MOBILE, Ala. — News, notes and observations from Thursday’s final Senior Bowl practice and Shrine Bowl week:
- Jake Haener (Fresno St) was the best QB in Mobile all week. Max Duggan (TCU) was better on Thursday. He’s a coach’s son and plays the game the right way. I don’t see him as a starter, but some team may see him in the Taysom Hill-type role.
- TE Luke Musgrave (Oregon St) had another good practice. He’ll need to develop his blocking but he’s a top 40 player. He’s got big hands and he’s fast on his routes. I bet he breaks a 4.55 40.
- LB Aubrey Miller (Jackson St) packs some power in his shoulders and he forced a fumble in the team session. I thought he got better as the week went along.
- Northwestern DL Adetomiwa Adebawore was strong the last two days, and he had a dominating rep against Notre Dame’s Jarrett Patterson. I don’t see Adebawore as a traditional fit for the Patriots. Not sure he’d be an every-down player in their scheme. 3 technique will be his best alignment.
- RT Darnell Wright (Tennessee) has good agility for his size. He competed all week and was the top tackle. I’ll be fascinated to watch who the NFL prefers, him or Dawand Jones.
- WR Rashee Rice (SMU) had a decent day. He runs good routes and uses his size to wall off defenders. One of the things I heard this week, he’s a worker, played injured this year and constantly showed up.
- WR Dontayvion Wicks (Virginia) generally had a good week. Showed a good balance of hands, size, and ball tracking.
- WR Jonathan Mingo (Ole Miss) is big for a wideout. Not quite DK Metcalf or A.J. Brown (Ole Miss alums) but in that ballpark size-wise. He roasted Julius Brents for a long TD, but Mingo was also inconsistent at times. Brents has been good, and he won his share of reps.
- I thought CB Tyrique Stevenson (Miami) was good in man coverage this week. He’s effective on the jam and plays with some bravado.
Shrine Notes
- The “West” team coached by the Patriots staff won the game 12-3. All 4 field goals (51, 51, 35, 35) were kicked by Michigan’s Jake Moody.
- BC’s Zay Flowers only practiced Saturday and didn’t play in the game. It won’t hurt his draft stock at all. For a player like him, the team interviews tend to be more important, and he’ll do well there.
- The best QB at the Shrine this week was Aidan O’Connell from Purdue. He’s a step above the other QBs and he’s very accurate. His arm strength was a bit concerning. On the “West” team it was Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA). He has athleticism that the Patriots don’t have in their QB room.
- Nic Jones (Ball St) had 2 picks in the game. He got better as the week went along. However, I think the best man coverage corner this week was Eric Scott Jr. (Southern Miss).
- S Trey Dean III (Florida) was a guy that we previewed last week, and he had several INTs in practice and one in the game. I think he’s a box, SS type. He was probably one of the most athletic players in Las Vegas, but he needs to trust those traits. He grabs too much in pass coverage. His best fit is in the box or SS in a zone scheme.
- DE Brenton Cox (Florida) got some attention earlier in the week because Bill Belichick was doing some hands-on coaching. He was the most talented edge rusher in Vegas this week. I’d be surprised if the Patriots used a selection on him unless they got very comfortable with the off-field questions. Even though he was Florida’s best player, he got kicked off the team. He was kicked off Georgia’s team even though he was a five-star recruit. There’s a lot for the Patriots' scouting staff to uncover.
- DE Habakkuk Baldonado (Pitt) was good not great (he wasn’t consistent in the run game). He’ll need to use his MMA background to get off blocks faster. But there’s no denying that he flashes and he was very effective in the game. There’s some Deatrich Wise Jr. to him. Nebraska’s Ochaun Mathis has a similar profile.
- OT Kilian Zierer (Auburn) was pretty good, better than I expected. He has good size and gets off the ball well. I think he worked himself into the draft.
- AP Kazmeir Allen (UCLA) is really fast and very shifty. But he's small for a RB he had some drops in the practices. I see him as an all-purpose type of player that offers some electricity in space. There’s a chance he breaks 4.3 in the 40. I think he's a late-round flier or more likely PFA.
- The two best running backs I saw watching the tape were Xazavian Valladay (Arizona St) and Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota). Ibrahim doesn’t have much speed which will limit his big plays, and his size will make it tough to be an every-down back, but he has elite vision.
- NCST LB Isaiah Moore was a guy we previewed last week, and I thought he was the best LB on the “West” squad. He’s a name to watch.
- WR Jake Bobo (UCLA/North Andover) is a smart player that can be used in different ways. UCLA coach Chip Kelly runs a complex offense for the college game so the transition should be a bit easier to the NFL. Problem is that he’s never going to get much separation.
- Small school alert! DE Caleb Murphy (Ferris St) got better as the week went along which is the hope for the smaller school guys as they adjust to the level of competition. He’s had 28 sacks in the last two seasons. Sacks are one of those things that can translate to the next level. Keep in mind, Matthew Judon came from Division II (Grand Valley St).
- In the same vein, I thought Leo Titus (Wagner) flashed a few times.
- Finally, a sleeper to watch is OLB BJ Thompson (Stephen F. Austin). He needs some refinement and weight (more of an athlete at this point) but he's a good long term development candidate at OLB. He's very quick and has a good spin move.
THREE UP
DL Dante Stills (West Virginia): I thought he was the best defensive lineman at the Shrine Bowl and he played well all week.
RT Darnell Wright (Tennessee): At the biggest position of need, Wright had the most consistent week of all the tackles.
RB Tyjae Spears (Tulane): He had a 1v1 in a competitive session that was elite. Completely lost the defender. Very impressed with him this week.
TWO DOWN
Edge Isaiah Foskey (Notre Dame): He has the tools to be a top-15 pick. I just didn’t see it consistently and the tape feels very similar to what I saw last year (when I had him top 50). Still a good prospect and hopefully he fully gets there.
WR Andrei Iosivas (Princeton): Every team in the NFL visited Princeton this year to evaluate Iosivas. There was a hope that he would have a similar breakout as Christian Watson (Packers). I wrote about Watson last year in the preview and in the final Senior Bowl write-up, “Checks some boxes for the Patriots. He’s 6-4, 211 with good speed, routes, and hands. What impressed me this week is that he wasn’t out of place against better competition. The best part, he was consistent all week.”
We didn’t get that from Iosivas. Lots of tools to work with but he’ll be a Day 3 player.