NFL Draft: Notes and Risers from Day 2 of the 2024 Senior Bowl
See which players at the Senior Bowl are trending upward in the 2024 NFL Draft
Hello, it’s 1:30 a.m. in Mobile, Alabama as I’m writing this. Safe to say, the Senior Bowl has seriously messed up my sleep schedule, but I wanted to put together a brief (it’s not brief) post covering some of the top storylines, risers, and general notes from Wednesday’s practices.
First, I want to clarify that while players can improve their draft stock at the Senior Bowl, analysts and fans shouldn’t completely tear up their past evaluations based on the three days of practice. Prospects might only receive a few dozen meaningful reps in Mobile compared to hundreds from the 2023 season and perhaps thousands from their college career. The Senior Bowl is very important, but it isn’t the be-all and end-all of the draft process.
National Team WR vs. DB 1-on-1s
Opinions among media members attending the Senior Bowl remain mixed on USC wide receiver Brenden Rice. He has been physical with cornerbacks throughout the week and has impressive size at 6'2 1/8", 212 lbs. Unfortunately, Rice can’t seem to stay out of his own way.
Rice smoked Notre Dame cornerback Cam Hart, who had a strong showing on Day 1, for an easy would-be touchdown. He turned to face the ball and started backpedaling while attempting to finish the play with a routine catch and dropped the ball. Rice hasn’t dropped nearly as many passes as Devontez Walker this week, but he’s let a few get away from him.
One negative play that wasn’t Rice’s fault resulted in an interception for Toledo standout Quinyon Mitchell, who has solidified a first round selection with his performance this week. The star cornerback undercut a deep post by Rice to intercept Bo Nix. Mitchell has more than stood toe-to-toe with the best players at the Senior Bowl despite facing limited Power Five competition in college.
Circling back to Walker, the North Carolina receiver has had trouble finishing plays, but that doesn’t mean he had trouble getting open (he clocked 21.18 miles per hour on Tuesday). His best rep of the day came against Willie Drew from Virginia State. Walker used a ridiculously effective stutter-go to leave Drew in the dust and create an easy touchdown pass.
Ricky Pearsall, who is one of the biggest winners of the week so far, had another strong showing. He used his elite ball skills to haul in this contested catch against Washington State’s Chau Smith-Wade. Pearsall also left Penn State’s Kalen King in the dust with a filthy route, but Nix missed the open touchdown throw. Pearsall is now at least a third round-caliber prospect.
Rutgers cornerback Max Melton is one of the better players in Mobile who hasn’t received much attention nationally. Melton has shown exceptional patience early in routes, which allows him to be sticky at the top of the stem. He is consistently limiting separation and impacting plays at the catch point.
National Team Drills and Competition
Taliese Fuaga popped early and often on Day 2 of the Senior Bowl. He had some nice moments on Tuesday, but there were also a few negative reps in pass protection. Fuaga looked much more consistent on Day 2. He and Isaiah Adams are the two fiercest members of the National Team offensive line.
Two of the best matchups on the day were Ohio State’s Michael Hall Jr. vs. Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson and Fuaga vs. Penn State’s Adisa Isaac. Isaac was a riser on Day 1, but he struggled to match Fuaga’s superior power. This held true on Wednesday during the 1-on-1s, but Isaac got the better of his opponent twice around the arc in team drills. Keep in mind, Fuaga is a projected top 15 (probably top ten) pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Fuaga got Isaac back when the two were pulled together for a friendly competition near the end of practice. Surrounded by all their teammates, Fuaga caught Isaac attempting an inside move and flattened him. UCLA’s Laiatu Latu told me on Tuesday that Fuaga stood out as the best offensive lineman in Mobile. It’s easy to see why.
As a part of the friendly competitions to close practice, Oregon State safety Kitan Oladapo volunteered to face down the much larger Brevyn Spann-Ford in a 1-on-1. Oladapo used his mirroring skills and closing burst to break the pass up.
The other key 1-on-1 near the end of practice was Roman Wilson against Quinyon Mitchell. Wilson used his speed to quickly put Mitchell on his back foot before generating five or more yards of separation on an out-breaking route and reaching back behind his body for a circus one-handed catch. Here’s another view. Wilson is trending out of third round territory and into the second round debate.
One more note on the National Team. Latu also had an excellent day. His rush arsenal, counters, and pass rush plan are on entirely different levels than every other Senior Bowl attendee.
American Team OL vs. DL 1-on-1s
A few hours in the sun drained me a little, but I still had a few nice observations from the American Team practice.
Alabama’s Chris Braswell, who was mostly quiet on Day 1, posted two wins with inside swims, including a rep against Christian Jones from Texas. Jones didn’t match his outstanding performance from Tuesday, but he will likely still be viewed as a third round pick because of his size and positional value.
Brandon Coleman and Christian Haynes trended in different directions on Wednesday. Coleman allowed several pressures. He managed to stonewall T'Vondre Sweat, but many of the other reps were less impressive. Haynes carried over his momentum from Day 1 to Day 2. He looked like the most consistent interior offensive lineman on the field for the American team.
Sweat beat Texas A&M’s Layden Robinson with an inside swim move, but Robinson came back and got the best of college teammate McKinnley Jackson. Jackson is flashing most of the potential he showed off in 2022 before having a disappointing final college campaign. He is generating consistent penetration to really throw the offense off.
Braden Fiske is limited by his size and arm length, but the Florida State product is an explosive athlete. He logged several quick wins on Wednesday, including one against Charles Turner that featured a club-rip.
Connecticut pass rusher Eric Watts wasn’t someone who impressed me in 2022 or 2023, but he strung together a few wins on Wednesday. The senior packed more power in person than I expected.
American Team Drills
Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith quickly became a focal point for the American Team’s offense. He is one of the more dynamic members of the 2024 draft class but is unlikely to hear his name called in the top 100 selections.
Xavier Legette got his week back on track. The South Carolina wide receiver was already rumored to be falling prior to Senior Bowl week. Then he measured in far below his expected size and struggled to generate significant downfield separation. Day 2 helped Legette calm down as he posted wins at all three levels.
D.J. James dropped a Michael Pratt interception opportunity. I haven’t written more about the quarterbacks because there isn’t much positive to write about. Pratt has been one of the better and more consistent passers, but no one is really separating themselves.
Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Ryan Flournoy had a great rep where he worked back to the football on an intermediate throw. Flournoy entered the week as an afterthought, but he has quickly become a draft-able prospect.
Christian Jones and Delmar Glaze both landed big blocks to spring the American Team’s run plays. Those two made several plays very easy on Daijun Edwards.
Darius Robinson’s impact on Day 1 was overstated by the media in response to NFL teams leaking their view on him as a second round-caliber prospect (at worst). Robinson is on track to experience a Keion White-level rise as we get deeper into draft season. For reference, White was a late top 100 prospect on my board in 2023 before ultimately going 46th. It sounds like Robinson’s rise will be even greater as he could potentially threaten for a first round pick.
Robinson was the talk of practice among NFL personnel. The former interior defensive lineman unleashed a club-swim on Javon Foster and cooked Andrew Raym on a swipe-swim countered off a fake bull rush. He even got Tyler Guyton with a swim. Those wins all came in the 1-on-1s, but Robinson also had this highlight in the team drills. He got into the backfield so quickly that Brandon Coleman didn’t have the chance to join his teammates in setting up a screen. Robinson’s pressure forced the quarterback to whip the ball into the ground to end the play.