Take a step back, and take a deep breath. Our first time seeing these players in weeks combined with an event that gets tons of media attention, its easy to take the events that transpired here and jump to conclusions. Try to remember though that what we are reporting on is just three days of real practice and although it will have an influence on the eventual outcome, this week should be a very small factor in your grading of a player. These guys have played for years so don't alter your opinion on them too much one way or the other on just one week. Remember, men lie, women lie, children lie but you can always trust the tape, it never lies.
As a heated game of paper, rock, scissors (two out of three) came to an end fellow eDraft contributer Josh Colliachi wrote about the South team's overall performance during the week of practices in Mobile, Alabama leaving me to give you the scoop about anything and everything to do with their opponent the North squad.
At first glance the North squad leaves plenty to be desire compared to the South's from a top-talent standpoint as I stared over to the other sidelines and saw guys like Derek Carr, Christian Jones, Kyle Van Noy, Dee Ford, and others. However, as the week progressed it was clear this squad had plenty of players of their own that earned high praise and deserve recognition, guys that you were likely not familiar with before this process began.
For the North team it all starts up front. In the middle of their defensive line they possess the two best defensive tackles in Mobile and arguably in the entire draft class. Minnesota's Rashede Hagman and Pittsburgh's Aaron Donald will be major factors in the NFL sooner than later and showed why during practices.
Hageman is a physical specimen that weighed in monday mourning at 6'6" 318 pounds which is big even in todays NFL standards. What makes Hageman special though isn't his size, it's his ability to move off the snap both laterally and pursuing into the backfield.
One of the most athletically gifted men here, Hageman told me he benches in the 465 pound area while squating close to 600. Although he dismissed the rumors of his ability to convert a 360 degree jam on the basketball court, he did tell me with confidence he has one of the best windmill dunks around.
Hageman said he played everywhere on the line at Minnesota from the zero technique all the way to the seven technique which means all 32 teams could utilize his talents in their specific scheme boosting his draft stock even further thanks to his versatility.
He wasn't the most consistent player here but he did do enough to confirm what the tape showed, which is a big bodied lineman that plays like a swiss army knife as it pertains to his ability to play and produce anywhere you need him to.
No one came into this week more decorated than Aaron Donald who won awards for best interior lineman, best overall lineman, most outstanding defensive player, defensive player of the year, ACC defensive player of the year, and those are just scratching the surface.
Donald was dominant this year at Pittsburgh and was recognized by coaches and media alike, so why is he projected so low in this years draft? Many scouts stress his size is too small and not ideal for many spots up and down the defensive line.
Those same scouts may be looking for new work after this week as Donald came in and destroyed everyone in his path from the moment the drills started monday afternoon. From one-on-ones to lineman drills to the full 11-on-11s Donald was a one man show consistently crashing into the backfield with his strength and explosiveness.
When it was all said and done Donald was named "Most Outstanding Overall Player" of practices and rightfully so. He may not have the measurables like Hageman, but despite his size continued to produce in both the run and pass game.
After his performance this week I would find it hard to believe Donald would fall out of the first round. If he did it would be because of his lack of versatility as he most likely will project as only a three-technique in a 4-3 defense, limiting the teams that may target him during the draft.
On the other side of the ball Notre Dame's Zach Martin was clearly the North's best offensive lineman and thats saying something with Baylor's Cyril Richardson playing next to him. Martin started 48 straight games for the Irish and was named Notre Dame "Offensive Lineman of the Year" for four consecutive seasons. Martin has showed the ability to play at tackle but was moved inside this week to guard where he excelled against his competition. After this week Martin solidified himself as the best at his position after winning the "Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman" of practices.
Two others on the line that exceeded expectations was Colorado State center Weston Richburg and Clemson lineman Brandon Thomas. Although he had a successful career, Richburg played at a small school and didn't get the recognition he likely deserved. This week he impressed holding his own against the same two from above, Hageman and Donald. No doubt he opened many eyes and now has made his case as the first center to be drafted if he can put together a good combine.
Thomas played at right tackle throughout his career at Clemson and was expected to move inside to guard this week. However, after a great Monday practice at left tackle coaches kept him there for good as he showed good strength and quickness to keep up with his peers. Thomas helped himself after proving to scouts he has the ability to play the tackle position and could be a solid addition to a team for just a day three pick.
Here are some other big names on the line that had noteworthy practices.
Trent Murphy played a little bit of everything at Stanford but had his hand in the ground all week as a defensive end. Trent didn't stand out like his first round projection would lead on, but he did show off his relentless motor giving 100 percent during every drill, snap, and play. After watching him he may not have one specific position at the next level which could hurt his draft stock, but there's no doubt he is a blue collar football player with loads of talent that will bring his lunch pale to work everyday for whichever team calls his name.
Cyril Richardson had a tough week of practice not living up to the hype that surrounded him coming into Mobile. One of the most dominant lineman throughout the year Richardson left a lot to be desired during the week after Hageman and Donald showed more strength than him on a consistent basis. It's tough to come into an event like this with such high expectations, because like Richardson has learned unless you play flawlessly its close to impossible to play up to your high draft status in just three days of practice.
Backpedaling into the back seven, Chris Borland seemed to get mixed reviews from the people I talked to which made me question if they knew which number Borland actually was. In warmup drills Borland looked like the most natural of the linebacker group moving laterally and into his back pedal, and then further impressed after he made an interception in 7-on-7s showing off his awareness in pass defense.
Watching him in those drills convinced me Borland could succeed as an author to "Linebackers for Dummies" during his down time. He did have trouble blitzing getting shut down by his teammate James White during "pass protection" drills, but his overall instincts at the linebacker spot trumphs his "lack of size" which is something many scouts have harped on during the evaluation process. Much like Donald, after watching the two up close and personal there becomes a certain point where you throw the measurables out the window, coming to the conclusion "if you can play, you can play" just like Borland's tape shows.
Louisville's Marcus Smith lined up at defensive end most of his collegiate career, but at the request of scouts and general managers was moved to outside linebacker by Phil Savage. Smith looked a bit out of place at times, but for the most part was the same productive pas rusher with his exceptional first burst off the snap. Meanwhile Mizzu's Michael Sam was also moved backed to linebacker where he looked completely lost and uncomfortable. Sam's bread and butter was getting into the backfield and that didn't change in Mobile, but anytime he was asked to move backwards for any reason it was clear he was light years behind were he needed to be. The two are considered "tweeners" with their size as most think they are to small at defensive end for the NFL, so while one showed the potential to thrive standing up the other showed drastic coaching will be needed if they haven't crossed him off their board altogether by now.
The new breed of physically imposing secondary players are continuing to grow exponentially and some sprouted up on the North roster this week. Five of the seven players in the team's secondary was measured at 6'1" or taller. Stanley Jean-Baptiste from Nebraska was the biggest of the bunch and with his 6'3" 220 pound stature immedietly drew comparisons to Richard Sherman. Along with his 6'3" stature Jean-Baptiste has long arms that he uses well at the line of scrimmage to smother his opponent and re-route him off his path, and also showed great run support. Certainly no where near perfect from a technique standpoint, but it will be interesting to see how he performs at the combine. With good numbers in Indianapolis combined with his big frame teams will be drooling over his potential at the next level after watching the "Legion of Boom" lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.
Safety Jimmie Ward is one of the two secondary players who isn't over 6 foot, but he showed why he belongs in the same discussion. Ward, who is from Mobile had a crowd of friends and family in the stands at practice that filled up an entire section of seats and gave them something to cheer about.
Ward has impressive instincts as he has already shown as a ball hawking safety, but showed us nice coverage skills to go with it this week that compliments his game well. Ward is also a hard hitter and sound tackler which he was unable to show off in practices, but improved his stock this week as an all around safety taking home the "Most Outstanding Defensive Back" award.
No matter how hard you try as practice goes on your eyes tend to drift towards the ball, the skill players that is. On a day-to-day basis no one was more consistent catching the ball than Wisconsin's Jarred Abbrederis.
From monday until thursday Jarred caught nearly everything in his way while running nice routes showing the awareness to put his body in the best position for his quarterback. Nothing flashy from Abbrederis, but a solid route runner with good hands which is what you can expect from him at the next level.
If flashy is what you were after than locking in on Oregon's Josh Huff was your man. Huff showed explosion off the line and torched his man more times than not for the catch.
Down in the red zone I lost count how may touchdowns Huff caught, which was surprising success because of his 5'11" and change stature. Huff turned a lot of heads this week and will have plenty of attention at the combine, which should be another successful event for Him judging by his quickness down in Mobile.
CJ Fiedorowicz was another fantastic target for the North's quarterbacks, he was much better out of his breaks than I was expecting and his 6'5" stature certainly didn't hurt as well. CJ didn't have a ton of balls thrown his way, but the ones that were he caught with ease. He was so impressive coaches voted him "Most Outstanding Receiver" by weeks end. His peer Arthur Lynch impressed me right out of the gate as well. I sat and watched him for a solid ten minutes and thought he was an excellent blocker limiting senior bowl studs like Dee Ford. He then displayed fluid movement followed by good hands. I heard the comparison of a Heath Miller light, I'm not going to disagree. Don't be surprised if he Lynch is one of the fourth or fifth tight ends taken and ends up being one of the best when five years down the road.
You would think with targets like the ones listed above Tajh Boyd would be a lock for a good week, but he was anything but. Boyd looked lacksadasical and nonchalaunt during one of the most important weeks of his life. On top of the lack of energy Boyd was consistently inconsistent with his accuracy and showed no signs of the top quarterback many projected him to be at the begining of the season. Never finding a rhythm throughout the week Boyd fell behind not only Logan Thomas but Miami's Stephen Morris as the worst quarterback of not just the team, but of all the quarterbacks in attendence. Some team will likely take a flier on Boyd in the later rounds based off the pure reputation that he was once a noteworthy passer, but after the week he had it wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't drafted at all.
The toughest position to scout from a naked eye perspective is the running back position. Remember these are just practices where players typically are only in second gear and defenders aren't allowed to tackle. None the less I couldn't help but be impressed with Charles Sims' quickness and vision throughout the week. Sims was a transfer from Houston his final year so he doesn't have a lot of recognition, yet, but he did average 5.3 yards per carry and showed a lot of potential busting out plenty of big runs. The same can be said for Wisconsin's James White. White put up great numbers for the Badgers but was never exposed in the passing game due to their run first attack so came into the week with a chip on his shoulder in pass blocking and catching. White contained former teammate Chris Borland in pass blocking along with others while showing the same vision and burst as he did in college. These two seperated themselves from the middle of the pack of fellow running backs and should be considered for a late day two consideration.
My last observation comes from the coaches. After watching the North team practice first thing after the weigh in Monday not much stood out as it was business as usual for Mike Smith and his Falcons staff. It wasn't until the South team came rumbling out onto the field two hours later that you could tell a noticable difference in energy between the two teams. Gus Bradley was extremely vocal throughout the week for the most part in a very positive way. I watched as the loud and energetic coach's enthusiasim rubbed off onto his players as they too were much more vocal and had an upbeat attitude for every minute of the fast paced two hour practice. While there was nothing wrong with Smith's calm and laid back demeaner it was obvious coach Bradley's approach was much more contagious to a group of young excited, and influential players. As a Vikings supporter (save your jokes) I couldn't help but see a quiet Leslie Frazier type up against a new loud and proud Mike Zimmer. Not saying one is better than the other, but from the clear positive response Bradley had from his players watch for the South team to have more bounce in their step and swagger on the field during the game Saturday.
I want to personally thank everyone (and there is a lot) at eDraft for their support and hard work during the Senior Bowl as well as the director of the event Phil Savage. Phil has done a phenominal job of allowing insider access to the players and coaches throughout the week. Without both of these sources we would have not been able to get the personal content like we did. Check out edraft.com for Josh Collacchi and I's interviews with over 30 players including Derek Carr, Ra'Shede Hageman, Aaron Colvin, Trent Murphy, Josh Huff, Daniel McCullers, David Fales, Jimmy Garaoppolo, Logan Thomas, Stephen Morris, Cody Hoffman, Kyle Van Noy, Will Sutton, and plenty more. As well as over 300 pictures from the sidelines taken through out the week giving you insider access you can't find anywhere else.
North Quick Hits
- Western Kentucky's Antonio Andrews caught my attention right from the weigh ins. Built like a linebacker Andrews looked like a bruiser type back out on the practice field. Showed good burst as a "one cut" back and then gets north quickly.
- Jack Mewhort was flat out solid throughout the week much like his career for the Buckeyes. Mewhort played a majority of right tackle where he contained Hageman and showed he will be a contributer for one lucky team that gets him in the later rounds.
- Just like the tape showed Robert Herron from Wyoming is lightning quick. He burned his former teammate Marqueston Huff on a quick slant early in the week. Needs to work on catching the ball away from his body as he dropped passes that hit him in the chest. No doubt once he has the ball though he is dangerous.
- North Carolina defensive end Kareem Martin showed good quickness off the ball throughout the week. He ran right around Sentreal Henderson during one-on-ones and did it again later in practice. His strength wasn't showcased much, however at 6'5 260 pounds he has the ability to play with the big boys.
- Deone Bucannon is a physically imposing player as I watched him I couldn't help but wonder how big hits he would have made if it were a live game situation. Bucannon takes good angles and showed impressive coverage skills during drills shutting down every tight end he faced.
- Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas looks the part of a NFL quarterback. at 6'5 245 pounds he is a Cam Newton clone to the naked eye. Because of this he will be drafted much higher than he should based of his potential. A risky pick as he showed he was far from a polished passer this week.
- Kain Colter was having a great week until he got sidelined with a foot injury. The former quarterback turned receiver showed great quickness along with crisp routed. He also caught every catchable ball thrown his way. Very raw but the potential is there. For the value of just a late day three pick Colter would be a great project.
- Arguably the biggest man on campus Miami's Sentreal Henderson showed flashed of dominance followed by signs of a bust. With his size and athletic ability he has all the potential to be a starting left tackle in the NFL. No signs of him putting everything together as of now though.