2022 Senior Bowl: Day 3 Recap

Every year, top draft prospects from around the nation accept invites to showcase their talents at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. With coaches, scouts and NFL decision-makers present from around the league, players have a fantastic shot at improving their draft stocks as #TheDraftStartsinMobile. The Jets and Lions coaching staffs will begin their indoctrination to the NFL as they lead the National and American teams. 

Our own Ray Garvin, Brett Whitefield, Derek Brown and Chris Wecht from FTN Network and FTN Data will offer their boots-on-the-ground insights from practices and events in Mobile throughout the week. 

Check out our pre-Senior Bowl rankings on FTN Fantasy. 

Senior Bowl Day 3 – Top Takeaways

Romeo Doubs, WR, Nevada

For the second practice in a row, Doubs struggled to get separation and failed to get a clean release off the line. At this point, I am comfortable suggesting this is part of his game he will need to improve. While I still really like him as a prospect, perhaps I am not as bullish as I was coming into the week. Stock down.  – Brett Whitefield

Velus Jones Jr, WR, Tennessee

We knew coming into this week that Velus had some wheels, and that has been confirmed. Dude can absolutely fly. What we had not really seen yet was the short area burst and release package that he displayed today. I was blown away by his ability to quickly get off the LOS cleanly. Several reps he got off of press before the DB was even able to put a hand on him. Huge day for one of the older prospects in the draft. Stock up. – Brett Whitefield

Carson Strong, QB, Nevada

Strong’s deep ball was a tough sight to behold for a quarterback with mobility issues and heralded for his arm strength. Strong rifled passes to his receivers today on short and intermediate routes with adequate velocity, but for the second day in a row, when he was tasked with throwing the ball downfield, the ball lofted in the air. The same velocity that showed up on his film hasn’t been present so far. Strong is moving down my prospect board. – Derek Brown

Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State

Watson has absolutely turned heads both yesterday and today in practice. His performance has easily been one of the most surprising stories of the week thus far. Watson has put on a route-running clinic and has been able to easily generate separation at all levels of the field, against both off and press coverage. Considering the conditions today, his hands were a bright spot among the WR group. – Brett Whitefield

Malik Willis, QB, Liberty

I think today may have been the turning point in which Willis established himself as the guy of this draft class. I can’t speak for everyone, of course, but I can speak for myself and I certainly feel this way. Willis clearly has the most arm talent in this group (it’s not close) and he also just looks, sounds and acts like the alpha-type leader most NFL teams covet in their QB. One of my favorite parts about watching Willis this week has been his willingness to challenge himself on the field with either difficult throws or hanging in the pocket and getting through his progressions. Stock up. – Brett Whitefield

Dameon Pierce, RB, Florida

Pierce was shot out of cannon on rushing attempts and pass routes today. The wiggle that was evident on his tape was present throughout practice. With the rain being a factor for every receiver today, I won’t count some drops against Pierce. He flashed superb chops in pass protection drills and offered the glimmer of a three-down skill set. 

Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina

Coming into the week, Howell was my favorite QB in the class. While he hasn’t had many catastrophically bad plays this week, there has been a lot of throw-for-throw inconsistency. On top of that, his demeanor seems very quiet and reserved, almost like he is tired (all the time). Not something I love to see for a guy you would be handing the keys to a franchise over to. Stock down. – Brett Whitefield

Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State

McBride showed off his receiving chops today in a big way. He continues to look fluid in his route-running and has the ability to get separation from whatever defender is tasked with covering him. Despite being a little bit shorter than the other tight ends at the Senior Bowl, he showed the ability to make contested catches today with a defensive back draped all over him. The one knock I saw from McBride was that he struggled in pass blocking, but it seemed like many of the tight ends had issues in that department. Improving in this area will make him a difference-maker along with his already established receiving talents. – Chris Wecht

Jerome Ford, RB, Cincinnati

Ford came into the Senior Bowl as most people’s RB1 of the group, and so far I haven’t seen anything to suggest anyone should take that spot from him. He hits holes fast and rarely goes down on first contact, and when he gets into open space he can run away from the entire defense with his speed. There is a good chance Ford is the fastest running back on the field at the Senior Bowl. – Chris Wecht

Dontario Drummond, WR, Ole Miss

Drummond was a guy I thought would show big and flashy plays given his size and speed, but it just hasn’t been there. He without a doubt can get open and make catches in the short and intermediate part of the field, but he seems to struggle getting open deep for big plays. He was asked to play more of a slot role for Ole Miss this past season, so maybe it is just part of his game that is being worked on and will improve with time. – Chris Wecht 

Senior Bowl Day 3 – Stock up, stock down

2022 Senior Bowl Day 2 – Top Takeaways

Romeo Doubs, WR, Nevada

Doubs clearly has the size, speed, fluidity, and hands to be an NFL wide receiver. Those things have been apparent through the process and were just amplified today. He absolutely looks the part and can separate at will downfield when given a clean release off the line. It wasn’t all sunny for Doubs today though, as one concerning aspect of his reps was how frequently he couldn’t get off the line cleanly and at times was outright stonewalled. His 1v1 success rate today reflected that. The bottom line is that there were some encouraging things today, but I will need to see more tomorrow. – Brett Whitefield

Jalen Tolbert, WR, South Alabama

The hometown kid was comfortable in his own arena and had a great day overall. Tolbert, who isn’t known for his top-end speed, took Georgia’s Derion Kendrick deep. Tolbert ran right by him for a touchdown. He followed it up by making several contested catches downfield while also showing good separation in the short parts of the field. – RayGQue

Tolbert looked like the player I saw on film. He flashed solid hands and good body control on a deep throw from Bailey Zappe down the sideline. He also showed out against top competition, beating Derion Kendrick for a score. Kendrick (per Grindingthemocks.com) has an EDP of 42.3 and is currently projected to be a top-50 pick in the upcoming NFL draft. – Derek Brown

Tyler Badie, RB, Missouri

Badie looked explosive. He caught everything that was thrown at him. He displayed good vision and played well in all phases of the game. Badie showed off his hands in the passing game, which shouldn’t be surprising as he saw a 17% target share in 2021. That was second-highest mark for an SEC running back in the last five seasons. – RayGQue

Jeremy Ruckert, TE, Ohio State

Ruckert’s stat lines at Ohio State won’t wow you. He failed to surpass 400 receiving yards in any of his four seasons, but he displayed the same qualities in practice that he flashed on film. He’s one of the players I’m keeping the closest eye on this week. Ruckert was quick in and out of his breaks today and showed off a soft set of hands. – Derek Brown

Quarterbacks

It was a rough day for all six quarterbacks here in Mobile. During the National Team practice, Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder struggled and at one point outright missed 4-5 throws in a row, and followed those up with a couple of dropped snaps. Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett was by far the most consistent of the early group but didn’t do anything to set himself apart either. The American Team practice saw similar struggles from their QBs as all three of Malik Willis, Sam Howell, and Bailey Zappe had unique issues of their own. Willis put together a handful of eye-opening throws, but some of his other attempts left a lot to be desired. Tomorrow will be a big day for this group. – Brett Whitefield

Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State 

McBride easily looked like the best tight end on the field today. That was expected coming in, and McBride confirmed his status as the top dog at the position. His fluidity for his level of thickness is a sight to behold and he easily dominated the 1v1 drills from start to finish. This past season at Colorado State, McBride averaged nearly 94 receiving yards per game. That was the second-bes rate for a tight end over the past five seasons, trailing only 2021 top-5 pick Kyle Pitts. So far McBride looks like a guy who can bring that level of impact to the NFL. – Brett Whitefield

Dameon Pierce, RB, Florida

Pierce’s explosiveness really popped today, especially in the team 11v11 drills. I knew that he had some juice to his game, but I wasn’t expecting to see that top-end speed from him. In his senior year at Florida, Pierce scored a touchdown on 13 percent of his carries, which led the NCAA in 2021 (min. 100 carries). Pierce’s blend of size, speed, and violent running style could lend to being a touchdown machine in the NFL. – Brett Whitefield

Khalil Shakir, WR, Boise State

Shakir struggled early in getting in and out of his breaks while running routes in WR drills and one-on-ones. However, when the team drills started, he turned it on. He caught every pass that came his way and had no trouble separating from opposing defensive backs. As long as he continues to find his way open in 11v11 drills, he will have no trouble catching the eyes of NFL teams. – Chris Wecht

Calvin Austin III, WR, Memphis

Austin dominated one-on-one drills today. He established at least a step of separation on each of his reps. His small size is still a concern and we did not see him face press coverage, but it was good to see him have success when he had space to work. His 95 receiving yards per game led the American conference in 2021, so there is some hope he can have an impact as an NFL wide receiver. – Chris Wecht

Braylon Sanders, WR, Ole Miss

Sanders had a rough day overall. He dropped two passes in 1v1’s and muffed a punt in special teams drills. The highlight of Sanders’ day was doing pushups on the practice field. – Derek Brown

Senior Bowl Day 2 – Stock Up, Stock Down

2022 Senior Bowl Day 1— Top Takeaways

Jeremy Ruckert, TE, Ohio State

Ruckert weighed in at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds. Although the raw production wasn’t there from his tenure at Ohio State, the tape told a different story, and he certainly looks the part in person. Watching him in 1v1s this week will be important in gauging his receiving upside at the next level. — Derek Brown

Dontario Drummond, WR, Ole Miss

Drummond weighed in at 6-0 and 217 pounds, which makes him significantly bigger than former teammate Elijah Moore, who played the same role as Drummond at Ole Miss. His height and weight much more closely resemble one of Drummond’s other former teammates, A.J. Brown, which could be a testament to his potential versatility. — Chris Wecht

Hassan Haskins, RB, Michigan

Haskins opting out of this week is a huge bummer for me. He had a great opportunity to do some work in the passing drills this week, specifically the 1v1 receiving drills. This is currently a missing part of his evaluation, and unfortunately we won’t get any answers on that front this week. — Brett Whitefield

Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State

Dotson was another opt-out this week, which means unfortunately we won’t get any measurements for him. For a guy with a lot of first-round buzz, it would have been great to get some extra eyes on his game this week. — Derek Brown

2022 Senior Bowl — Stock up, stock down

Jalen Tolbert, WR, South Alabama

Tolbert was completely rocked up. It’s somewhat shocking he weighed in under 200 pounds, but he looks the part and is very well put together. Tolbert looks like he already has the core and upper-body composition to play through contact and absorb hits at the next level, Stock up. — Brett Whitefield

Khalil Shakir, WR, Boise State

I was really impressed with his physical stature in person, especially compared to how he measured. He looks a lot bigger here than he did on tape. I am excited to watch him operate vs. the DBs this week, which should be an upgrade to what he was used to playing. Stock up. — RayGQue