due to the pandemic, the Pro Days, which might not have been given such importance before the pandemic, have even greater meaning, especially for players like Mack and Archibong who are considered later-round prospects.

Mack is 6-foot-5 and 217 pounds, somebody who can go up and get the ball and is especially dangerous in the red zone. He was not considered a speed burner, but wanted to show he could run better than expected.

With that as the backdrop, his 40 time led to a successful Pro Day. Mack ran the 40 in 4.64 seconds.

“I thought today went well, I ran faster than a lot of scouts thought I was going to run,” Mack said in a Zoom interview on Tuesday evening. “I ran good routes, I moved well for a guy my size and I think scouts were impressed.”

Mack had spent time in Florida training for the Pro Day.

The pressure can be intense for a prospect who is looking to showcase his skills to NFL scouts, something that Mack readily admitted.

“The process is a little stressful, but I believe it was well worth it,” he said. “Just the hard work, just the dedication to grind it out can be a little taxing, but hey, this is my dream.”

Besides Mack and Archibong, cornerback Kimere Brown was the third senior from this year’s team at the Pro Day. His 4.56 was the best 40 time.

Since there was no such event last year due to the pandemic, five seniors from the 2019 squad also participated. They were safeties Benny Walls, Ayron Monroe, and Anthony Cruz, running back Jager Gardner and defensive end Zack Mesday.

Mack spent five years at Temple. He was among five players who started all seven games last season for the 1-6 Owls. Mack had 26 receptions for 291 yards and three touchdowns.

In the last game, he even filled in at quarterback, a position he played at Cheltenham.

His best season came in 2019 when he caught 56 passes for 886 yards and seven touchdowns. He finished his career with 131 receptions for 1,819 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Mack said he received good feedback from scouts at the Pro Day, including those from the Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers.

“[The scouts] were all pretty impressed with how I ran,” he said. “A lot of them had me running not under a 4.7.”

Archibong says he wasn’t happy with his 40 time (5.33) but said scouts told him that won’t matter as much for a defensive tackle, especially one who was measured at 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds.

“I wasn’t thrilled with my times because I had better times in training, but my position drills went well and I think that is most important, especially for a D-lineman,” Archibong said. “They want to see you bend, they want to see you move, they want to see how you get in an out of different body positions and stuff of that nature. I thought overall it was a good day.”

Maybe the best stat was that 21 NFL teams were represented. The Temple players, especially the five who didn’t have this chance a year ago, got to be seen.