HoosierCat Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 Roster was announced yesterday. https://www.nfl.com/news/2024-senior-bowl-roster-reveal-what-you-need-to-know Practice is Jan 30 - Feb. 1, game is Feb. 3. Some changes this year, most notably that it's not really the "senior" bowl anymore. Quote Draft-eligible underclassmen will be able to participate in the Senior Bowl for the first time this year. Previously, fourth-year juniors who had completed their degree prior to Senior Bowl week were allowed to be invited. But now, the game is open to underclassmen who previously were not eligible to play. There are 15 underclassmen participating so far. Notably given conversations elsewhere on the board, five are safeties: Georgia's Javon Bullard, Miami's Kamren Kinchens, Washington State's Jaden Hicks and the Utah duo of Sione Vaki and Cole Bishop. Looks like loads of good DBs and WRs overall so that should be fun. Also lots of quality OT/OL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 Quote UCLA's Laiatu Latu. He's a power rusher with an outstanding knack for getting to the quarterback, even if he's not an elite athlete. Its awesome if he ends up participating. It seems he already has a top 15 grade based on some mocks. I hope he goes and competes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 24 Report Share Posted January 24 Quote The coaches, who no longer attend next week's Senior Bowl in the name of efficiency, won't get involved until they head to Indy with lists of players supplied by the scouts. The coaches are welcome to pop in and head coach Zac Taylor and his coordinators are occasional guests. This nugget from Bengals.com. I don't recall last years' senior bowl attendance via Bengals staff, but that is a big shift from they operated. Coaches not going. Now just dropping in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted January 24 Author Report Share Posted January 24 I think unless you are one of the teams selected to coach the game there’s a limit on how many people a team can send. Tobin and the scouting staff going would be at least five people, so that may fill up their card. But yeah, good catch. I’ve always championed the idea of having coaches coach and scouts scout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted January 29 Author Report Share Posted January 29 FWIW scouts were at the East West Shrine Bowl practices over the weekend, per Hobs. Also their assistant QB coach is there coaching the quarterbacks. Game is this Thursday. https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-assistant-coach-kragthorpe-makes-room-at-east-west-game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted January 29 Author Report Share Posted January 29 Great report from the Eat West practices here: https://www.giants.com/news/practice-report-notes-from-east-west-shrine-bowl-nfl-draft-2024 Let me put down a marker on NC DT Myles Murphy just for the name… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 https://trenchwarfare.substack.com/p/2024-senior-bowl-ol-preview-rankings One dudes summary pre-Senior Bowl. Quote Tier 1 - Immediate starters and potential impact players (Round 1-Round 2 grades) Quote 1. Troy Fautanu - G/T - Washington Background: Fautanu is my highest graded offensive lineman heading into the week. He is a former 4-star recruit with 30 career starts (28 at LT/two at LG), including 15 at LT this past season inside Washington’s pass-heavy, multiple run scheme. He will turn 24-years old in October. Grade: Year 1 starter (Late 1st/Early 2nd Round) 2. Jackson Powers-Johnson - C/G - Oregon Background: Powers-Johnson is a former 4-star recruit out of Corner Canyon High School in Utah where he was team captain, two-way player and three-time state champion. He also lettered three times in baseball and wrestling. He has only been a full-time starter for one season at Oregon but burst onto the scene, winning the Rimington Trophy and earning an unanimous All-American selection. Grade: Year 1 starter (Late 1st/Early 2nd Round) 3. Graham Barton - G/C - Duke *Barton has a shoulder injury and won’t be practicing Background: Barton is a 39-game starter (34 at LT/five at C as a freshman) who came to Duke as a 3-star recruit. He battled various injuries this past season, starting nine games at left tackle inside Duke’s run-heavy scheme. Grade: Potential impact player (2nd Round) 4. Zach Frazier - C - West Virginia Background: Frazier came to West Virginia as a 3-star recruit with a decorated high school career, winning two state championships in football and four heavyweight state championships in wrestling, losing twice in his entire career. He was the first true freshman to start along the offensive line at West Virginia since 1980 and finished his career with 46 starts (37 at center and nine at left guard).Frazier broke his leg during the last game of his 2023 season and limped off the field immediately after it happened, closing out his career at West Virginia in admirable fashion. He is preparing for the draft with Duke Manyweather in Frisco, Texas. Grade: Potential impact player (2nd round) 5. Taliese Fuaga - G/T - Oregon State Background: Fuaga is a 25-game starter at right tackle inside Oregon State’s run-heavy, zone-based run scheme. He has been a stalwart on the right side for the Beavers, receiving high-quality coaching and developing into a skilled, imposing starter over the last two seasons on some good OL units. Grade: Potential impact player (Mid-to-late 2nd Round) 6. Cooper Beebe Background: Beebe is arguably the most decorated offensive lineman in Kansas State history. He finished his career with 48 career starts split between left guard and both tackle spots, winning back-to-back Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year awards and becoming the first offensive lineman to be named a consensus All-American in school history this past season. Beebe is preparing for the draft with Duke Manyweather in Frisco, Texas. Grade: Potential impact player (Mid-to-late 2nd Round) 7. Jordan Morgan - G/T - Arizona Background: Morgan came to Arizona as a 3-star recruit before starting for three seasons and tallying 37 career starts all at left tackle. He tore his ACL on November 22nd of the 2022 season and returned Week 1 of 2023 at full strength, starting 12 games. . Grade: Potential impact player (Mid-to-late 2nd round) 8. Kingsley Suamataia Background: Suamataia is a former 5-star commit to Oregon who transferred to BYU after his redshirt season to be closer to home. He won four consecutive state championships in high school and is cousins with Lions All-Pro RT Penei Sewell. Suamataia was also listed #3 on Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freak’s List” this past summer for his weight room and GPS numbers. Suamataia was a team captain in 2023 and finished his career with starts split between left (10) and right (12) tackle. Grade: Potential impact player (Late Round 2) 9. Tyler Guyton - T - Oklahoma Background: Former 3-star recruit who played on the defensive line and starred in basketball as a senior before switching to the offensive line for the first time after committing to TCU, starting a game at H-back before transferring to Oklahoma before the 2022 season. Guyton finished his career with 14 career starts (one at LT/13 at RT). Good summary write up. Has a lot more info, I deleted. Click the link for the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 Duke Manyweather? You'll notice a couple of these guys are working out with him. He's built an offseason training camp for NFL lineman and a NFL prep for prospects. He boast some former top 15 picks. https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/big-boys-club-meet-duke-manyweather-offensive-line-guru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 Here's some of the Bruce Feldman freaks https://draftwire.usatoday.com/lists/several-prominent-2024-nfl-draft-prospects-make-this-years-cfb-freaks-list/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 Fuaga from Oregon state. I would expect to see him on some "best day" list this afternoon. Had a great rep against UCLA's Latu (First Rounder edge). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted January 30 Author Report Share Posted January 30 Yeah, Fuaga, Fautanu and Fashanu have all popped up on my OT radar. It’s really looking like a great OL draft class where there will be good value in rounds two and three if they are still skittish about a round one guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 Quinyon Mitchell should also pop up on these "best day" list that come out later today. CB Toledo, OH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 Quote Johnson made a campus visit to the University of New Hampshire to catch running back Dylan Laube, 5-95 210-pound running back playing for the Nationals. Quote above from Hobson. This guy was impressive today too. Apparently already on the radar. I think they made the comparison to Danny Woodhead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 A lot of good tackles for sure. Just get a true RT for us. Don't get cute and take a LT they want to switch, unless that guy is otherworldly and shit, and it won't be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 Those interested in TEs: Quote Two TEs have impressed today. TCUs Jared Wiley (6-6, 253lbs) made a diving one-handed catch during 1v1s and FSU's Jaheim Bell caught a well placed corner route during from Michael Pratt during team period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 Tackle news: Quote OT Christian Jones had a very impressive session in OL/DL 1-on-1s. Super experienced player with 48 starts in his career. Really impressive how poised and in control he was on his reps. Quote RT Taliese Fuaga has been an absolute stud in pass protection today. Has shut down his side of pass rushers, especially in team. Awesome day for him today at the #SeniorBowl. Quote Nice patience and quickness by Guyton. Handles himself really well in space. Quote OT Roger Rosengarten is stealing the show so far along the OL at the #SeniorBowl. Incredibly fluid & athletic in drills. Translated to the 1on1’s where he’s the only OL to win multiple reps so far. Impressive start. Happy for this dude because he had a bad National Championship game. Quote Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma Your favorite team is in luck if it needs an offensive tackle, because there will be plenty to choose from inside the first 50 picks of this year's draft. Guyton was one of the tackles who had a performance that matched his potential on Tuesday. He has great size (6-foot-7, 328 pounds) and length, and he used both traits to his advantage in shutting down spin moves and bull rushes in one-on-one drills. Guyton is a little light on experience (one season as a full-time starter) but heavy on talent, so Tuesday could mark the beginning of a jump up draft boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 CB News: Quote Very early in practice 1, #Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell already making a strong case for the top defensive player here. Looking smooth and controlled. Locking WRs down in 1v1s. Quote Mitchell has the tape and production of a top-20 prospect. And he’s backing it up so far. Quote Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell looks the part. There's only so much to glean from any prospect on Day 1 of practice at the Senior Bowl, as everyone is acclimating to their surroundings. But Mitchell, No. 19 in Jeremiah’s prospect rankings, did nothing to slow down that talk. "I know I belong and I'm gonna always try to dominate," Mitchell told me. "So, Round 1, Round 2, whatever it is, I try not to get into all of that. I just want to compete and win whenever I'm out there." He appeared quite comfortable in man coverage (both off and press) and had several strong reps in the National Team practice Tuesday morning, breaking up an out route to Arizona WR Jacob Cowing and then thwarting a slot fade to Rice WR Luke McCaffrey (younger brother of the Super Bowl-bound Christian McCaffrey). The 6-foot, 195-pound Mitchell saw a dip in his playmaking this past season for the Rockets, going from five interceptions (and two pick-sixes) in 2022 to only one interception in 2023. But he defended almost as many passes (20 in 2022, 18 in 2023) despite playing one fewer game last season and not being targeted by opponents as much. Mitchell said he regretted a few would-be INTs slipping through his hands last season, but that the goal this week is to not let that happen. "Just trying to be close to perfect," he said. "I lost two reps today, and I want to make that better (on Wednesday)." According to DJ he's been the "best in show" defender here and its not close. Quote Quinyon Mitchell is going too late in your mock draft. There's other DBs at the Senior Bowl I promise. However, the one that is generating the most comments it Mitchell. Quote Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo My colleague Eric Edholm wrote about Mitchell in this space on Tuesday, but I also want to share my thoughts on him. Mitchell is a riser. He entered the week squarely on the radar for scouts with his combination of size and game film, but it's different when you see him in person. Mitchell utilizes a lot of trap coverage techniques off of press, where he makes an early leverage declaration and forces the receiver to release outside. From there, he has shown off the speed and body control to stay in phase with receivers and has the physicality to close off the catch space. During one matchup against USC's Brenden Rice, Mitchell played from trail and simply closed the distance on a post route before leaping and grabbing an interception in the end zone. He should be in the discussion for CB1 this year. Quote Jarvis Brownlee Jr., CB, Louisville Brownlee will have to answer questions about whether he can play with speed and poise against deep routes, but his aggression to make plays on throws over the second level showed up on tape and on the field on Wednesday. He had instances where he was basically running the route for receivers. He was all over the catch point, putting himself in better position to make a play than the receiver. Brownlee added good weight in his final college season and he's still very twitchy, as we saw on Wednesday. His hustle to swarm to the football on all plays, regardless of location, is something that teams will really like. He's still likely to be a Day 3 selection, but he could be pushing himself up the board by a round. Quote 4) CB to watch. If there's a cornerback who deserves a bit more attention through two days of Senior Bowl practices, it might be Rutgers' Max Melton. Mad Max" has been all over the practice fields Tuesday and Wednesday, registering one of the top foot speeds, as recorded by Zebra Technologies, at 20.96 mph. Melton played inside and out for the Scarlet Knights and has done the same here in Mobile. He's the brother of Packers WR Bo Melton, who came on strong for Green Bay in 2023. Melton has given up some receptions this week, but his competitiveness has stood out. One of the biggest plays from the National Team practice Wednesday morning was Melton ripping out a fumble from USC's MarShawn Lloyd near the sideline -- and recovering it inbounds. Melton might lack elite recovery speed, but his length (he's 5-foot-11, with 32-inch arms) will make him appealing as a versatile CB prospect. I haven't seen his name mentioned as much as others this week, but Melton has helped his draft cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 RB update: Quote New Hampshire RB Dylan Laube had a strong day at the #SeniorBowl by all accounts. He’s a hard competitor with good agility and great hands as a pass-catcher. Versatile piece who will play a role in the NFL on passing downs and special teams. Quote Marshall RB Rasheen Ali shows patience, burst. In what appears to be an RB class with no clear-cut front-runner, Ali is one of the Senior Bowl backs with a chance to make some noise this week. The 6-foot, 204-pound Ali had two of the more explosive runs Tuesday during the National Team practice, displaying patience, vision and burst. It's difficult to quantify a lot of the plays in a practice without full contact, but he broke through to the second level on each run. Ali also flashed his receiving skills a few times in individual work, whipping past Notre Dame linebacker JD Bertrand on a wheel route. "I want to show I can be versatile, be that three-down back," Ali said. Ali, who missed a big chunk of the 2022 college season after taking a leave of absence for undisclosed reasons, ran for a combined 2,536 yards and 38 touchdowns in the 2021 and 2023 seasons. He's expected to be a big athletic tester, which also could give him a boost leading up to the draft. I happend to be watching this play. Very impressive. Couldn't remember the players name, but remember Marshall. Quote The@seniorbowlis looking live at New Hampshire vs. Stony Brook—first opportunity to see our Week 2 Player of Week, @UNH_FootballRB Dylan Laube (5100v, 203v, 9 1/8 hand) up close. Seen some off-base comparisons to Christian McCaffrey out there and we won’t go that far because it’s unfair to compare Laube to an NFL MVP-level player. A better comparison is former Patriots standout Danny Woodhead. Like the former small school standout from Chadron State, Laube is an excellent receiver. What will separate Laube from most RBs in this draft cycle is his unique ability to run detached routes out of the slot and make plays on the ball downfield. Quote New Hampshire RB Dylan Laube is a do-it-all back, with impressive ability as a receiver and returner. He shows off his route running chops here Quote Dylan Laube, RB/WR, New Hampshire The New Hampshire star is gaining more fans this week. Laube carries a broad, muscular build. He showed off his speed to turn the corner during a wide-flowing run on Tuesday and beat Washington State cornerback Chau Smith-Wade on a post corner as a wideout during one-on-one drills on Wednesday. He's worked at his craft as a slot receiver, and it showed last season with 68 catches for 699 yards and seven receiving touchdowns. There is often a concern about whether small-school players will be able to handle the jump in competition in Mobile, but Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy nailed it with the invitation for Laube, as he fits right in from a talent and confidence standpoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 DE news: Quote “I keep hearing Round 1 chatter surrounding his stock.” #Mizzou DL Darius Robinson is a name that has scouts buzzing through two days at the Senior Bowl Quote DL Marshawn Kneeland had an outstanding first practice as well. Long, strong and plays his butt off. Gave him a decent film grade (2nd round) and he’s playing like it so far in Mobile. Quote If you’re watching American team practices, Missouri DE Darius Robinson is a favorite of mine. Played in space and on the line at 286 pounds. Think he’s a 4-3 DE but you can move him up and down the line. Top 50 player. Quote Western Michigan EDGE Marshawn Kneeland is having a day Quote Came into the week an Austin Booker (DE-Kansas) fan. Leaving the first practice still a big Austin Booker fan. Raw, work-in-progress, but twitchy tools and productive tape are there. Just needs to play more football. Quote Chris Braswell, Edge, Alabama Braswell might send me back to the game tape, as it's possible I was a little low on him after my initial scouting report. While he still has some things to prove as a run defender, he was extremely physical at the point of attack in run drills against offensive linemen and ran Houston's Patrick Paul back into the pocket with a big bull rush early in the rush segment of practice. Alabama edge defenders are always well-schooled, but the aggression from Braswell really stood out. Quote Laiatu Latu, Edge, UCLA Spending an afternoon watching Latu's pass-rush film was the highlight of January for me. Some might say I don't have much of a life. Maybe you don't like elite pass-rush talent like I do. Latu showed on tape that he has a variety of go-to moves and counters he can use to beat opponents, and we saw the exact same thing from him at practice on Tuesday. He looked controlled but instinctive throughout his rush reps. He still has some work to do as a run defender, and Latu's biggest hurdle pre-draft will be the medical evaluations, as he did have a serious neck injury during his time at Washington. But Latu is priming his draft slotting by reinforcing what he put on tape for the last two seasons at UCLA. Quote Darius Robinson/DL/ @MizzouFootball has had a lot of nice reps in@seniorbowl practice this afternoon. Lined up inside, on the outside and even stood over tackle. Several people tell me he could go round one. When Mitchell was mentioned "best in class" by DJ. They also said Robinson was clearly the best along the line. At least that's the way I remember the comment. Quote The whispers among scouts get a little louder every time Darius Robinson takes a rep during 1v1's. He's winning with get-off, power and technique. Quote Laiatu Latu moves different live. Ridiculously fluid and smooth athlete. Quote 1) Missouri DL Darius Robinson stacking strong performances. Robinson, No. 32 in NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah's top-50 prospects rankings, had a good Day 1 of practice. On Day 2, Robinson might have been the best defender in the American Team session. The 6-foot-5, 286-pound Robinson won in just about every way imaginable in the two-hour practice. He dominated one-on-one drills, dispatched run blocks in the full-team sessions and also flashed a few speed-to-power pass-rush moves. Robinson even went around Oklahoma OT Tyler Guyton -- one of the Day 1 stars who hasn't lost many battles so far -- with no problem. Robinson models his game after the Chiefs' Chris Jones and the Raiders' Maxx Crosby. "I love Jones' hands and power, and Maxx has that four-quarter energy," he said. "I need to tap into whatever (Crosby's) secret is." The buzz was rising before the Senior Bowl, and it's only grown with each passing day. Robinson, who grew up just outside of Detroit, said he wants to be invited to the 2024 NFL Draft that's being held in his home state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 Quote Caught the end of this deep touchdown catch from @LouisvilleFB WR Jamari Thrash. This was his second long touchdown catch of 1-on-1s. Good long speed and tracking ability Quote It's crazy watching Xavier Legette in person and seeing how similar his movement is to A.J. Brown. Not comparing potential greatness just how he looks. Legette was consistently open during 1v1s and made a nice sideline catch during 7v7. Quote Ladd McConkey is a PROBLEM out here at #SeniorBowl practice: I can attest McConkey was open all day. Impressive slot candidate IF 1v1 represents reality. Quote WR group standing out early here at @seniorbowl. @GatorsFB WR Ricky Pearsall is one of them. Clean win off press and a nice contested catch for the touchdown in 1-on-1s Quote WR Roman Wilson had a very good first practice at @seniorbowl . Scouting report praises what he can do as a deep threat and he was able to showcase that early. Lot of wins on vertical routes Quote Roman Wilson, WR, Michigan Wilson is going to be a problem for defenses if he finds the right fit in the draft. While his touchdown production popped in 2023 (12), he never reached 800 yards receiving in a season during his college career due to the run-heavy nature of Michigan's offense. However, he showed off his ability to run away from coverage and make contested catches with strong hands throughout practice on Tuesday. Wilson's talent for creating mismatches and opening throwing windows for his quarterback reminds me of what I saw from Tank Dell at the Senior Bowl last year, and we know Dell thrived once he was paired with C.J. Stroud in Houston. Quote Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia If anyone was sleeping on what McConkey is capable of heading into this week at the Senior Bowl, they aren't anymore. The Bulldogs star is a thoughtful route-runner who attacks defenses with a well-defined route plan. On Tuesday, he was able to create separation left and right. His ability to uncover and make the tough catch should continue into Day 2, because he's proven he can do it on a consistent basis. Quote Louisville's Jamari Thrash is so damn shifty man Was burning dudes yesterday, but today Thrash showed he can win short-intermediate (and also deep) with quickness, stop-start ability, some deception, and active hands Did have a drop and there was an overthrow that might've slipped through his fingers Quote Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida When it comes to my tape study of this year's draft class, it's hard to find a wide receiver who is more consistent than Pearsall. He is performing at that same level this week, no matter who is guarding him. He's shown off his route-running ability and consistent hands during one-on-one drills. There might be some debates in draft rooms this spring about how to value Pearsall versus Georgia's Ladd McConkey -- one of the stars of Tuesday’s practice here in Mobile -- as slot receivers in the 2024 draft. Both can uncover at a high rate. Pearsall has the advantage in terms of size, but McConkey is the faster player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 Quote Gabe Hall, DL from Baylor, is making me feel things during Senior Bowl practices Kinda a weird update but Interior DL. Loves the swim move. Sweat; NT from Texas is back to power game today and impressing. FSU; Fiske - has good interior rush moves. (Edit Fiske from FSU). The interior group during 3rd down period can't block him. Quote 3) Buckeyes DT making his presence felt. Ohio State's Michael Hall Jr. built off a good first day of practice, where he stood out in one-on-one drills, putting in a more complete performance on Wednesday. He had some good battles with Oregon C Jackson Powers-Johnson on both days. "I lost a few one-on-one reps today for sure," Hall said, "but I felt like the team period I got way better for sure." Included in that team-session success were what would have been a sack of Michael Penix Jr. in a full-contact scenario and a swatted pass against Notre Dame's Sam Hartman. On both plays, Hall used his quickness and a quality swim move to create havoc. That's how Hall will have to win in the NFL, likely as a 3-technique. He's not the biggest interior player at 280 pounds, but he's working on adding a power component to his game. "I'm not the strongest guy in the world," Hall said, "but I feel like my speed and just how hard to try to come off the ball, I try to generate as much speed to power as I can and just harness that lower-body strength as best I can." With the recent success of some undersized 3-techniques in the NFL, including 2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-rounder Calijah Kancey, there's a roadmap that Hall can follow to the league. "Guys like that, like Aaron Donald, of course, that's where I think I can follow those guys," Hall said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 Interior OL Quote Oregon's massive center makes strong early impression. Of the offensive linemen I watched in the National Team's first session, two stood out: Oregon C Jackson Powers-Johnson and Oregon State's Taliese Fuaga. First of all, they're impossible to miss for sheer size reasons alone -- Fuaga is nearly 6-6 and 332 pounds, with an 81-inch wingspan, and Powers-Johnson is massive for a center at 6-3 and 334 pounds. But Powers-Johnson was terrific in the early going, stonewalling Clemson's Tyler Davis on a bull rush in one-on-ones, handling Oregon's Brandon Dorlus, his college teammate, easily in full-team work and looking surprisingly fluid for a player whose superpower is bullying D-linemen. Amazingly, Powers-Johnson only has one full season at center, but he handled those duties well Tuesday, just as he did all season for the Ducks. Some NFL teams could consider him at guard, too. That flexibility could help make him a top-25 pick. There's been several positive updates about him. There's a UCONN guard (Haynes) that looks pretty good to me. Wonder if he'll show up on the Day 2 winners report. Just had a rep a Center and pissed the LSU NT off so bad, the LSU guys ripped his helmet off. He's won every rep LG, RG, and C vs. whoever he's faced. Quote Two reps from @KU_Football OL Dominick Puni — one at center, one at guard. He is a strong dude. 6-4, 323 lbs. He has the power potential to be a interior starter at the next level Quote Christian Haynes, OG, Connecticut Haynes was a four-year starter and team captain at UConn, so leadership and experience are going to be obvious check marks in his favor. He has average length, but he showed off his power and tenacity throughout Wednesday's practice. He neutralized power rushers and did a nice job in the scrimmage portion of the workout. Haynes did get into a post-rep dust-up with LSU defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson (who has had a good week, as well) that saw Jefferson rip Haynes' helmet off and toss it. I don't have any intel on that exchange, but I do have faith that Haynes locks into Day 2 of the draft after his work over the last two days. Oregon Center - updates have been slowed because he left with a hamstring injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 Quote Duke Tobin has spent a majority of the second practice today at the Senior Bowl watching the trenches. Right now, he’s front and center watching o-line/ d-line 1-on-1 trench work #Bengals I could be wrong but the 2nd practice was the one with Guyton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted January 31 Author Report Share Posted January 31 Yeah, Duke said in the bengals.com piece that he was focused on the lines. Quote "There hasn't been a year we don't want to continue to develop both lines of scrimmage," Tobin said. "That's where the game is won and lost. There are great players on every team that are great skill players and you need them to make big plays in big moments and they want the ball in their hands in big moments. But the game is won and lost on the line of scrimmage and everyone is down here at the Senior Bowl focused on the line of scrimmage. Honestly they could do worse than just using their first three or four picks on best available OL or best available DL every time they get on the clock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 I think WR/DBs have entered the same level of importance as the trenches. As referenced before in the "why offenses suck" the defenses are playing way more complicated coverages that the average JOE media and fan don't realize. Even though defenses have clawed back some of the gains offenses have achieved since the rule emphasis/changes after 2010 there's still a world of difference. 2009 - 171K of yards gained with 10,991 points scored 2010 - 172K of yards gained with 11,283 points scored Even the declined numbers of 2023 are greater than those levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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