For some NFL draft prospects, their pro days are simply a victory lap before they go on to become first-round draft picks. For others, it's the lifeblood of their draft stock.

Pro days offer a prospect an opportunity to work out from the comfort of his home facility. While the combine offers a more sterilized environment and wacky schedules, the pro day can be a better opportunity for someone to put his best foot forward.

This can help the big names. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba recently cemented his first-round status and quelled doubts about his straight-line speed with his pro day at Ohio State.

But the opportunity is much more important for prospects who may be flying under the radar. These seven prospects used their pro days to draw attention to themselves and force talent evaluators to go back to the film.

S Nico Bolden, Kent State

Nico Bolden did not receive an NFL combine invite after posting 102 tackles as a senior for the Kent State Golden Flashes in 2022. So he made the most of his pro day by showing he has the kind of athleticism required of an NFL safety.

Bolden showed up at the College Gridiron Showcase at 6'3", 203 pounds and ran a 4.44 40-yard dash, which would have placed second among all the safeties in Indianapolis. He recorded a vertical of 41" and a broad jump of 10'7".

The New Mexico transfer played three seasons before making the move to Kent State, where he became a two-year contributor. In 2021, he had 86 tackles with two interceptions and a sack.

Bolden doesn't have a whole lot of ball production, but that's because he's more of a linebacker/safety hybrid. His best role in the league would likely be as a box safety or dime linebacker.

It's a niche role but one that NFL teams are looking for all the time.

Bolden does not appear on Bleacher Report's post-combine big board. He's fighting just to get on teams' radars after not getting invited to Indianapolis. He had to put up big numbers at his pro day, and that's exactly what he did.

WR Shedrick Jackson, Auburn

Shedrick Jackson did not do much to get himself drafted last season. After finishing second in receiving for Auburn in 2021, he only posted 16 receptions for 217 yards in his final campaign with the Tigers.

It's hard to hold that against him too much. Auburn's offense was a mess in 2022 and a big reason why the team finished just 5-7. The quarterbacks combined to complete just 51.6 percent of their passes and were 119th in passing yards per game.

That provides important context for the lack of production from Jackson.

The receiver, who is the nephew of the legendary Bo Jackson, has the kind of elite athleticism that makes it tempting to overlook some of his flaws on film.

The 6'2", 202-pound Jackson blazed a reported 4.25-second 40-yard dash on Tuesday and followed it up with a 38 ½" vertical and 11'2" broad jump. He has an NFL frame and elite athleticism with a legendary pedigree.

He wasn't invited to the combine, but he may have proved he belonged there with his workout.

Edge/LB Jose Ramirez, Eastern Michigan

It's unclear what position Jose Ramirez will play in the NFL, but he spent his combine and pro day proving he's worth consideration at multiple positions.

Pro Football Network's Tony Pauline reported that he "looked incredibly twitchy, quick and athletic. Scouts had Ramirez mostly participate in linebacker drills—a bit of a surprise." The fact that teams had him as a linebacker is intriguing. He worked out mostly as a defensive end at the combine.

Ramirez was a productive pass-rusher for the Eagles. He racked up 18.5 sacks and 30.5 tackles for loss over the last two seasons.

The problem is that Ramirez is small by NFL edge defender standards. His relative athletic score is brought down by his 6'1", 242-pound frame, which is rated as "very poor." However, when you run his numbers as a linebacker, he actually has a higher RAS at 8.69 by Kent Lee Platte's formula.

Ramirez is a big pro-day winner because he not only confirmed the athletic numbers that he posted at the combine but also proved that he could have the versatility to be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.

That, more than anything, should elevate his draft stock.

TE Luke Schoonmaker, Michigan

The 2023 class of tight ends is a deep one. There are six in the Top 100 of Bleacher Report's latest big board. Michigan's Luke Schoonmaker is just on the outside of that list at No. 101.

The Wolverine is doing his best to nudge himself into that conversation through the predraft process. He had a good combine in which he ran the fifth-fastest time at the position in the 40 (4.63) while measuring in at 6'6", 253 pounds.

At his pro day, he rounded out his athletic profile with a 6.81-second three-cone drill that was faster than any receiver at the combine other than Jaxon Smith-Njigba, per Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

Schoonmaker was not all that involved in the Michigan passing game until his final season. He brought in 35 receptions for 418 yards and three touchdowns. That lack of receiving production puts him behind the eightball when compared to some of his peers in the deep class.

His predraft testing should help combat some of that. It's clear Schoonmaker has the speed and maneuverability to become a useful target in an NFL passing game. It's just a part of his game that his next coaching staff is going to need to cultivate.

RB Tyjae Spears, Tulane

This year's stacked running back class has left little margin for error in the predraft process. There are 18 backs on the 175-player big board from the Bleacher Report Scouting Department, not to mention a free-agent class with a good amount of talent at the position as well.

So when Tyjae Spears elected not to run at the combine, he put a lot of pressure on his pro day at Tulane.

Fortunately for him, that risk didn't come back to bite him. The 5'10", 201-pound back ran in the range of 4.47-4.49 on both of his 40-yard-dash attempts, per Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy.

That isn't nearly as important as what Spears has put on film. His contact balance and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield are both special traits that should help him carve out a role immediately in the league.

But at his size, there's a certain element of speed that is expected. A slow 40 would have done more to hurt his stock than a good one will elevate it.

He should be climbing up boards after confirming that he is an elite athlete with the speed to pull away from NFL defenses.

LB Ben VanSumeren, Michigan State

Ben VanSumeren put himself on some radars at Michigan State's pro day. Today's game requires a lot of linebackers who can play in space more than ever while still bringing the physicality to stop the run.

That makes the athletic profile that VanSumeren showed off the kind of thing that will cause teams to sit up and take notice.

VanSumeren has all of the tools an NFL staff would want in a project linebacker. He demonstrated explosion in his 42 ½" vertical, speed in his 4.4-second 40-yard dash and strength with 29 reps on the bench.

Linebacker is a position that requires great instincts, and that comes with reps. VanSumeren started his career at Michigan as a fullback but transitioned to the defensive side of the ball in 2020.

It took a few years for him to break into the starting lineup, but he posted 81 tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss in his only season as a starter for the Spartans.

VanSumeren is a late-round project. But his athleticism would make him a special teams weapon early in his career and provide him the opportunity to become a bona fide linebacker.

Edge Keion White, Georgia Tech

Keion White is one of the more unique prospects in this year's draft class. He began his college career at Old Dominion as a tight end before ultimately transferring to Georgia Tech, where he had one productive season as a defensive lineman.

White transitioned to the defensive line as a sophomore with the Monarchs but didn't play in 2020 after Old Dominion canceled the season amid COVID-19 pandemic. He dealt with an ankle injury that limited him to four games in his first season with the Yellow Jackets.

The result is a player who is probably behind in his development but carries immense potential.

That potential was easy to see at his pro day. White didn't run the 40-yard dash at the combine but later showed off his wheels with somewhere between a 4.65 to 4.75 40. With White measuring in at 6'5", 285 pounds, either time is absolutely flying.

His size, speed and burst are going to make him a versatile defensive lineman who could find a spot in nearly any front a coaching staff would want to run. He even dropped into coverage at times at Georgia Tech.

He won't be asked to do that in the NFL, but it shows how athletic he is. That makes him a candidate to be drafted much sooner than expected. Right now, he's only in 12.2 percent of first-round mock drafts, per NFL Mock Draft Database.