The Reese’s Senior Bowl has come and gone, and we’re now in full swing in the 2022 NFL draft season. The National Team (coached by New York Jets) beat the American Team (coached by the Detroit Lions), 20-10.
However, the week of practice leading up to the game yielded the bulk of the evaluations that scouts will fold into their evaluations for April’s draft.
This year’s event had its share of challenges, starting with a few unfortunate opt-outs, a handful of injuries that occurred during the week and rain that marred Wednesday’s practice and moved Thursday’s session to the indoor facility at University of South Alabama.
But overall, it was a strong group of talent at the Senior Bowl — especially including a group of defensive lineman that put its best feet forward.
Here are some of the big winners and unfortunate losers from the event. Thankfully for all parties, there is plenty of time to change decision makers’ minds. Next up: the 2022 NFL scouting combine at the start of March.
Winners
Liberty QB Malik Willis
We won’t spill too much more ink on Willis, whom we profiled on Wednesday following a strong showing that day — in spite of the rain.
Truthfully, Willis, like all of the quarterbacks at the event, was up and down throughout the week. But strong buzz in NFL circles indicates what we presumed coming into the week: that if teams are going to gamble on a quarterback in this class, they might as well do so on the one with the most physical upside.
A first-round landing spot now feels likely, even if the team that drafts Willis must have a clear plan for his development. He has alluring traits but is hardly a polished product. Whoever drafts him could end up with a star in time; it’s the Trey Lance debate all over again, in a sense.
Pitt QB Kenny Pickett
Very little flash this week, but overall it was a reinforcement of the kind of quarterback Pickett might end up becoming. He profiles as a quarterback somewhere on the Jimmy Garoppolo-Tua Tagovailoa spectrum — the solid middle class of starters, we believe. And for QB-needy teams, Pickett likely could be a Day 1 starter considering his vast college experience and solid showing in unfamiliar surroundings in Mobile.
Yes, the hand size (8 1/4 inches unofficially; he opted not to measure this week, waiting for the scouting combine) remains a storyline. But Pickett handled the ball pretty well in Wednesday’s rain, helping his cause after fumbling 38 times in 52 college games.
Teams that met with Pickett were impressed with his poise, temperament and preparedness, and Pickett’s teammates appeared to respond favorably to his on-field communication between plays during practice. He tacked on a nice first-quarter showing in the game (6-for-6 passing, 89 yards, TD, only one off-target pass) and did nothing at all to change the fact he’s a likely first-rounder.
Florida RB Dameon Pierce
The question I came away with from this week: Why didn’t Dan Mullen and the Gators feature Pierce more? The Senior Bowl is seldom a place where backs can impress significantly, but Pierce bucked that trend.
All week long, he looked assertive as a runner and pass blocker and facile as a receiver. Watching his burst, vision and yards-after-contact ability, Pierce looked more like a big fish in a small pond rather than someone who averaged fewer than 100 touches over his four seasons in Gainesville.
How the 5-9, 220-pound back never received more than 17 touches in his 48 college games feels like coaching malpractice.
Two other backs who stood out: Missouri’s Tyler Badie and Arizona State’s Rachaad White.
North Dakota State WR Christian Watson
Trey Lance’s deep threat in 2019 came in with relatively high expectations — or at the very least, some fascination.
Watson impressed in the weigh-in by measuring in at 6-foot-4 and 211 pounds with good arm length (32 3/4 inches) and big hands (10 inches). Then he went out and stacked three impressive practices and set himself up as a possible top-50 selection.
What impressed us were his strong releases off the line and his body control. He toyed with most cornerbacks he faced in practice and looked far more developed than you’d expect from an FCS receiver coming from a school that features the run game.
Watson also made a nice diving snag in Saturday’s game and showed some recognition, getting up and gaining yards after the catch. The game uses NFL rules, and the cornerback appeared to give up on the play. Coaches and scouts will notice that stuff.
Other receivers who impressed included Memphis’ Calvin Austin III, Rutgers’ Bo Melton and South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert.
UCLA TE Greg Dulcich
A Day 3 prospect coming in, Dulcich created some momentum with a strong week of practice. His blocking effort was impressive, and he showed some real burst after the catch and more fluid athleticism than I noticed in his limited receiving opportunities with the Bruins.
Dulcich appeared to be a favorite target for both Willis and Sam Howell and helped himself. It was a nice group of tight ends at this year’s event, and Dulcich looked the part among them.
San Diego State’s Daniel Bellinger was another eye-opener who made the most of his opportunity this week.
Boston College OL Zion Johnson
It’s not a shock Johnson did well. He finished an impressive college career with very respectable grades, and those won’t go down after this week.
Johnson took some time to adjust to center, a position he’s learning on the fly after spending most of his time at BC (and Davidson before that) at tackle. But after a few balky snaps on Tuesday, Johnson settled in nicely. He also won some scouts over by continuing to work on his snapping and footwork after practice on a rain-soaked Wednesday session that had most players quickly headed for the locker room.
UConn’s Travis Jones taxed Johnson with some power rushes, but Johnson also earned some wins vs. Jones — and handled nearly every other assignment beautifully. If he’s not a late first-rounder, Johnson shouldn’t last too long into Day 2 and profiles as an immediate starter at guard or center.
Connecticut DT Travis Jones
A straight up bully who owned most one-on-one battles this week. Most players had no idea what to do with Jones’ power and tenacity, and it backed up what we saw on his college film, consistently gobbling up double teams and collapsing lines.
He’s a likely Day 2 pick who could crack the top 60 for a defense looking to add some real beef up front. Don’t want to use a first-rounder on Georgia’s Jordan Davis? Perhaps Jones is the better value in a similar package.
Oklahoma DT Perrion Winfrey, Arkansas’ John Ridgeway and Missouri State’s Eric Johnson also made strong impressions up front.
Houston DL Logan Hall
We came in fairly high on Hall, and his week wasn’t perfect. But he struck us as a multi-positional front-liner who made sure to back up any poor rep he had with a strong one on his next attempt. Hall took to hard coaching from the Jets’ staff and gave consistently good effort and mostly positive results. His length and athleticism could make Hall a dark-horse Round 1 candidate, a la Saints 2021 first-rounder Payton Turner, Hall’s former Cougars teammate.
Florida State EDGE Jermaine Johnson II
As predicted, Johnson dominated the first two days of practice and then tapped out on Thursday — a wise move. Why? He had nothing more to prove. Johnson was the best player in Mobile we saw this week.
We wrote about Johnson’s Tuesday post-practice showdown with Kentucky’s Darian Kinnard, and though Johnson technically lost two of those three reps, his dominant traits were on full display both days he was out there, both in one-on-one pass-rush drills and in full team work.
Our guess: Johnson has moved firmly into the top-20 picture.
LSU LB Damone Clark
We polled a few evaluators for players who stood out the most, and Clark’s name came up twice. He’s a tremendous athlete who should shine in combine testing, but his on-field performance this week was strong to very strong.
Clark led the way in run stops during practices, showed better-than-expected coverage ability and was effective as a blitzer. He might be LB3 in this class and a possible top-40 overall selection.
Another off-the-ball linebacker who quietly impressed: Oklahoma’s Brian Asamoah. He’s undersized but polished, competitive and well-rounded.
Montana State LB Troy Andersen
There was some real fascination with how Andersen might perform at the event, and some evaluators came in thinking that the converted receiver might be a candidate to move back to offense in the NFL.
That still could happen, but the way Andersen performed on defense opened eyes. He showed a lot more comfort moving in reverse after mainly being used as a pass rusher in college. Andersen suddenly has a lot of evaluators going back to the tape to see how best to unlock his fascinating skill set.
Kansas LB Kyron Johnson
What in the world do you do with a 6-foot, 230-pounder who won a ton of pass-rush reps during the week? That’s the fascinating question I left Mobile with after watching Johnson beat some burly blockers with shocking quickness, impressive pop and excellent leverage.
His fit remains a real wonder, but Johnson absolutely opened some eyes this week. Maybe he’s a Haason Reddick type of rush linebacker in the NFL in time.
Western Kentucky’s Deangelo Malone is slightly bigger but cut from a similar cloth, and he steadily impressed as the week went on.
UTSA CB Tariq Woolen
Woolen had some ups and downs in practice, but he came away from the week with a ton of buzz and excitement.
First, he measured in at an eye-popping 6-foot-3 3/8 and 205 pounds, with a 79-inch wingspan — excellent numbers across the board. Then Woolen moved extremely well, registering the highest mph (22.45) of any player all week.
If Woolen can translate that on-field speed to a 40-yard dash in the 4.3 range … at that size? Well, the late first round wouldn’t be stunning if that’s the case, even if he’s still quite raw. Still, for a player who only transitioned from receiver to corner two years ago, there is a ton to get hyped about.
At his best, Woolen might end up as a James Bradberry or Carlton Davis type of player in time. We also heard some Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie comparisons, and Woolen reportedly has a chance to work out with the former NFL corner prior to the combine if he wants. We hope he takes it.
Baylor S Jalen Pitre
Pitre came in with questions about his pro position, but he exited the week having impressed many onlookers with his nose for the ball, coverage ability and tenacity. The coverage was the biggest crowd pleaser, giving the idea that Pitre might be successful in a Budda Baker or Tyrann Mathieu type of role. His intensity and hitting ability were well known coming in, but Pitre displayed a more well-rounded game than some anticipated.
Illinois’ Kerby Joseph also had a good week at safety, building off a breakout final season for the Illini.
Georgia P Jake Camardia
Love for a punter? Why not? After booming multiple 70-yarders in Tuesday’s practice, a few NFL evaluators we sat close to couldn’t help but notice. Camardia has a big-time leg and should be a draft pick, perhaps as early as Round 4. Penn State’s Jordan Stout also fared well with his attempts.
Losers
Penn State WR Jahan Dotson
Dotson opted out of the week and, we believe, missed an opportunity to set himself apart. A strong 40-yard dash is expected at the scouting combine, and he’s flashed plenty on tape. But Dotson’s absence surprised us considering he’s not considered a first-round given. Meanwhile, other receivers used the week to gain some momentum.
Ole Miss WR Dontario Drummond
He improved markedly by Thursday’s practice, but inconsistencies catching the ball early in the week and separating were a bit concerning. Drummond has some ability that can be developed, but he looked like a bit of a project in need of refinement.
Cincinnati WR Alec Pierce
Pierce looked like a small tight end and moved like one in practices. His quickness is below-average, it appears, and he had some drops we didn’t see as much for the Bearcats. This week did little to boost his stock, we suspect.
Washington State OT Abraham Lucas
It wasn’t a poor week, per se, but Lucas did get too high and leave his chest exposed more than once in pass-blocking drills. His athletic traits are nice for a player who stands 6-6 and 322 pounds, and his arm length (34 5/8 inches) will help. But there were just enough so-so moments for us to come away fairly ambivalent about his NFL projection.
Fordham OL Nick Zakelj
Many smaller-school linemen have been able to show they belong in Mobile, but it was an occasionally tough week for Zakelj. He looked solid in terms of run blocking but was exposed on a number of snaps in pass pro. Zakelj looked off balance at times when on an island and couldn’t summon the power or anchoring ability to hold off rushers consistently, knocked well back into the backfield more than once. He also had two false starts in the first half of the game itself.
Nebraska LB JoJo Domann
Domann was probably the Huskers’ MVP last season, wearing a lot of hats on that defense and seldom coming off the field. But his versatility wasn’t able to be showcased fully at the event, and Domann looked a step slow in coverage on more than one rep. As an undersized linebacker at a shade under 6-foot-1 and 226 pounds with 30-inch arms, his fit at the next level remains a bit of a worry.
San Diego State EDGE Cameron Thomas
On Tuesday, Thomas was in uniform, stretching and getting ready to practice. Then all of a sudden, he was off the field in street clothes. A hamstring injury was the culprit, and it knocked him out of action all week.
Tough luck. We were very excited to see Thomas perform, with a real chance to at least enter the first-round discussion. Maybe that happens at some point, but that’s now contingent on strong showings at the combine and his pro day after mostly receiving Day 2 grades prior to this week.