Sam Bradford Pro Day

The result: rave reviews. Seattle Coach Pete Carroll, who was at Oklahoma for the workout, tweeted that Bradford “lit it up.” Gil Brandt, the former Cowboys personnel executive who now analyzes the draft for NFL.com, said it was the best quarterback workout he has seen since Troy Aikman worked out for the Cowboys before they drafted him – in 1989. It almost left him speechless, Brandt wrote in his blog for NFL.com.

 “The guy was fantastic,” Brandt said in a telephone interview. “The thing that is a little surprising is he had the velocity on the ball he did. He’s only been throwing the ball for four weeks. I would imagine it’s like baseball pitchers, you build up your arm strength. The guy threw every route. He did not throw one bad pass. It’s a very catchable ball, he moves around well, he carries himself well. I think he’s got a very, very bright future ahead of him.”

 In other words, Bradford and his shoulder did nothing that would dissuade a team from taking him first overall. With representatives of all 32 teams in attendance – including the Redskins’ general manager Bruce Allen and Rams Coach Steve Spagnuolo, who was caught on camera talking to Bradford immediately after the workout ended – Bradford threw, by some estimates, about 100 passes to all parts of the field. He threw from a simulated shotgun and he threw on the run and he seemed particularly at ease with deep passes. He showed no sign of discomfort – he said at the scouting combine that he has had no pain – and his arm seemed strong.

 One thing that was clear even on the one-camera video: Bradford is noticeably broader than he was in college. A natural athlete who played golf and basketball when he was younger, Bradford might not have participated in a rigorous weight-training program until now, Brandt said. The big concern about Bradford has been whether he is brittle -– the two hits that damaged his shoulder last season were not big ones by N.F.L. standards -– and Bradford has said that getting stronger was a priority, because many scouts thought he was too scrawny to hold up in the N.F.L. He has put on about 12 pounds since the end of the college season. Bradford has been working with Terry Shea, the former Rutgers and pro coach. With Bradford fully cleared by doctors, he now has about three weeks to get even stronger for what might be the biggest day of his career so far: a private workout for the Rams just three days before the draft. Assuming that workout does nothing to damage Bradford’s stock, the Rams will be faced with a huge decision: take the best quarterback in the draft, take one of the two defensive tackles, Gerald McCoy or Ndamukong Suh or trade the pick for a boatload of other picks. But after passing on Matt Ryan two years ago and Mark Sanchez last year, the Rams seem almost certain to select Bradford, leaving the Lions to pick one of the defensive lineman to go with newly-signed Kyle Vanden Bosch for an immediate upgrade of one of the N.F.L.’s worst defenses. “You hate to finish last,” Brandt said of the Rams. “In this case, it’s worth finishing last.”