Mallett and Newton highlight Tuesday pro days

Today's pro days: Alabama A&M, Arkansas, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Auburn, Fordham, Liberty, Minnesota, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Prairie View A&M

Main storyline: For teams in need of a quarterback, today is a big day with Arkansas' Ryan Mallett and Auburn's Cam Newton on display. The Auburn pro day will be broadcast live on ESPN3 at 1:30 p.m. NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock will also be in the house.

More importantly, Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera will be in attendance. But is Rivera there to watch Newton or defensive tackle Nick Fairley? We may not know until the end of April, but most think he's there to watch Newton.

As silly as pro days tend to be, this one could be important for Newton. He had accuracy issues at the NFL Combine and often overthrew his receiver. But still, throwing to a specific spot against no defense is unusual for a quarterback.

Mallett will have a much smaller NFL audience than Newton but is arguably more interesting to follow today. The tall pocket passer needs as many chances to impress to find his way into the first round. He has the talent and needs to let it show.

If Mallett looks good, more teams may be open to having him come to their facility for an interview and private workout. When some people are questioning Mallett's character, he needs every opportunity to disprove it.

Who needs a big day: John Clay, RB, Wisconsin
At the Combine, Clay looked great after dropping 30 pounds. Then Clay ran the 40-yard dash in 4.91 and 4.87 seconds. Ouch. Forty times at pro days are deceiving. But Clay has to hope Wisconsin has a fast track today. If he runs these times or worse, he may not get drafted.