on january 5, 2018, bates announced his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2018 nfl draft. he attended the nfl scouting combine in indianapolis and completed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the bench press. bates performed well and finished third among safeties in the 60-yard shuttle, fourth among safeties in three-cone drill, and fifth among safeties in the short shuttle. he also earned the ninth best time among his position group in the 40-yard dash and had the tenth best vertical jump.