Elite Prospects Count On Exos To Help Raise NFL Draft Stock

The on-field testing at the NFL Scouting Combine begins today, where tenths of a second can mean the difference between millions of dollars.

It’s a pressure-packed situation for the draft prospects, and the past eight weeks of their lives have been dedicated to optimizing their minds and bodies for these workouts.

There are myriad places to train across the country, and hundreds of players fanned out in warm-weather cities to get ready.

But there was a particularly deep concentration in north Phoenix, at a performance center that has become synonymous with NFL success: Exos.

“A lot of elite players all around the NFL come here to train,” said Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan, a projected first-round draft pick. “Odell, Saquon Barkley. If they’re here, you know it’s elite.”

The Best of the Best

If you walk around Exos any time during the NFL offseason, you’re likely to see familiar faces.

On a Thursday in mid-February, it was Morgan, South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler, UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu, Penn State edge rusher Chop Robinson and a host of other college stars on their way to the professional level.

In the ensuing months, it will be veteran stars like Deebo Samuel, DeAndre Hopkins, DK Metcalf and the aforementioned Beckham and Barkley.

Why Exos?

The elite training ground has found a formula for success: ground-breaking training, cutting-edge physical care and a family-like atmosphere.

“I feel like the team we have here and the culture is what brings people back,” said Abigail Pellett, a physical therapist at Exos. “What sets us apart is our integration of physical therapy, nutrition and performance. I feel like other places might not have the integration and collaboration with each other all the time. Athletes really gravitate to that.”

Exos has long specialized in football, and its players are littered throughout the draft every season. In 2023, 12 first-rounders, including six of the top 10 picks, trained with Exos.

This year, Latu, Morgan, Robinson, LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy and South Carolina wideout Xavier Legette are just a sampling of Exos prospects who could get taken in the first round.

While those are the cream of the crop, acclaimed trainer Nic Hill also brings in lesser-known prospects to get them ready for an NFL shot.

“We’ve always been very aware of making sure everybody gets the results they need,” Hill said. “Not just the top guys, our first-rounders, second-rounders. If anything, I take a lot of pride in the guys that are going to be free agents, the Pro Day guys that get their foot in the door with the progress they’ve made here.”

NFL Scouting Combine Training

For eight weeks, from the start of January through late February, it’s boot camp for the college prospects.

The goal is to get their bodies in peak physical condition and push their testing numbers to optimal heights.

College tape and production is often tantamount in a player evaluation, but make no mistake: a head-turning performance at the NFL Scouting Combine can boost a player’s draft stock and make them millions of dollars.

Robinson, the star edge-rusher from Penn State, entered Exos at 250 pounds and 13% body fat. He headed to the combine five pounds heavier while shaving his body fat percentage down six or seven percentage points.

“Faster and stronger,” Robinson said.

Or, as Hill says with a wry smile, “fat doesn’t fly.”

Hill has been working with the prospects on the finer points of 40-yard dash starts and acing other positional drills.

“They’re so detailed running-wise,” Robinson said. “There are so many things I didn’t know about. Nic picked up on that and it’s made me way faster.”

The group of approximately 45 draft hopefuls are at the performance center all day, every day, and have every meal individually prepared for them by dietitian Ariah Fish.

She consults with them weekly to make sure expectations are being met.

“Some of them have big goals: 'Hey, I need to put on 15-to-20 pounds in eight weeks, or, hey, I need to lose 20-30 pounds in eight weeks,'” Fish said. “It’s very much crunch time.”

Pellett gets to the root of any physical issues.

“We take a different approach compared to other programs,” she said. “A lot of what we do as far as physical therapy, we do a whole pillar assessment from head to toe. We’re looking at what is going on with their body, how joints are moving, and then apply those details not only to physical therapy but what they need to do in the weight room. They are getting way more attention to detail than they probably would elsewhere, and we’re honing in on the specific things they need to work on.”

Hill said the improvement among the prospects from start to finish can be mind-blowing.

“It’s definitely interesting, because you’re taught one thing with the textbooks of what the human body is capable of doing, and then you see what these guys do,” Hill said. “From body composition to training, the jumps they make in performance and power in such a short window, it’s almost like you’re re-writing textbooks.”

The players may hate it at times, but the heads of Exos keep their eyes on the prize.

“I always laugh because I tell the guys: ‘For eight weeks you’re probably going to hate me, but after Indy when you run, you’re going to thank me,’” Fish said. “And there are always a couple guys every year that literally come up to me and be like, ‘You’re right. I hated you, but thank you.’ That’s all I need.”

Exos doesn’t really need to market itself. Every year, there are more applicants than available spots for the Combine program.

Latu arrived via word of mouth from current NFL players.

“They do a great job,” Latu said. “They make sure to give us the downtime we need, but when we’re in it, they are pushing us.”

The Rest of the Year

The Combine group is now in Indianapolis. Robinson and Latu will do their drills on Thursday, with others following in the ensuing days.

Later this offseason, the veterans will saunter in.

Guys like Samuel, Metcalf and Beckham used Exos in the pre-draft process and return annually for offseason conditioning, now deep into their NFL careers.

That group isn’t training for a pressure-packed one-day event, but instead preparing for the grind of a long NFL season.

“It’s just a different mindset,” Hill said. “You just switch up the goals of what we’re trying to do.”

Exos has seen its biggest expansion of late into other sports. Once very football-specific, now it is becoming the offseason training home for NBA and MLB athletes.

That changes the geometry for the training, nutrition and physical therapy staffs.

“We have to know what happens in their sport from a demand standpoint for each joint,” Pellett said. “And then we have to tailor that specifically to what they do for their sport.”

The Payoff

The training is so all-encompassing for many Exos athletes that the bonds grow quickly. The staffers are complete strangers at the beginning and near-family by the end.

“I always say they are my little brothers,” Fish said. “I’m not quite at the age where they can be my children.”

And it can be a rare time of decompression following their final college season but before the rigors of a rookie year.

“Many have told me, ‘I like to get out of where I’m from, get a fresh mind, a fresh outlook,’” Pellett said. “Be in a different place and maybe get away from some of the distractions they had with friends, family and other things, and really hone in on training and doing what they need to do to prepare.”

These next few days will play a big role in where the draft prospects end up.

The hard work has been put in. 

Now it’s time to fly.

“It’s so exciting to see them excel,” Fish said. “They are here all day, every day for eight weeks, and so are we. It’s a long time, and you truly get to know them. Seeing them run what they need to run in Indy, doing amazing at the position work — being able to see all their hard work pay off, it’s very gratifying.”