NFL Draft: Daniel Scott Never Was a Sure Thing, Until Maybe Now

Former Cal safety performed well at pre-draft events and is likely to be chosen this weekend.

The weeks and months prior to the NFL Draft are always hectic and exciting for players who expect to be chosen to play professionally. The schedules are jam-packed and the pressure is intense to deliver at workouts and interviews.

For former Cal safety Daniel Scott, the experience has been all that . . . and somewhat unexpected.

Scott emerged from his senior season last fall having delivered a very solid final campaign for the Bears. But he was not a can’t-miss pro or a sure thing to even have the full attention of NFL teams. And he understood that.

So when he was invited to play in the Senior Bowl, then earned a spot at the NFL Combine tryout camp, then showed his skills once more at Cal’s Pro Day — excelling at all three stops — everything escalated.

Scott wasn't chosen Thursday as the three-day draft got under way with the first round. The second and third rounds are conducted on Friday, then the fourth through seventh rounds on Saturday, and anything is possible.

*** A look at how draft experts view Scott's chances this weekend.

Daniel Scott / NFL Draft Buzz

“It’s been unbelievable — I think that would be the primary word I would use to describe it,” Scott says in the video at the top of this story.

Scott never was sure he’d even be invited to the Combine, which draws together the elite NFL prospects for a week’s worth of drills and interaction with NFL coaches, scouts and front-office personnel.

When word came that he was headed to Indianapolis, Scott was confident he’d be ready to maximize his big chance.

“I knew it was an opportunity for me to showcase my ability. I knew my ability and I definitely knew my athleticism,” Scott said. “Going to these events and kind of proving people wrong or surprising some people is always good.”

He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds — second-fastest among the 19 safeties participating at the event. The 6-foot-1, 208-pounder also posted marks of 39.5 inches (fifth best) in the vertical leap and 10 feet, 8 inches (fourth best) in the standing broad jump.

Scott recalled that he was so hyper-focused entering the day that it took a while for everything to sink in. That evening, while doing a FaceTime call with his mother, he said, “Wow, this is it. That was crazy what we just went through.”

Scott understands the long odds facing any college player with dreams of reaching the NFL. Now he has a chance and he is appreciative. “To kind of have it flourish into reality has been something that’s been amazing for me.”

Scott said he took trips to visit three teams since the Combine — Pittsburgh, Detroit and Arizona. Those did not involve workouts, just conversations with virtually everyone within each organization.

“It’s definitely a job interview. You try to dress nice, act professional, be as outstanding a person as Cal can make you,” he says in the video above. “Us Cal grads, we do a good job on these interviews.”

Before each step of the process, Scott said he touched base with ex-teammates Jaylinn Hawkins (Atlanta Falcons), Ashtyn Davis ()New York Jets), Camryn Bynum (Minnesota Vikings) and Elijah Hicks (Chicago Bears) — all of them safeties playing in the NFL.

Having them as a sounding board — both when they were all at Cal and since then — was significant. “That was probably one of the largest pieces,” Scott said.

Adopting their approach to everything allowed him to “get the blueprint of what it’s like to kind of attack life as a professional.”

Not only were they generous with their advice and experience, but they provided Scott with natural confidence about his own possibilities.

“Ashtyn and J-Hawk, them getting drafted, seeing their success in the NFL, I was sitting there in Berkeley and like, `Yep, this can happen. This is possible’.

“Having that first-hand understanding of those guys that are where you are and where you want to be and seeing their success can only give you more confidence.”

Scott along with family and close friends will follow the draft from an Airbnb they rented in Newport Beach. “Close to the beach — that’s my favorite place to be,” he said.

The days ahead will provide some anxious waiting but Scott knows he has prepared as well as he could. “The hay’s in the barn,” he says in the video above.

Projections for when Scott is selected are all over the map. There is little consensus on him, although increasingly it appears he will be drafted and not have to sign as a draft-night free agent.

He said his family and friends plan to make this a fun experience.

“They’re just happy that we have this opportunity and we’re in this space to enjoy the draft,” he said. “Not many of us thought it was going to happen last year or the year before that or the year before that.

“It’s going to be awesome.”

Cover photo of Daniel Scott by Kirby Lee, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo