Senior Bowl week is a multi-step process that all factors into the evaluation of the prospects in attendance and culminates with the actual all-star game.
During the week, each step provides a glimpse into who the players are.
Practices give players an opportunity to demonstrate their skill set and competitiveness. The recent collegians are asked to adjust to new teammates and schemes in relatively fast order. The adjustments they make serve as indicators of how they’ll handle an NFL locker room and preparation. Daily growth and regression speaks to how they deal with adversity.
Each night, NFL scouts and decisions-makers get to interview these young men and start the process of getting to know them. It’s a whirlwind process, but it’s the last chance for evaluators to see these prospects on the field, in pads and playing football.
The Senior Bowl contest itself serves as the final opportunity to level up and make a positive impression. Justin Herbert, Daniel Jones and Brandon Graham are a few recent NFL players who parlayed a fantastic Senior Bowl outing into momentum going into their respective drafts.
Throughout it all, NFL teams are trying to figure out how the pieces will fit together once the clock actually starts ticking and final decisions need to be made.
The Bleacher Report Scouting Department took a look at those who gained and possibly lost the most during the 2024 Senior Bowl festivities.
In what may be the biggest and best news of the week for NFL organizations, help in the trenches is on its way.
The overall quality and depth among NFL offensive lines is terrifyingly deficient. Many teams are struggling to piece together a reliable starting five, let alone being able to handle the inevitability of injuries. The collegiate ranks produce far fewer ready-made blockers because of practice and scheme limitations.
The incoming offensive line class should be a salve to heal some of the issues. The linemen in Mobile, Alabama, generated excitement about the overall talent and depth in the 2024 position class.
Even with the likes of Washington’s Troy Fautanu, Duke’s Graham Barton, Kansas State’s Cooper Beebe and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier (injury) opting out before the week began, the offensive linemen had the upper hand through most of the week. That’s especially impressive because the Senior Bowl is geared toward the defensive line.
The highly anticipated one-on-ones favor athletic defenders who don’t need to worry about an actual blocking scheme and help in protection. Continuity isn’t a thing during only a handful of practices. Front-line defenders tend to dominate as result.
For the most part, they didn’t during this year’s festivities.
Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson was the week’s biggest winner from an overall perspective. He came into the event as Bleacher Report’s second-highest-rated interior offensive line prospect.
Jackson Powers-Johnson weighed in at 14 pounds heavier than his listed size at Oregon (320 pounds). During the first day of practice, he absolutely dominated. More importantly, Powers-Johnson showed he can be a similar player at guard, not just center.
Unfortunately, Powers-Johnson suffered a hamstring injury during the second day of practice and needed to pull out of the event. But he left Mobile as the clear top prospect in attendance.
Like his Pac-12 brethren, Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga didn’t practice on Thursday, though he remained dressed for the day. Fuaga is another potential first-round pick who looked the part, with strong hands and a relatively consistent pass set. Some more athletic edge-rushers can give him trouble. However, his power is readily evident in both phases of the game.
Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton also didn’t finish the week. The 6’7″, 328-pound blocker dominated the first day of practice. His performance on the second day wasn’t as clean. However, his size, length, physicality and movement skills clearly portend a future first-round selection.
Among those who finished out the week, Texas’ Christian Jones may have been the most surprising. Jones entered the festivities as a well-known prospect after starting three years for the Longhorns. But the inconsistency seen with his technique throughout his collegiate career should have served as a detriment when facing the best in Mobile.
It didn’t. Instead, his pass sets were mostly consistent. Jones used his length (34⅞-inch arms) and size (6’5″, 318 lbs) to shut down most of his opponents. He had one of the most impressive performances as a result.
Elsewhere, Kansas’ Dominick Puni showed improvement taking transition snaps from offensive tackle to guard to center. Connecticut’s Christian Haynes impressed because of the strength seen in his grip. Once Haynes laid his hands on a defender, the reps were over. Arkansas center Beaux Limmer battled throughout the week despite his linear frame and short arms (31½”). Houston’s Patrick Paul certainly looks the part, though he needs to refine his technique. Utah’s Sataoa Laumea worked at guard for a significant portion of time. Washington’s Roger Rosengarten wasn’t overwhelmed and excelled after entering the draft as a surprising underclassman.
A good offensive line class is never sexy, but it’s the infusion of talent that NFL desperately needs right now.
Quarterbacks were the most anticipated position group at this year’s Senior Bowl, but they wound up having a disappointing performance.
A number of these quarterbacks will still get drafted, and a few will go relatively high in the process. However, teams may well be having second thoughts of investing an early or even middle first-round pick on the likes of Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. or Oregon’s Bo Nix.
Among those in attendance, Penix was the best quarterback without question. He displayed a live arm and clearly spun the ball well. However, he wasn’t on the same page as his targets for a lot of the week.
That happens to polished quarterbacks who are used to working within a certain system or having a good rapport with those on the outside. However, Penix missed numerous throws every day that everyone has grown to expect from him.
Nix was a different story. The single-season NCAA record-setter for completion percentage never looked fully comfortable throughout the week, completely missed throws and struggled to show any definable arm talent when watching him live in practice.
To be fair, he followed two awful practice sessions with a solid outing on Thursday, particularly when the National roster participated in red-zone passing drills. The day helped save what could have been a disastrous practice week.
Even though it’s still early in the predraft process, the fact neither Penix or Nix truly shined creates questions whether their status should be inflated because of positional value. That places teams like the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders in a bind since they select among the back half of the top 15 and may be looking for a quality quarterback prospect.
Beyond the top two names, South Alabama’s Carter Bradley emerged as the biggest surprise. Bradley started only one season at South Alabama after serving as the Toledo Rockets’ longtime backup.
At South Alabama, the son of NFL defensive coordinator Gus Bradley set single-season passing records and looked the part when aligned next to other NFL talent. Each day, the younger Bradley played within himself, ripped a few throws and never made the big mistake.
South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler and Tennessee’s Joe Milton III ooze talent. Inconsistencies that result in poor decision-making and spraying passes should temper lofty expectations, though. Milton’s issue became apparent during the game, with two interceptions. Meanwhile, Rattler earned the game’s MVP honors with a four-for-four showing, along with the game’s opening touchdown pass.
Finally, Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman and Tulane’s Michael Pratt did little to stand out, even among a lackluster group.
The top of this year’s quarterback class remains exciting. North Carolina’s Drake Maye, USC’s Caleb Williams and LSU’s Jayden Daniels could be the top three overall picks. The group is far dicier from there, though, and the Senior Bowl didn’t help matters.
During the week prior to the start of Senior Bowl practice, Bleacher Report highlighted players who could benefit the most from this year’s all-star contests. Among those included, some elected not to participate, and others failed to impress.
Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell didn’t fall into either category. He left Mobile as the prospect who likely gained the most.
Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson also needs to be included in that conversation. Robinson always had a legitimate NFL frame (6’5″, 286 lbs) and flexibility to play up and down the line of scrimmage. In Mobile, he showed how potent he can be as a pass-rusher, either working off the edge or aligned inside over guard. As a result, a panel of NFL scouts and front office executives named him the Senior Bowl’s Overall Practice Player of Week.
However, the buzz in Mobile about Mitchell was palpable. In a corner class that isn’t entirely settled near the top, Mitchell made his play to enter the mix.
Currently, Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry and Clemson’s Nate Wiggins are among the top names at the position. Mitchell finds himself right there at this point.
Going into Senior Bowl week, questions still lingered about Mitchell’s all-around skill set, particularly press and man-cover situations.
At Toledo, the two-time first-team All-MAC performer preyed on opposing quarterbacks in a zone-heavy scheme because of elite diagnosis, drive and ball-skill traits. When a pass is in front of Mitchell, he’s going to make plays. That continued in full force against top collegiate wide receivers at the Senior Bowl.
However, scouts now have fewer questions about Mitchell’s fluidity and flexibility in his backpedal and situations required to lock down targets based on what he accomplished before opting out of Thursday’s Senior Bowl practice.
Even if some concerns about Mitchell still linger, today’s NFL skews so heavily on complex zone coverages to confuse quarterbacks and cause them to create turnover-worthy plays. Mitchell is the ideal option for certain NFL schemes.
As a result, he might go from a potential Day 2 selection to a high as CB2 in this year’s class. It’s impossible to deny how big of a week he had in Mobile, which makes the cornerback crop even stronger.
Conversely, Penn State cornerback Kalen King experienced the biggest drop seen from any available prospect throughout this year’s draft cycle.
Upon entering the 2024 cycle in August, the junior projected as a potential top-15 selection. His status continues to plummet, and Senior Bowl week didn’t help his cause.
It’s a disappointing turn of events, because cornerbacks are such sought-after additions to combat the pass-first NFL. The quality of a secondary class is typically based on the overall depth, considering that 35 or more corners have been selected in each of the last three draft classes.
King will still be drafted. He’s a 20-year-old underclassman with significant upside. However, his descent didn’t help fortify a class where everyone is looking for upgrades.
During the season, King struggled with bigger and more physical targets, specifically an elite prospect like Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. To counter the physicality of those bigger receivers, the 5’11”, 189-pound defensive back gets overly handsy, which drew multiple flags throughout the week. His game is never going to be predicated on being a physical corner capable of shutting down some of the league’s larger targets.
Fortunately, others in Mobile filled said role and hopefully eased any concerns about the overall quality of this year’s cornerback class.
Notre Dame’s Cam Hart in particular shined as a 6’3″, 207-pound corner with the length, size, powerful jam and movement skills to thrive in multiple schemes. Throughout the week, Hart continually overwhelmed wide receivers and made plays on passes.
Similarly, Oregon’s Khyree Jackson (6’3″, 203 lbs) had reps where he dominated smaller receivers, though he was more inconsistent overall.
On the other side of the spectrum, Washington State’s Chau Smith-Wade and Louisville’s Jarvis Brownlee Jr., who were two of the lighter corners in attendance (or lightest, in Smith-Wade’s case), made play after play after play by getting up on targets and mirroring them exceptionally well. Smith-Wade contributed two interceptions, including a near pick-six, during the actual Senior Bowl contest.
The cliche of a team never having too many good cornerbacks still rings true. King may have experienced a significant drop, but all of these players will hear their names called during the draft. NFL teams need as much talent as possible to slow modern offenses.
While the offensive lines in Mobile tended to dominate, a few defensive tackles showed out as well.
Coaches will love Florida State’s Braden Fiske throughout this process. He’s a good athlete who’s constantly working hard at all times.
During the week, Fiske had his issues dealing with length since he has only 31-inch arms. He’ll get stuck on blocks. However, his first-step explosiveness, raw power and red-hot motor makes him a difficult assignment, to the point where the Western Michigan transfer nearly notched a safety during Saturday’s contest.
Scouts will also appreciate Fiske’s unselfishness.
Because of injuries and opt-outs, Senior Bowl executive Jim Nagy asked Fiske to flip squads for the game, which he obliged. The move didn’t seem to affect Fiske, who constantly re-established the line of scrimmage and played in the backfield. Furthermore, the 295-pound defender didn’t give up on plays and could be seen chasing ball-carriers downfield.
Texas’ T’Vondre Sweat is much bigger and longer than Fiske. The 6’4″, 362-pound nose tackle had his share of movement, too. Sweat started the week slowly, only to turn it on during the American squad’s Wednesday and Thursday’s practice.
Weight concerns will always be at the forefront for Sweat, who didn’t officially weigh in this week. But a fully invested version of Sweat is like having a freight train in the middle of a defense. He mauled opponents with his size and strength and even flashed a few pass-rush moves.
Alabama’s Justin Eboigbe is another interior defender of note. Eboigbe played extremely well during the Thursday practice session. He’s a stereotypical Crimson Tide defender in that he knows how to stack and shed blocks, which means he’s difficult to handle at the point of attack. While that skill set may be overlooked, it’s vital to clogging lanes and making sure a defense doesn’t give up chunk plays because of blown gap responsibilities.
Much like their offensive counterparts, investments along the defensive interior don’t create headlines, but they’re vital to success. This particular position class isn’t particularly deep, but the Senior Bowl provided a few examples of where an NFL squad can get better with the right choice.
Three months ago, North Carolina’s Devontez Walker looked like a potential first-round pick. He had games with 130 or more receiving yards against the Miami Hurricanes, Virginia Cavaliers and Duke Blue Devils this past season.
Everything has gone downhill since that point, though.
The Tar Heels lost their last two regular-season games. Walker opted out of the Mayo Bowl. His Senior Bowl practices were plagued with drops. Quarterbacks targeted Walker multiple times throughout the Senior Bowl game itself without a catch.
Granted, not all of the passes were accurate, and Walker may have been interfered with on a few occasions. However, he didn’t work through physical play and make difficult catches.
At the NFL level, cornerbacks will hound Walker. He’ll need to fight to gain position and make difficult catches. While he clearly presents a viable vertical threat, he will need to build trust within an offense and prove he’s going to make those deep catches even if they’re in traffic.
Walker might have done the least to prove himself at the Senior Bowl, instead creating more questions. Although he had some first-round buzz during the regular season, he looks more and more like a middle-round option, particularly when compared to the other wide receivers in Mobile.
Organizations in search of varied wide receiver skill sets will have plenty of choices this year.
In Mobile, Michigan’s Roman Wilson stole the show during practices thanks to his explosiveness. Georgia’s Ladd McConkey shined as a pure separator. Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley is so physical as a route-runner and after the catch.
South Carolina’s Xavier Legette is another physical target with good route-running ability. USC’s Brendan Rice bullied defensive backs. Southeast Missouri State’s Ryan Flournoy showed the stage wasn’t too big for him.
Georgia’s Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint made plays every day, including a 29-yard touchdown catch to open the Senior Bowl scoring. Louisville’s Jamari Thrash knows how to consistently get open. Rice’s Luke McCaffrey is a tough target with deep NFL bloodlines and a rapidly improving understanding of the wide receiver position. Florida’s Ricky Pearsall looked better than anyone when working deep.
Options are plentiful. When one wide receiver falters, others fill the void. That’s exactly what happened with Walker among this year’s Senior Bowl class.
