On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers confirmed reports that Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had visited their team headquarters. Garoppolo's visit comes one day after the Buccaneers played host to Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
Each team in the NFL is allowed to bring up to 30 prospects to its team headquarters prior to the draft. Pre-draft visits allow teams to hold meetings between coaches and prospects, gather additional medical information and just generally get to know the players better. These visits do not include on-field workouts.
The 2013 Walter Payton Award winner and the FCS Offensive Player of the Year, Garoppolo completed 66.0% of his passes (375 of 568) for 5,050 yards, 53 touchdowns and nine interceptions this past fall. A starter since early in his freshman campaign at EIU, he broke Tony Romo's career school records for passing yards and touchdowns. Since the end of the 2013 season, the 6-3, 222-pound Garoppolo has impressed NFL scouts with his work in the East-West Shrine Game, the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine. He is widely regarded as a likely high to mid-round pick in May's draft.
