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2014 Senior Bowl Thread (1 Viewer)

Faust

Faust

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2014 Senior Bowl: Position-by-position preview


By Dane Brugler | NFLDraftScout.com Senior Analyst

January 19, 2014 1:35 am ET

Excerpt:

Before the football spotlight shines on New York/New Jersey for the Super Bowl in two weeks, Mobile, Alabama will turn into NFL headquarters this week as hundreds of coaches, scouts and personnel men congregate for the 2014 Reese's Senior Bowl.

Evaluators have volumes of game tape on file of all the top prospects, but scouting players in an all-star setting brings a different perspective on an even playing field. For “small school” prospects, it allows scouts to see them on the same field as players from Alabama and Ohio State. For players who had a down senior season, the Senior Bowl gives prospects a chance to redeem themselves. Simply put, players have a lot to gain from a positive week of practice at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Last year, Eric Fisher, Lane Johnson and Ziggy Ansah dominated the competition in Mobile, which helped turn them from possible first rounders into top-five overall picks.

While the 2014 Senior Bowl lacks some star power with over 30 seniors pulling out due to injuries or personal reasons, the rosters are still loaded with future NFL talent. Below is position-by-position preview of the top players to watch:

QUARTERBACK:

Top player: Derek Carr, Fresno State
A possible first round pick, Carr has elite velocity as a passer and can make every throw on the football field. He needs to improve his pocket tolerance and mechanics, but Carr has the mobility, arm strength and football instincts that makes him an appealing prospect. He should shine in Mobile.

Arrow pointing up: Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois
After a record-breaking career at the FCS-level, Garoppolo impressed NFL teams last week at the East-West Shrine Game and will look to do the same this week in Mobile. He doesn't have a cannon for an arm, but his eye use, quick release and intellectual process is top shelf.

Arrow pointing down: Stephen Morris, Miami
Morris has effortless arm strength to deliver the ball anywhere on the field, but his decision making and accuracy are both questionable, causing him to struggle much of 2013. He has enough size and athleticism, but his consistency as a passer leaves a lot to be desired.

RUNNING BACK:

Top player: Charles Sims, West Virginia
With Carlos Hyde dropping out, Sims steps up as the top running back prospect in Mobile this week. He is a tough, one-cut runner who stays upright through contact with his combination of natural balance and power. The Houston transfer is also very reliable catching the ball out of the backfield.

Arrow pointing up: James White, Wisconsin
After waiting his turn behind Montee Ball, White shouldered a heavier load in 2013, despite sharing carries with the more talented Melvin Gordon. He has a lean frame and will probably never get above 200 pounds, but he runs tough, physical and has exceeded expectations.

Arrow pointing down: David Fluellen, Toledo
Fluellen eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark in 2013, but he also battled several injuries that kept him on the sidelines part of the season. An above average pass-catcher, the MAC runner is tough and reliable with the ball in his hands, but he also lacks the athletic traits to separate him from others.

WIDE RECEIVER:

Top player: Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt
A very productive target, Matthews is an impressive prospect because of his athleticism, catching radius and determination with the ball in his hands. With a combined 201 receptions the past two seasons, he is a detailed and reliable route runner who takes pride in his finishing ability.

Arrow pointing up: Jared Abbrederis, Wisconsin
A former walk-on, Abbrederis is a balanced athlete with gliding speed and short-area quickness to create separation in coverage. Although he's not the biggest or fastest, he is a savvy route runner and reliable hands-catcher who projects as a dependable NFL target.

Arrow pointing down: Cody Hoffman, BYU
After recording 100 catches last year, Hoffman's production dropped in 2013 (57/894/5) as he battled injuries and inconsistencies. He has a tall, lean frame and will be too easily out-muscled by defensive backs and knocked off his route. Hoffman needs a strong week in Mobile.

TIGHT END/FULLBACK:

Top player: C.J. Fiedorowicz, Iowa
A well-built target, Fiedorowicz headlines an underwhelming group of senior tight ends. His production at Iowa is average at-best, but he was underutilized in the Hawkeyes offense. Fiedorowicz has the size and skill-set to start at the next level and be successful blocking and receiving.

Arrow pointing up: Jay Prosch, Auburn
Although he didn't receive a lot of touches in Auburn's productive offense, Prosch was still a vital part of what the Tigers did in the run game. Prosch, who didn't have a single carry in 2013 (and only five catches), is a smash-mouth blocker and plays with a finishing attitude.

Arrow pointing down: Marcel Jensen, Fresno State
Despite Fresno State's pass-happy offense led by Derek Carr, Jensen wasn't a substantial part of the Bulldogs' offense. He wasn't asked to be a consistent blocker and has an average skill-set as a receiver, similar to former South Carolina tight end Justice Cunningham.
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I'm surprised that Garoppolo measuring in ever so slightly bigger than Carr.

@TMeltonScouting

Garoppolo was 6022 again, 217 this week. Apparently the Shrine Game measurements were better than I thought they were.

Derek Carr 6021 215 9 1/8 hand

David Fales 6013 220 9 1/4 hand
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Donnybrook said:
I'm surprised that Garoppolo measuring in ever so slightly bigger than Carr.

@TMeltonScoutingGaroppolo was 6022 again, 217 this week. Apparently the Shrine Game measurements were better than I thought they were. Derek Carr 6021 215 9 1/8 hand David Fales 6013 220 9 1/4 hand
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all with tiny hands though, unimpressive south squad physically. Several eye openers good and bad at non skill positions and Jordan Matthews, oh my.
 
Rotoworld:

Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas measured in at 6'5 and 3/4ths of an inch and 250 pounds for Senior Bowl week.

Thomas also has massive hands, checking in at 10 and 3/4ths of an inch. He will almost certainly look like a project this week, but Thomas does throw a nice vertical pass. He will practice alongside Tajh Boyd and Stephen Morris.


Source: Optimum Scouting
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Miami QB Stephen Morris measured in at 6'1 and 3/4ths of an inch and 208 pounds for Senior Bowl week.

Morris lacks consistency, and we doubt he will show anything differently this week. He is only a vertical passer at this point, but Morris' 20 best throws can match almost anyone else's in this class. Morris also measured in with 10 and 1/8 inch hands.


Source: Optimum Scouting
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Clemson QB Tajh Boyd measured in at 6 feet and 3/4ths of an inch and 222 pounds for Senior Bowl week.

Boyd also had a hand size of 9 and 3/8ths of an inch. Boyd will practice alongside Stephen Morris and Logan Thomas, so we expect him to look the best out of the group. Boyd's height is not an issue, since he displays pocket movement to find throwing lanes and releases from multiple platforms.


Source: Optimum Scouting
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Rosters look kind of weak to me this year. I don't know if I'll even bother to watch any of the practices.

 
EBF said:
Rosters look kind of weak to me this year. I don't know if I'll even bother to watch any of the practices.
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It has become NBAish in that the best prospect come out early. Unless playing time has been really sparse or a player physically develops late, the two things that are most impacted by staying are potential injury or being exposed for not being that good. I won't kill a guy for wanting to get his degree either.

 
Aaron Murray only 6'0" 200 lbs. With the torn ACL, maybe he drops to the fourth/fifth round or even later?

Can he be a viable starter, or career backup material?

* SECs career leader in passing yards and TDs.

 
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For the love of all that's holy, I wish people would stop throwing data away with these weigh-ins.

71.5" is different than 72.4" but both routinely show up as 72".

It's like saying 215-224 is "220".

 
coolnerd said:
EBF said:
Rosters look kind of weak to me this year. I don't know if I'll even bother to watch any of the practices.
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It has become NBAish in that the best prospect come out early. Unless playing time has been really sparse or a player physically develops late, the two things that are most impacted by staying are potential injury or being exposed for not being that good. I won't kill a guy for wanting to get his degree either.
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http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/01/19/4625019/senior-bowl-chief-critical-of.html#.Ut2eGMznbcs

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/20/senior-bowl-executive-thinks-too-many-juniors-enter-the-draft/

 
Faust said:
2014 Senior Bowl: Position-by-position preview

By Dane Brugler | NFLDraftScout.com Senior Analyst

January 19, 2014 1:35 am ET

Excerpt:

Arrow pointing up: James White, Wisconsin

After waiting his turn behind Montee Ball, White shouldered a heavier load in 2013, despite sharing carries with the more talented Melvin Gordon. He has a lean frame and will probably never get above 200 pounds, but he runs tough, physical and has exceeded expectations.
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James White weighed in at 206, at 5'9.0." Big plus for him, showing NFL size. Antonio Andrews also bigger than expected at 225.

 
My guy Cody Hoffman measured a legit 6'4" (6'3-7/8") and solid 218 lbs.

David Fluellen listed at 215 came in at 226 lbs with a huge wingspan, 78-1/4", the same as Hoffman.

 
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ZWK said:
Faust said:
2014 Senior Bowl: Position-by-position preview

By Dane Brugler | NFLDraftScout.com Senior Analyst

January 19, 2014 1:35 am ET

Excerpt:

Arrow pointing up: James White, Wisconsin

After waiting his turn behind Montee Ball, White shouldered a heavier load in 2013, despite sharing carries with the more talented Melvin Gordon. He has a lean frame and will probably never get above 200 pounds, but he runs tough, physical and has exceeded expectations.
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James White weighed in at 206, at 5'9.0." Big plus for him, showing NFL size. Antonio Andrews also bigger than expected at 225.
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And people think White is too small. Compact, and thick thighs: http://lifesyourcupfb.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/james-white-srbowlweighin.jpg

 
Just catching up on the practice from today, which shows the smallest snippets ever, but...

Robert Herron, the WR from Wyoming, torched his man and made solid catches on all his reps...

And as I type this, Mayock calls him out for a great day. This WR class is ridiculous, but Herron could surprise.

 
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As usual I am down here in Mobile with Lammey-Wildman-Bramel - here are my takes for day one - I saw both North and South practices, but due to the timing of the practices, I missed some of the North.

You can find all my stuff either at CheeseheadTV.com or my own site AndrewGarda.com. OR heck, right here.

Normally, Senior Bowl practices are divided in such a way to where you can see both the North squad and the South squad. One gets the morning and one gets the afternoon.

Mondays throw that aside because the morning is given over to the weigh-in and the evening is the dinner with the media, so the window for practice is shorter than usual.

They have one of the practices at the normal venue (Ladd Peebles Stadium, where the game is played) but ship the other team off to Fairhope Stadium, about a 30 minute drive from Mobile itself. Once upon a time, these practices happened simultaneously, which meant you only saw one Monday practice. Now that Phil Savage (former scout, NFL GM, player personnel director and coach) is in charge, staggering these practices so you can catch most of both.

I traveled to Fairhope, but was able to catch a lot of the other practice as well. But as I didn't get a full look at the North practice Ladd Peebles, rather than cover each practice individually, I'm just going to give you my basic thoughts on players who stood out.

Before we get too into it though, one thing to keep in mind. This is Day One of practice. Especially for the skill position players, this is a tough day. Quarterbacks and wide receivers don't know each other and that can often provide a skewed look at what they are capable of. We'll get a much more accurate look at those players during Day Two and Day Three.

All that being said, I am not very excited by this group of quarterbacks.

Until last year, every time I have come to Mobile, some quarterback has "jumped out" at me. Once it was Colin Kaepernick, another time Russell Wilson.

It's early but I just don't see that guy here.

Eastern Illinois' Jimmy Garoppolo showed off a cannon of an arm, but zero touch. He did everything at 110 percent. Handed the ball off hard, pitched it hard, threw it long hard, threw it short hard. He looked like he was trying to go through his receiver.

I'm all for a show of arm strength, but Garoppolo took it a bit far. You have to take something off your shorter passes, but the ball came out just as hot on a short route as it did on a long or intermediate pass. I want to see some touch on his throws before the end of the week. He could just be hyped up, especially coming off a very good Shrine Game. It happens, guys try to prove themselves a little too much on day one.

Sometimes it works out, as it did with Russell Wilson, who looked aggressive and exceptional during his first practice. Sometimes, it doesn't work as well, as was the case today.

Fresno State's Derek Carr looked solid at the South practice, showing overall solid mechanics and a smooth motion on his throws. He didn't blow me away but he threw a nice ball.

I can't say the same for David Fales, the San Jose State quarterback who didn't seem to finish a throwing motion. It looked like his throw stopped early and whenever I saw that, his pass floated. His accuracy (and the float of his passes) went up drastically whenever he had to go long.

The North didn't have anyone stand out positively, at least when I was watching. Tajh Boyd had accuracy issues, though he was probably the best of this group. I'm not sure I buy Tony Pauline's comment that any team - including the Packers - think Boyd is 'undraftable' after a day of practice. Even after looking at his tape. Is he Teddy Bridgewater? No, but he's not a disaster.

At least I won't judge him that after one day. It sounds more like either 1) a team not in need of a quarterback downgrading a guy or 2) smoke and mirrors.

Pauline is good at parsing info, but I can't buy undraftable based on today. It's knee jerk reaction at its worst.

That said, I didn't much like what I saw from Virginia tech's Logan Thomas, whose day was summed up perfectly by CBS Sports' Dane Brugler.

Logan Thomas threw some strikes that hit the WRs numbers. But he also threw some that bounced/sailed past the WR. Consistently inconsistent

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 21, 2014

Consistency will be key for him the rest of the week.

Stephen Morris of Miami had the same issue. One minute a decent pass, the next a high overthrow.

The other group I watched closely was the South's wide receivers.

I felt like Texas wide receiver Mike Davis was solid as advertised. I saw him come off the line quickly, adjust to bad balls and make some nice leaping catches. He also did a good job of catching the ball away from his body. Far too many of the other receivers let the ball hit their chest, a good way to produce a bobble and drop.

He also showed very soft hands, which made it even easier to control the ball.

Jordan Matthews of Vanderbilt had an up and down day. He had more than a few drops, but he also had a beautiful leaping catch where he high-pointed the ball. If he can clean up his drops, he could have a great week.

At 5'8", 179 pounds, I had concerns about Florida's Solomon Patton. Would he get beat up at the line and overpowered by the secondary? At least for today, the answer was yes, sometimes. He was overpowered at the line a few times, but he also fought for the ball and used his hands as well to fight off the defender. He may find his rhythm as the week goes on.

Another smaller guy, Jalen Saunders from Oklahoma, had less success. He was repeatedly overpowered by the secondary and had a few drops on what should have been easy passes. He wasn't happy about it, and gave himself penalty pushups. That's great and all, but we need to see him improve this week and not just at pushups.

A few other quick notes on positions I didn't get to watch in depth:

  • Good friend and Denver radio host Cecil Lammy has been coming to Mobile since before it was trendy and is an incredibly sharp evaluator. So when he tells me to keep an eye on West Virginia running back Charles Sims, you know I'll do it. I only got to see Sims briefly today but he impressed with his speed and vision.
  • I loved the pace with which the Jacksonville Jaguars practiced. It was intense and energetic but everyone was having fun. When we got the the North practice, shepherded by the Atlanta Falcons, the pace was laconic. And I might be wrong but it seemed as if they started special teams early and went a long time with it.
  • I watched some of the defensive line drills at Fairhope and came away impressed with a few guys. I loved the short, violent use of hands by Princeton's (that's right PRINCETON) Caraun Reid. He ran his drills through the tackling dummies fast and hard. I felt Arizona State's Will Sutton also ran the drill well, though he seemed off balance once or twice. And Tennessee's Dan McCullers seemed to struggle during the drill, standing too upright and not delivering powerful blows with his hands. I intend to spend more time with these guys over the next two days.
So that's all for Day One from Mobile, Alabama. I'll be back tomorrow night (or Wednesday morning) with some thoughts and observations from both the North and South practices, as well as some quotes which I gathered d

 
Logan Thomas is a joke at QB. There is almost no evidence that he is capable of being a NFL QB. Dude went 5/26 for 56 yards vs Bama. Bama is usually a good litmus test.

I'm more intruiged at him as a TE. 6'6 250, probably a 4.5-4.6+ runner. I think a team like NE will take him hopping to convert him into a TE. A nice vert and high end speed/agility could fit him into a Jimmy Graham like profile.

 
Rotoworld:

NFL.com's Bucky Brooks wrote that BYU WR Cody Hoffman "was a mild disappointment" at Senior Bowl practices on Monday.

"He didn't show elite quickness or burst in routes, and failed to separate from defenders in tight coverage," Brooks wrote. "Although big-bodied receivers can succeed in the NFL without exceptional speed, they must be able to create space with their size and strength. Hoffman didn't show that ability on the first day of practice, so it's important for him to find a way to get open over the next few days to convince evaluators that he has the potential to be a possible difference maker at the next level." We heard first-round buzz surrounding the Cougars receiver last summer after he caught 100 passes for 1,248 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2012, but Hoffman's lack of athleticism was exposed in 2013. A likely third-day pick, he's going to need to put in a lot of work to be a starter someday in the NFL.


Source: NFL.com
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Wisconsin Represents

Chris Borland Summary - are the packers paying attention?

At 5’11” Borland is considered a “small” prospect but thanks to the success of Russell Wilson, London Fletcher and Desean Jackson, height and weight is factoring less and less into draft evaluations. Borland is a competitor who makes plays and tackles well. He is not fast and flashy nor is he big and particularly strong but he does what he needs to do. The senior has a football mind and a nose for the ball. I expect Borland to be in with a shout of being named Senior Bowl MVP.
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Abbredaris gets some love also in the WR slot.


Lance Zierlein, Rotoworld.com

Didn’t win the weigh in, weighing in at only 189 pounds, BUT when the former Badger got on the field, he lit up the North team defensive backs. He caught everything, got open against everyone he faced. Everyone. He’s fast. He’s going to be a star this week as long the North QBs get him the ball.
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Jeremiah: Tajh Boyd could solidify himself as second-round pick

By Mike Huguenin

College Football 24/7 writer

Clemson's Tajh Boyd will be one of the most scrutinized players this week at the Reese's Senior Bowl, and two NFL Media analysts have differing views on him.

Daniel Jeremiah said he thinks Boyd could solidify himself as a second-round pick with a good performance this week, though Jeremiah does have some concerns.

"One thing that I struggle with is when he needs to shuffle, reset his feet, when he gets pushed off his mark, decision making and accuracy takes a tumble," Jeremiah said Tuesday on NFL Network.

But Jeremiah praised Boyd's running ability, especially near the goal line. "I kind of thought as a runner he was a big asset down on the goal line because he is a power runner," he said.

"He's like a mini Steve McNair out there. From yards out, he's tough to get down on the ground. There's a lot of elements of his game to like."

As for Boyd's size, which is a touch under 6-foot-2?

"His inconsistency and accuracy -- that's what's going to be holding him back more than his size," Jeremiah said.

Mike Mayock, however, said he is worried about Boyd's size and said Boyd "has to work hard to get into the second round." He compared Boyd to former Ravens quarterback Troy Smith.

"I was in Baltimore when we drafted Troy Smith," Jeremiah said. "I think (Boyd) is a little more accurate than Troy was. Troy, even when things were clean at times, could get erratic. When you see Tajh Boyd with time, and he can be in rhythm, he can sling it."

Mayock also said he likes how Boyd can throw "from different platforms," referring to his arm angle.

"He has an ability to fit it through defenders," Mayock said.

Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
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From everything I've read, James White looking great in pass pro today and has been the quickest running the ball. Charles Sims and Antonio Andrews also great in pass pro. Sims decisive with the ball. Andrews showing great routes and hands.

 
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