Senior Bowl: Week In Review

With 31 NFL teams descending into Mobile (Rams stayed at home), the week was non-stop football. It didn’t matter if you were grabbing food, riding in an elevator, or chilling at a local watering hole -- there was someone from the NFL world wthin reach. 

One of the reason’s the Senior Bowl week is so important to evaluators was because this will be the only time we can see these players in one place competing in a true football environment prior to the draft.

This allows scouts and front office personnel to differentiate the Alpha’s from the Beta’s. Bowl invitees inherit an opportunity for themselves to stand out amongst their peers, both on the field and in the meeting room. Case in point, DIII OL Quinn Meinerz. This UW-Whitewater mauler was taking advantage of the opportunity to show he can play at the next level.

For me, being able to see all these players in person throughout the week leading up to the game provided me with the best insight I have ever had in the 10 years I have been evaluating draft talent. 

It also introduced me to new draft crushes and players that I will keep tabs on for the remainder of their career, whether they are with the 49ers or not. 

As I have discussed many times throughout the draft process, ‘integrity’ is the hardest thing to scout and it is extremely helpful when you can see these guys in real life to be able to evaluate said trait. I was able to see which guys had poor body language, which guys seemed like they had character concerns -- compared to guys who stayed behind to take extra reps and seeing who the true leaders were. 

Because scouts are typically looking for a player's traits to translate to a specific scheme and/or technique implored by the coaching staff, 1v1 drills are the best part of the entire week.

They allow coaches to set players up in specific positions and situations to see how they react.

What we are looking for is if they can continue to build off the practice week or we see them shy away from the moment with all the bright lights on them.

Essentially, how do they perform when it’s live bullets? 

This plays into why prospects like Mac Jones decided to sit for the game because he has done enough in his career to answer the "live bullets" evaluation. It didn’t warrant him risking injury and/or dropping his perceived draft stock from a bad game day performance.

On the flip side, you had guys like QB Kellen Mond who had arguably the worst week of practice I have seen from any player at any level of football, who also had a poor showing in the first half of the actual game.

At this point, I'd imagine most evaluators had already tagged him as late-round/undrafted prospect.

But here's an example of how your performance in the game can buy you some extra rope. Mond went on to have a solid 2nd half, exemplifying some redeeming qualities to finish the game with a couple quality throws. He wound up as the games MVP and his 2nd half performance will be enough for scouts to really try to understand who he is. 

A player I was high on heading to Mobile was Penn State DE Shaka Toney. He had a forgettable week of practice, but when the lights came on and the game kicked off, he was one of the best players on the field.

According to Pro Football Focus, Toney ranked as the 3rd highest graded defender at the Senior Bowl.

Walking away from one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, I came away loving the sport even more than I already did. 

After an unprecedented year where life was flipped on its head -- being in Mobile for a week felt like normal life again.

To any fans of the NFL Draft who have thought about attending the Senior Bowl, I would definitely recommend it and should be on your bucket list. 

I look forward to seeing you again next year, Mobile. 

(Photo's by me)