Senior Bowl 2022

[YoloinOhio]

We know that the Bills love drafting Senior Bowl players. Who is looking good? I know a lot of scouting is done in the week leading up to the game. 

Christian Watson looks really good 

[K-9]

37 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

We know that the Bills love drafting Senior Bowl players. Who is looking good? I know a lot of scouting is done in the week leading up to the game. 

Christian Watson looks really good 

He won’t be there, but I’d take an entire team of Trevor Pennings.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

5 hours ago, K-9 said:

He won’t be there, but I’d take an entire team of Trevor Pennings.

 

He will be available but not sure we pick him

 

 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

Watched Malik Willis and hes a great runner but dont see him doing much at QB. They said he had a cannon arm and i didn't see, he threw a bomb but was a high lob that didn't go far. 

 

Feel bad for QB needy teams , thank God we have Allen.

 

I thought the Ridder kid was the best QB in the game.

 

 

[K-9]

1 hour ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

He will be available but not sure we pick him

 

 

The few mocks they were scrolling during the telecast had him going between 15-20. I don’t know much about him other than what I saw and heard this week. Can’t teach his kind of football temperament. 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

11 minutes ago, K-9 said:

The few mocks they were scrolling during the telecast had him going between 15-20. I don’t know much about him other than what I saw and heard this week. Can’t teach his kind of football temperament. 

 

He watches horror movies the night before the game to het get in the right mindset , love it . So does the DT  Perrion Winfrey

from Oklahoma, he was an animal too.

 

Maybe we can go one, two with these guys

 

 

[GunnerBill]

Okay it has taken me a week to do it but here are my takeaways from the 2022 Senior Bowl.

 

I'm going to start with a very quick run through of my reflections of the Quarterbacks. It is unusual to have a Senior Bowl where basically all the top guys in that particular class are here. I think you can make an argument that 6 of the top 7 Quarterbacks in this draft were in mobile (Matt Corral being the odd one out). This is not my final word on these guys, that will come later in the draft process... but this is just my reflection on what I saw in the game. 

 

Kenny Pickett - I felt myself channeling the late Dennis Green - he is what we thought he was! Pickett can move the offense and because he came from a pro style scheme at Pitt he is comfortable with progressions and the sort of bland, vanilla, Senior Bowl schemes took least adjustment for him. But I'm not sure I see a special trait and a couple of his completions were low and took away chances for YAC compared to if the ball was where it should have been.

 

Malik Willis - Supposedly had an impressive week of practice but to be honest I wasn't bowled over in the game. He showed a big arm and his mobility but I felt he was slow seeing the field from the pocket and those processing skills will have to improve for him to succeed. Is something I will look for when I dive into the Liberty tape.

 

Carson Strong - We saw the big arm but we also saw the lack of mobility and the inconsistent accuracy. There is some Wyoming Josh Allen in his throwing motion but unlike Josh he won't be able to use his legs to move the chains while he refines his game as a passer. 

 

Desmond Ridder - Again with Ridder we saw arm, and we saw mobility, but in fairness to him we also saw some good decision making. I think there is a skillset there but it needs work. 

 

Sam Howell - The numbers won't jump off the page but he was the one of these guys I thought most helped himself in the actual game. He made solid decisions, he didn't resort only to check downs and he used his legs well. 

 

Bailey Zappe - He showed he is a game and has a bit more arm than I expected but I don't think there is a long term NFL starter there. 

 

Now on to the non-QBs that made an impression on me:

 

Offense

 

It will surprise nobody who has been reading my posts since the middle of the college football season that I start with #70 National, Offensive Tackle, Trevor Penning. He was the best player on the field for the relatively short time he was out there. He is aggressive, nasty, huge and has great length. Needs to work on the balance of his anchor somewhat against quick twitch guys but the potential is off the charts. He is a first round pick. Staying on the offensive line #75 American, Offensive Guard, Cade Mays is a finisher. I particularly like his feet in pass protection, staying alive and allowing his QB to move around the pocket. He is a bit scheme specific. Not a fit for all the stretch zone scheme proliferating the league right now but in a gap scheme this kid has a chance. Probably a 5th or 6th rounder. Moving to skill positions and #84 National, Tight End, Jake Ferguson caught the eye and not only for 62 yards receiving and a touchdown, but because he was excellent both in run blocking and as a pass protector. For a team with more of a pass catching #1 tight end he is a perfect #2 and I think he has a chance to go as early as round 3. He has Baltimore Raven written all over him! #18 National, Wide Receiver, Bo Melton was another that I liked. I think he is a slot only in the NFL but he has some speed and some shiftiness out of the slot. I actually like him as a fit for the Bills. Maybe a day 3 guy but someone I can see making an impact in the league. I also checked whether he has return experience and he does. Intriguing prospect. #4 American, Running Back, TJ Pledger also caught the eye in the second half. A smaller, speedier, one cut style running back, but he had two nice grabs out of the backfield and averaged 6.6 yards per carry. Probably a later day 3 pick (or even an UDFA) and pretty scheme specific but he is someone tailor made for that Shanahan type scheme. 

 

Defense

 

Starting up front and the two guys who really stole the show were #34 National, Edge Rusher, Boye Mafe and #48 American, Defensive Tackle, Phidarian Mathis. Anyone who has followed my draft stuff over the years knows that my number 1 criteria in a defensive lineman is good and aggressive hand use. Mafe was a game wrecker off the edge. His initial burst is outstanding, he uses his hands powerfully and while I think he might be a guy that early on you only use situationally in a two point stance on obvious passing downs, I think he can be disruptive day 1 in the NFL. He helped his stock and from being a late day 2 / early day 3 guy going into that week I think he cemented himself as a day 2 pick. Mathis on the other side was in the backfield all game long. Just dominated. Has the speed to stay with a play laterally but when he decides to get vertical and penetrate it is violent. His hand usage was very impressive and he is more than just a big guy who is going to play the run well. I actually think his best fit might be in 3 man front but he could help a lot of teams. Someone who does fit into more of the "big man who is going to clog up the run" mold is #57 National, Defensive Tackle, Travis Jones. The American team could get nothing going in the run game first half because Jones just snuffed things out. Huge presence and I do think of him as best fitting as a 1 tech in a 4 man front. The final stand out up front was #10 American, Edge Rusher, DeAngelo Malone. Speedy, bendy, outside rusher who demonstrated good use of leverage a couple of times, noticeably once on Penning to win a pass rush rep. He didn't hold up particularly against the run and strikes me as a day 3 sub package rusher rather than an every down player but there are tools there to work with. Two developmental outside corners that made an impression on me were #6 American, Cornerback, Alontae Taylor and #20 American, Cornerback, Tariq Woolen. Taylor had an INT and while I don't love him in a scheme where he is going to be asked to do a lot of man he has the size and straight line speed to get aggressive at the point of attack. Woolen offers great size at 6'4 and flies around for a guy of that stature. He might be a guy you eventually transition to safety but he is a matchup piece for a defense who on a first look appears pretty scheme diverse. Both are probably day 3 guys but I wouldn't be stunned if Woolen snuck into day 2. 

 

There you go folks, the all-star games are in the books. My overall impression of the class having watched the the shrine game and the senior bowl is that there might be more depth in the trenches than outside. But then having said that, the Quarterback play (which has not been stellar in these all-star games) may well be playing into that. Of course none of the top corners or receivers took part but overall of the guys that did I wasn't super impressed with the play outside. Roll on the Combine!!