National Football League

Auburn DE Dee Ford 'dazzles' scouts at pro day

Published Mar. 4, 2014 1:45 p.m. ET

Ross Jones

Auburn defensive end Dee Ford didn't participate in last week's NFL Scouting Combine for precautionary medical reasons. Instead, the 6-foot-2, 244-pounder put on a show during his school's pro day on Tuesday.

Ford, who notably proclaimed himself as being "better" than South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, posted impressive times of 4.53 and 4.59 in the 40-yard dash, according to Auburn Football's Twitter account. Ford also showed off his tremendous lower-body explosion by jumping a 10'4" in the broad jump and lifting 225 pounds on the bench press 29 times.

"I think I did well but what people don't understand about me and they will soon understand is I'm a perfectionist," Ford told FOXSports.com in a telephone interview. "I expect so much more out of myself. I'm not certainly satisfied with my numbers because I know what I've done.

"Today, I was the blind dog in the meat market."

Since last year's national title hunt, Ford's name has ascended on draft boards. FOX Sports 1's draft guru Joel Klatt pegged Ford as going in the first round to the Chargers, but he could see his stock rise even more in the coming weeks.

Ford's attention, however, was completely focused on spending his last days at Jordan-Hare Stadium with his teammates and wowing scouts.

"I think that's going to be one of the last times we'll be together for a while so I was really just enjoying that moment," Ford said. "The weight room was amped, man. During the bench press it was just like old times. It reminded me of the college days. I did a lot of reminiscing during certain parts of the pro day."

With a notable performance in the Senior Bowl, coupled with an eventful pro day, Ford believes that he has cemented himself as one of the best defensive ends in the draft.

"I definitely did enough to be considered one of the best at my position," Ford said. "And that's with me not being completely satisfied with my numbers because I know exactly what I can do, but I still think I dazzled a lot of scouts today. I definitely put myself in that conversation."