Senior Bowl week

Risen Star

Likes Collector
Messages
89,454
Reaction score
212,387
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
Senior Bowl practices are in full swing down in Mobile, Alabama. Each day, we'll go through the players who stood out the most on the field. Here's our review of Day 2.

Programming note: You can catch Thursday's Senior Bowl practices at 1 p.m. ET on ESPNU/WatchESPN.

i

John Johnson, DB, Boston College
Johnson stood out during drill work Tuesday, and we noticed him again Wednesday. At 6-foot and 205 pounds, he's the smoothest safety down here in terms of movement skills. He catches the ball well and gets in and out of his breaks without a hitch. Johnson projects as a versatile defensive back in the NFL. He played safety this past season but has experience from 2015 lining up all over the field (corner, nickel, dime, safety). The coaches put him through some cornerback drills Wednesday, and he did a nice job. We're interested to dive more into his tape after an impressive first two days of practice.

i

Antonio Garcia, OL, Troy
Garcia's arms measured on the shorter end for a tackle prospect (just under 33 inches), and that showed up a bit Wednesday, as he was caught lunging a few times. But his body control, balance and quickness makes up for that. He has done a good job getting into position and staying in front of guys. We saw that Wednesday against Kansas State DE Jordan Willis, one of the quicker edge defenders down here. Garcia could play tackle depending on the scheme, but he might be a better fit inside. He plays with an edge -- he got into it with Texas A&M's Daeshon Hall on Tuesday -- and he uses his hands to win consistently.

i

Haason Reddick, LB, Temple
Reddick was primarily an edge defender at Temple, racking up 22.5 tackles for loss in 2016 (third-most in the FBS). But coaches have asked him to play more of an off-the-line LB role during practice, and he has shown good instincts. Reddick has looked really comfortable in coverage, which is surprising for someone who has never really done that before. From watching his tape this season, it was clear that he is explosive off the edge -- and whoever drafts him might occasionally ask him to get after the QB in nickel situations -- but his ability to play well in space has really stood out.

i

Eddie Vanderdoes, DT, UCLA
Vanderdoes' intensity and motor have helped him pop on the practice field this week. No matter what he's doing -- individual drills, team work or one-on-ones -- he goes all-out all the time. What has been most surprising is how quick he has been off the ball. For a 320-pounder, Vanderdoes has a really good first step. He's a bit limited athletically and doesn't change directions well, but his straight-ahead power showed up a bunch on Wednesday. He consistently pushes offensive linemen into the backfield.

i

Ethan Pocic, OL, LSU
Coming into the year, we had Pocic ranked as our top center. He dealt with some nagging injuries this season and wasn't as consistent as we expected him to be, but he has done a nice job of getting things turned in the right direction this week. On Wednesday, Pocic competed well against Alabama's Dalvin Tomlinson, who is one of the better defensive linemen at the Senior Bowl. Pocic doesn't overwhelm defenders, but he gets the job done and has been really solid in all areas. He could play both guard and center in the NFL.
 

Risen Star

Likes Collector
Messages
89,454
Reaction score
212,387
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
Todd McShay
ESPN Senior Writer

Senior Bowl practices are in full swing down in Mobile, Alabama. Each day I'll be going through some of the top players on my board, reviewing how they fared in front of NFL scouts. Let's dig in.

Programming note: You can catch Thursday's Senior Bowl practices at 1 p.m. ET on ESPNU/WatchESPN.

i

Nathan Peterman, QB, Pitt
Peterman put together another good performance Wednesday. He made a couple of really impressive throws outside the numbers in windy conditions. On one of the throws, the coach said Peterman made the wrong read, but he got away with it because the pass was right on the money -- and it was on time. That's the big thing with Peterman: anticipation. He has a really good poise about him, and he has carried himself well. I also thought Peterman's fellow North team QB C.J. Beathard had another good day, too. Both of those guys are helping themselves this week.

i

Ryan Anderson, OLB, Alabama
Anderson isn't an elite talent, but he has played really hard in practice this week. Coaches are getting him outside of his comfort zone, asking him to play in space on occasion. He has gotten exposed in those situations. Anderson hasn't dominated the way I thought he would as a rusher, but part of that is because they've used him in a few different roles. While he's a little bit limited athletically, it wouldn't surprise me if he plays well during the game on Saturday. He's just a gamer.

i

Cooper Kupp, WR, Eastern Washington
Kupp was the star of the North practice on Wednesday. If you sit there and listen to him catch passes, the ball doesn't make a noise when it hits his hands, which is what you want. Really reliable hands. Kupp isn't a burner, but he's fast enough and he has done a nice job of getting in good position down the field this week. He measured 6-foot-1½, and he plays physical. A lot of WRs aren't used to navigating press coverage, but Kupp has shown good quickness off the line. He has boosted his stock more than any other prospect down here so far.

i

Evan Engram, TE, Ole Miss
Every time I looked up, Engram seemed to be making a catch. He was the standout tight end on Wednesday. At 6-3 and 236 pounds, he has shown great run-after-the catch ability. Of all the tight ends here -- including Alabama TE O.J. Howard, who's the top prospect playing this week -- Engram does the best job of setting up defenders and getting out of his breaks. He projects as an H-back -- a Jordan Reed-type -- with huge, 10-inch hands. On Wednesday, he made a great catch away from his body and another good one in traffic. Overall, Engram's athleticism really stood out.

i

Cameron Sutton, CB, Tennessee
Sutton entered the season as my No. 5 CB with a mid-second-round grade. He fell off the map a little bit after missing six games midseason with a foot injury. I think he has been the best pure cover-corner this week, and on Wednesday, he did a nice job of filling the alley against the run. You can tell that he's finally healthy and has been looking forward to putting on a show down here. It has been good to see him play well. This is shaping up to be a really good cornerback/safety class.

i

Desmond King, DB, Iowa
King has a little tightness in his hips, so we're seeing the coaches put him through both cornerback and safety drills. From his Iowa tape, we know he's physical against the run and can read quarterbacks and wide receivers. The big question: Can he match up man-to-man as a cornerback against WRs with speed and quickness? King hasn't really stood out in that regard this week -- he has been quiet overall, really -- so it wouldn't be shocking to see him play safety at the next level. A lot of players have made that transition in the past and ended up with good careers.
 

RS12

Well-Known Member
Messages
32,527
Reaction score
29,874
Several teams in Mobile have taken Desmond King off the cornerback board and move him to safety, something we initially mentioned as a possibility on December 13th.

Teams are concerned about King’s speed and ironically during the time I was having the conversation about the move to the safety board King was torched for a long reception by Zay Jones.

I spoke with an NFL scout who formerly played with the Miami Hurricanes and asked his thoughts on Brad Kaaya turning pro. The scout did not mince words and told me Kaaya made a huge mistake entering the draft.

Much of the opinion to those I’ve spoken with here in Mobile about Kaaya decision feel he will end up being available during the final day of the draft.

For those who follow the agent business, I’m told Dalvin Cook of Florida State is in the process of changing agents. I’m also told there will be a significant inspection into his background leading up to the draft. If Cook falls further than expected on draft day it’s because red flags were raised.

I spoke with Carolina Panthers offensive line coach Ray Brown last night and he was very complimentary of Troy offensive tackle Antonio Garcia.

Brown said Garcia’s hand use -- specifically the way he properly places his hands into opponents and extends to keep defenders away -- is a trait not often found in college linemen, who usually prefer to lean on opponents.

It’s a small thing that has separated Garcia from many of the blockers in attendance.

http://draftanalyst.com/senior-bowl-buzz-thursday-night
 

Risen Star

Likes Collector
Messages
89,454
Reaction score
212,387
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
Todd McShay
ESPN Senior Writer

Senior Bowl practices finished up down in Mobile, Alabama, on Thursday. So it's a good opportunity to run through some things that stood out to me this week. Let's dig in.

i

1. QB Josh Dobbs made the most of his opportunity. He made a lot of throws this week that you just didn't see from him consistently in college. He was the third-best quarterback in Mobile, behind Pitt's Nathan Peterman and Iowa's C.J. Beathard (and he wasn't that far off of Beathard). Having watched him throughout his career, Dobbs' performance was very, very surprising. He was erratic and inconsistent at Tennessee, particularly on throws down the field. It makes you wonder whether he was held back by an inconsistent offensive line. I'll have to dive back into his college tape to find out. He just looked like a different quarterback this week, standing tall in the pocket and stepping into his throws. Dobbs really seemed to click with Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson, and you hope for his sake that he lands with a coaching staff that brings the best out of him. I'm looking forward to seeing if he can keep it up during Saturday's game.

i

2. WR Zay Jones is crazy fast. He played in East Carolina's Air Raid system, which features a lot of bubble screens and didn't showcase his potential as a vertical threat. This guy has unreal speed. He ran past guys consistently at the second level and tracked the deep ball really well this week. Could he be a Day 2 pick? I need to go back and watch more of his tape, but it's possible. I'm really interested to see what he runs at the combine.

i

3. Matchup to watch Saturday: North WRs versus South CBs. Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp was one of the week's biggest stars, but the North team also features Jones, Syracuse's Amba Etta-Tawo and Michigan's Amara Darboh, all of whom had good weeks of practice. They'll face off against the two standout cornerbacks this week: San Diego State's Damontae Kazee and Tennessee's Cameron Sutton. (It's too bad LSU's Tre'Davious White suffered an ankle injury and won't be playing in the game; he looked really good before getting injured.)

i

4. Pitt QB Nathan Peterman had a great overall week, but ... one weakness of his showed up on the practice field: He doesn't have a very strong arm. It was noticeable on Thursday when the wind was blowing pretty good. Peterman just couldn't drive the ball down the field consistently. It's not a deal-breaker, but it's something for quarterback-needy teams who play in windy conditions to keep in mind (Jets, Bears and Browns, to name a few). He fits more in a short-to-intermediate passing attack, which will limit his market and keep him from being a high pick.

i

5. OL Antonio Garcia made himself some money. The Troy product is right near the top of my list for the biggest draft risers after this week. He showed great athleticism along with the ability to play both tackle and guard. He had the best day of any offensive lineman on Thursday.

i

6. DT Montravius Adams has all kinds of tools. He was the most explosive of all the interior linemen down in Mobile. I just don't know if I can trust him. He was very inconsistent throughout his career at Auburn. But Adams forced evaluators to go back and take a second look at his tape after some flash plays this week.

i

7. UCLA DT Eddie Vanderdoes was super impressive. I know he has durability issues and he's not the best athlete, but Vanderdoes' effort was consistently outstanding this week and he plays with great technique. I'm a fan.

i
i

8. The most intriguing players: Boston College DB John Johnson and West Virginia CB Rasul Douglas. Johnson showed a ton of versatility. He can play cornerback if needed and cover a lot of ground as a safety. And with Douglas, I know he's a little stiff, but at 6-foot-2 and with long arms, he has a lot of great tools to work with. Either or both of these guys could be off the board by the end of Day 2.

i

9. Temple LB Haason Reddick isn't just a pass-rusher. He had the third-most tackles for loss in the FBS this season, but because of his size (6-1½, 237), he's going to need to transition to an off-the-line linebacker role in the NFL. He proved he's perfectly capable of doing so with his play this week. There's no doubt in my mind that Reddick is going to play in this league for a long time.

i

10. I'd want LSU LB Duke Riley on my team. He made a ton of plays in coverage and versus the run this week. He was just always around the ball.
 
Top