NFL Draft: 2024 Senior Bowl Risers from Day 3
Check out the best players from the final day of Senior Bowl practices
Senior Bowl practices are officially in the books. I’m flying home from Mobile today, so this post is another log of notes and observations from practice. When I get back to my normal schedule, the draft reports will begin coming out again, and I’ll provide some analysis on the practice film from the East-West Shrine Bowl. We are officially in a full sprint as we head toward the 2024 NFL Draft.
One more programming note before we get into my observations from Day 3 at the Senior Bowl. I have a lot of clips I took from the stands, and I’m working on getting access to the All-22 angles from practice. I will be working that into my content on social media and possibly some future posts on this newsletter, but most of them will go to my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33. You can follow me there for more clips and analysis.
National Team Stock Watch
I mostly watched the offensive and defensive linemen across the first two days of National Team practices, so I shifted my focus heavily toward the wide receivers and defensive backs on Thursday.
Oregon safety Evan Williams had a fantastic day covering tight ends. He broke up passes intended for Michigan’s A.J. Barner and Minnesota’s Brevyn Spann-Ford in the 1-on-1s. Fellow Ducks defenders Brandon Dorlus and Khyree Jackson, who are both in Mobile, largely overshadowed Williams entering the week, but he has arguably been the best performer from the program (including Bo Nix on offense).
Notre Dame’s Cam Hart had an up-and-down day to close the week, but Max Melton from Rutgers was the star of the show. While some cornerbacks looked panicked at times in the 1-on-1s, Melton looked calm, patient, and in control of every rep. He occasionally allowed short completions but consistently closed to prevent yards after the catch. Melton was the fastest player tracked on Thursday in both practices, hitting 19.52 miles per hour (MPH) on the GPS. He previously hit 20.96 MPH earlier in the week.
Outside of Quinyon Mitchell, Melton arguably had the best week among Senior Bowl cornerbacks.
Two National Team wide receivers popped on Day 3. USC’s Brenden Rice had his most productive day, eliminating some of the mistakes that plagued him in previous practices. He had a couple of nice wins, including a catch against Khyree Jackson in the 1-on-1 period and a touchdown catch against Cam Hart during 7-on-7s.
Malachi Corley was the other receiver who caught people’s attention on Thursday. He wasn’t asked to run many detailed routes in Western Kentucky’s offense, but he’s proving capable of creating consistent separation with his footwork and route definition. Corley had a nice touchdown catch from Bo Nix in the back corner of the end zone during the 7-on-7 period.
Also, shout out to Javon Baker for a very impressive touchdown catch against Willie Drew. Baker elevated for the ball, completely overshadowing Drew in the process.
USC running back MarShawn Lloyd and Penn State tight end Theo Johnson have been regular standouts throughout the week of practices. Lloyd is an explosive runner, but he’s also overwhelming linebackers as a pass catcher. Not even Payton Wilson, who hit 20.03 MPH on the GPS on Monday, stood a chance at containing him.
Johnson is the only tight end who generated separation and open targets on all three days of practice. Jaheim Bell and Ben Sinnott both performed well on Day 3, but Johnson played well and already had momentum going into the day.
Someone will be tempted to draft Iowa punter Tory Taylor near the top 100. He’s just so clearly in his bag and at the top of his game. Taylor was getting punts to spin back and stop inside the five-yard line, and he successfully angled several punts that went out of bounds inside the five. I don’t think I saw a single punt today go into the end zone. Taylor is as automatic as they come. Never underestimate the value of the field position battle.
North Carolina linebacker Cedric Gray deserves some praise. He has been one of the best linebackers this week at breaking up pass attempts intended for running backs, and he got another one today working against Troy’s Kimani Vidal.
Adisa Isaac beat Kingsley Suamataia around the corner a few times in the team session. There was one play during the five-yard line portion of the session where Isaac and Javon Solomon won simultaneously, beating Suamataia and Washington’s Roger Rosengarten respectively. Solomon came back a few plays later and beat Utah’s Sataoa Laumea (who was playing right tackle) with speed and a rip move.
Rosengarten continued to erase the memory of his performance in the National Championship Game by stacking wins. He had an excellent block on Gabe Hall during the team session to spring a big MarShawn Lloyd run and came back on the next play for another key block on Hall to help Dylan Laube.
Sticking with trench play, Tanor Bortolini had one of his better team sessions of the week. After a shaky start on Tuesday, he really solidified his play, especially as the offense began getting him on the move with gap scheme looks.
American Team Stock Watch
Michael Pratt from Tulane didn’t have the day he needed to finish his week of practices. He threw several off-target passes that were too far outside and had a pass intercepted by Tykee Smith after the ball was tipped by Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. Frankly, none of the quarterbacks played well this week. Michael Penix Jr. was probably the most consistent by default, although Bo Nix played well on Day 3.
Cal linebacker Jackson Sirmon was a late invite to the Senior Bowl, but he made an impact. In 7-on-7s on Thursday, the veteran linebacker nearly intercepted a Carter Bradley pass before stealing one from Joe Milton later in the session.
Christian Haynes, Christian Jones, and Patrick Paul continued to be dominant forces. The spotlight really shifted to those three since Tyler Guyton sat out Day 3. Haynes flashed his anchor by holding up against T'Vondre Sweat and Darius Robinson. Outside of Jackson Powers-Johnson, Haynes was arguably the most consistent lineman in Mobile.
Jones had a strong Day 1 before fading a little on Day 2. He was back to full strength on Thursday, crushing Nelson Ceaser as the Houston edge rusher attempted to turn the corner. Paul had a few clashes with Chris Braswell in which he pushed the Alabama star upfield and around the pocket.
The 1-on-1s didn’t go in Ceaser’s favor, but he amassed several pressures and a run stop during the team portion of the practice. Ceaser has been hit-or-miss at times this week, and I only say that because his flashes are top 100-caliber. He just needs to find a more consistent middle ground to operate in.
For a player still developing his build and technique as a pass rusher, Houston Christian’s Jalyx Hunt had a few nice plays where he was able to work across the face of the tackle and alter the pocket. He and Maryland offensive lineman Delmar Glaze had a couple of impressive reps in the 1-on-1s.
I also want to mention Justin Eboigbe and Marcus Harris while we’re on the discussion of trench play. Neither of them has been dominant, but they’ve both won reps in the 1-on-1s and team drills every day. They’re two quality day three options.
Louisville wide receiver Jamari Thrash was one of the best performers on Thursday. The former Georgia State transfer showed off his polished route running to create separation across all drills. What really set him apart from the other receivers today were his body control and ball tracking. He made an excellent touchdown catch on a backshoulder fade to the front pylon while his momentum was carrying him out of bounds.
Thrash is just one of several notable receivers who entered Senior Bowl week with third or early fourth round grades who have stolen the show. Malachi Corley, Ricky Pearsall, and Roman Wilson all fall into a similar bucket. Tulane’s Jha'Quan Jackson is a tier or two below those guys, but the dynamic and explosive slot receiver earned some new fans over the past few days.
Jaheim Bell and Ben Sinnott also closed out the week on a high note. Both beat Miami safety Kamren Kinchens in the redzone 1-on-1s for touchdowns (Bell scored on Kinchens twice).