Best NFL Team Matches for Senior Bowl Week Standouts
There's still one game to go in the 2017 NFL season.
A Super something. I hear it's a big deal for the teams involved.
But most of the NFL has already turned its sights toward the 2018 campaign. And the next step in that regard takes place this week in Mobile, Alabama, at the Senior Bowl.
There will be a game this Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, but the real action happens in the event's practices. It's an opportunity for college football's best seniors to make a good impression on NFL scouts and coaches.
And as is the case every year, some have taken better advantage of that opportunity than others.
Of course, there's more to the NFL draft than talent. Finding prospects who fit the scheme and fill a need can be just as important as getting players who can, you know, play.
That's what we're here to do as practices wind down in Alabama—take the players who stood out on the Senior Bowl practice field and project their best pro fits.
So let's fire up the Project-O-Tron 7000 and get after it.
Don't worry—I have a fire extinguisher handy.
The machine has a tendency to, um, sort of burst into flames.
Rather like many of my predictions.
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
1 of 10
The top Senior Bowl quarterbacks regularly draw the biggest crowds, whether it's in interview sessions or on the practice field.
Wyoming's Josh Allen is at the top of that list.
And there may not be a more polarizing first-round prospect than the 6'5" Allen. His supporters point to his height, big hands and powerful right arm while making comparisons to Philadelphia's Carson Wentz—a small-school signal-caller who went on to do big things.
Detractors point to Allen's completion percentage, which hovered around 56 percent the last two years. They also cite a list of collegiate quarterbacks with similar accuracy issues who became NFL flops.
For his part, Allen told reporters this week he planned to show he can be more precise.
"That's what I'm cleaning up in this offseason, to show everybody come practice time that I've been working on that and the key to my accuracy is making sure my feet are set right and just trying to have a more polished throwing motion, a more polished stroke," he said.
"When my feet are right, but hips are allowed to open a little better, and that's kind of where your accuracy comes from. Getting out there in front of all the scouts and GMs at practice is going to show that."
Best Fit: New York Giants
Allen did little in Senior Bowl practices to quiet the debate swirling around him. The sessions were an up-and-down mixture of fantastic velocity, a deep ball B/R's Matt Miller called "a thing of beauty" and badly missed throws.
Full disclosure: I'm not an Allen believer. There's far too much evidence that inaccurate college quarterbacks become inaccurate NFL quarterbacks.
But a best-case landing spot would be where he'd be under no pressure to start right away. Where he could develop under a coach in Pat Shurmur who just coaxed a career year from Case Keenum and where he'd be the understudy to a quarterback who had accuracy issues of his own at Ole Miss.
Eli Manning turned out OK.
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
2 of 10
Baker Mayfield is barely over six feet tall—too short to be an NFL quarterback.
Baker Mayfield is an electrifying talent who is capable of hurting defenses with his arm and legs.
Baker Mayfield is a headcase who likes to party—the second coming of Johnny Manziel.
Baker Mayfield is a winner who carried Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff.
Such is the dichotomy surrounding Mayfield, who like Allen has inspired equally large camps of supporters and detractors.
As Mayfield told the NFL Network's Mike Mayock (via CBSSports.com's Will Brinson), he hopes he can show in the predraft process that only one of those camps is correct.
"It was a question of if I really love the game or not and if I'm a bad kid, but I've been able to address that, show I've made mistakes and I've learned and moved forward," Mayfield said. "And exactly what I care about is the game: I love it, I'll do anything to win and I'll do anything for whatever team drafts me."
Mayfield was late to Mobile due to a family matter, which only caused more questions about his dedication. But once he got on the practice field, he played well, displaying better accuracy than Allen on short and intermediate throws.
Best Fit: Cleveland Browns
Yes, the Browns. The same Browns who drafted Manziel.
First off, let's dispel the comparison between the two quarterbacks. Yes, both are, um, confident. And just like Manziel, Mayfield developed a reputation as a party boy after his arrest last February.
But Mayfield has been nothing but apologetic and contrite about his actions—two words that are not in Manziel's vocabulary.
Sure, Mayfield's short by NFL quarterback standards. Really short, as a matter of fact. But so are Drew Brees (6'0") and Russell Wilson (5'11")—both of whom have Super Bowl rings.
UCLA's Josh Rosen and USC's Sam Darnold have both been linked to reports that they'd just as soon not play for the 0-16 Browns. Rosen hasn't even bothered to deny it. And while Josh Allen has said he'd be happy to play for Cleveland, he's also another wasted Browns pick waiting to happen.
For all Mayfield's flaws (both real and perceived), he's one thing that none of those quarterbacks are.
He's a winner.
That would be quite the change of pace in Cleveland.
Luke Falk, QB, Washington State
3 of 10
Just one more quarterback. Honest.
Baker Mayfield's size and maturity and Josh Allen's cannon and accuracy issues may be the dominant storylines under center in Mobile, but they aren't the only quarterbacks there.
And per some scouts, they weren't the best—at least on the practice field.
Per ESPN's Todd McShay, that honor belonged to Washington State's Luke Falk. McShay called Falk the "most consistent" quarterback in early workouts, writing, "he seemed in control and confident throughout practice compared to the other signal-callers. I thought he threw the most catchable ball, consistently getting the right trajectory and making it look easier than the other guys."
McShay doubled down on that assessment during ESPN's telecast of Wednesday's practice session.
Granted, it's only one day, but it's vitally important that Falk put forth this sort of outing, whether it's at the Senior Bowl or next month's scouting combine in Indianapolis. At almost 6'4", Falk has the size NFL teams covet and displayed flashes at Washington State but was inconsistent at times. He needs to show he can handle more complex pro schemes after playing in Mike Leach's Air Raid offense.
Best Fit: New England Patriots
There's already been scuttlebutt connecting Falk to the AFC champions, with Eric Galko of the Sporting News reporting he's on New England's radar.
That would be a best-case scenario for him—and not just because he'd go to a winning organization.
Falk's shown he's productive, passing for 3,593 yards in 2017 and completing 66.9 percent of his passes. But his judgment was spotty at times (13 interceptions), and he didn't push the ball vertically a lot. He also needs to work on making reads and moving through his progressions.
He has NFL-starter potential. But it'll take time to realize that. His best odds at success sit with landing on a team with an established starter he can learn behind.
Falk likely won't make it to Day 3 of the 2018 draft—especially if he continues to impress before late April.
But since New England traded backup Jimmy Garoppolo and has a pair of second-rounders this year, he's a possibility for the Pats.
Marcus Davenport, Edge, UTSA
4 of 10
Small-school stars generate a ton of buzz every year at the Senior Bowl.
Edge-rusher Marcus Davenport of the University of Texas-San Antonio fits that bill for 2018.
After a 2017 season that saw him pile up 55 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks, Davenport entered Senior Bowl week as a trendy pick to muscle his way into the top 10. And he looked the part of an NFL pass-rusher at weigh-ins, checking in at just under 6'6" and 260 pounds with an impressive 81.25-inch wingspan.
However, Davenport scuffled in early practices. Per Trevor Sikkema of Pewter Report, he was blown up on at least one run play, and Davenport himself tweeted that his first day of practice didn't go as he'd hoped.
"Got to improve," Davenport wrote. "The O-line got the best of me today."
Best Fit: Oakland Raiders
It'd be inaccurate to say Senior Bowl-practice struggles will have no impact on Davenport's draft stock. It's possible they'll raise questions from some scouts about his flexibility and ability to play the run.
But there's a reason he was a Senior Bowl invitee, and he got better as the week went on.
The Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year is an immensely gifted athlete. A couple of days on the practice field won't erase hours of tape of his being a disruptive force, and Davenport flashed some of that ability, per McShay, in one-on-one pass-rushing drills.
Davenport's also the sort of player who should test through the roof at the NFL Scouting Combine.
The Oakland Raiders badly need someone to pair with Khalil Mack on the four-man front new defensive coordinator Paul Guenther will run in Oakland—an edge-rusher who can both complement Mack and take some of the pressure off him.
Davenport has the ability to be just such a player.
And the Raiders have had luck going the small-school route in recent years.
Isaiah Wynn, OL, Georgia
5 of 10
Georgia's Isaiah Wynn anchored the Bulldogs offensive line during their run to the SEC title and College Football Playoff.
But the 6'2", 308-pounder has relatively short arms (33 inches and change), so most pundits believe Wynn will move inside to guard.
Sure enough, that's where he lined up in practice in Mobile. And it didn't take long for him to convince scouts he can make a seamless transition.
According to Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst, Wynn looked "very quick and explosive" in drills. Dan Kadar of SB Nation echoed those sentiments, tweeting that Wynn "is so good on the inside. Physical, aggressive, gets low."
Best Fit: Atlanta Falcons
This one makes so much sense.
Given his size, Wynn's not a road-grader. This isn't to say the youngster isn't strong, but his success is due more to explosiveness and quickness than brute force.
That makes Wynn a better fit for a team that employs a zone-blocking scheme, which relies more on what Wynn does best.
Guess what kind of blocking scheme the Atlanta Falcons employ? That was a rhetorical question.
The Falcons' biggest question mark up front is at right guard. Wes Schweitzer was OK in that spot a year ago, but that's all he was. Wynn would provide an upgrade at the position the moment he arrived in Atlanta.
The Falcons won't take him in Round 1—guard doesn't carry a ton of draft-day value. And talented though Wynn may be, he isn't the top guy at the position (Notre Dame's Quenton Nelson is). In any event, a good argument can be made guard isn't the Falcons' biggest area of need.
But he'd be a great fit and a nice value on Day 2.
The fact he played at an in-state college is a nice plus for the fans.
Kyzir White, S, West Virginia
6 of 10
At 6'2" and 216 pounds, West Virginia's Kyzir White has the look of a traditional box safety—a punishing thumper capable of getting physical at the point of attack and stuffing the run.
With 94 total tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss last year for the Mountaineers, White showed he can fill that role. But he did much more than that during his time in Morgantown.
In fact, in West Virginia's 3-3-5 defense, he did a little of everything—whether it was playing in the box, as a high safety or even at linebacker.
White told Brandon Howard of Sports Talk Florida he's comfortable as a movable chess piece.
"I feel comfortable anywhere," White said. "It doesn't matter. I'll play anywhere."
In today's NFL, having that sort of versatility will appeal to a lot of teams—provided he can demonstrate he can hold up in coverage.
He did just that earlier this week in Mobile. On his first day at practice, he had both a pass breakup and an interception, leading Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller (who ranks White among 2018's top five safeties) to tweet that White had one of the best days of any player on the North roster.
Best Fit: Washington Redskins
The number of NFL franchises that could use a rangy safety capable of playing both spots on the back end and even lining up as a nickel linebacker numbers approximately 32. If White continues to show well, it's possible he'll join older brother Kevin as a first-round pick.
However, there's one team sitting toward the middle of Round 2 that has glaring issues at both safety spots and at linebacker next to Zach Brown—especially in passing situations.
That's the Washington Redskins, and it's not hard to envision White starting as a rookie in the nation's capital.
Harrison Phillips, DT, Stanford
7 of 10
With 102 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks, Stanford's Harrison Phillips had a pretty good statistical season in 2017...for a linebacker.
For a 303-pound defensive tackle, those numbers are eye-opening. And he has continued to turn heads at the Senior Bowl.
"Phillips (6'3", 303 lbs) won't test off the charts at the scouting combine next month, but on the field in a football setting, he is one of the best players in Mobile," Dane Brugler wrote for the Dallas Morning News. "He wins at the point of attack with power and quickness to clog gaps and get the offense out of rhythm, but even more impressive have been his smarts. Phillips isn't a dynamic interior pass-rusher, but he is naturally instinctive to be in the right place at the right time—and that isn't by accident."
Both Brugler and B/R's Matt Miller believe Phillips is a second-round prospect, and the former believes he could work his way into the latter stages of the draft's first day.
Best Fit: Buffalo Bills
Phillips looks much better on game film and the practice field than his measurables project, and given his lack of length and raw athleticism, 3-4 teams won't view him as a defensive end. It's a combination that could serve to depress Phillips' draft-day stock a tad.
However, with an extra pick in the back half of each of the first two rounds (thanks to trades with the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams) the Bills could be in a position to land Phillips. And were he to make his way to Western New York, he could make an immediate impact.
After trading Marcell Dareus to Jacksonville in October, the Bills have a need on the defensive line—one that's much more pronounced given Kyle Williams' age (34).
Phillips may never be a 10-sack upfield force like Aaron Donald, but his wrestling background and power make him a nightmare for linemen at the point of attack.
It's not advisable to run at this young man.
Alex Cappa, OT, Humboldt State
8 of 10
It's understandable if you haven't heard of offensive tackle Alex Cappa.
It's even more understandable if you haven't heard of Humboldt State, the tiny Division II school in California where Cappa starred.
However, plenty in the draft community are familiar with the 6'5", 299-pounder.
The NFL Network's Mike Mayock said Cappa has "the nastiest tape I've ever seen." Mayock's colleague Andrew Siciliano "compares his college film to watching LeBron James play in high school, at least as far as how much better he was than his competition," per Dan Labbe of Cleveland.com.
That's a heady comparison.
Cappa's doing his best to live up to it on the practice field in Mobile. He was the lineman who blew Marcus Davenport off the ball on the first day of workouts.
Best Fit: Denver Broncos
Cappa was a left tackle with the Lumberjacks (take my word for it—they are the Lumberjacks), but the four-time GNAC Offensive Lineman of the Year might be better suited on the right side in the pros.
And wouldn't you know it, it just so happens there's a coach at the Senior Bowl festivities whose team is in the market for one: Vance Joseph.
Denver's perceived need for a quarterback may drive most of the draft stories surrounding the team, but whoever it has under center in 2018 will be hard-pressed to succeed unless the Broncos improve the offensive line. And whether it was Donald Stephenson, Billy Turner or Menelik Watson, Denver had all sorts of problems staying healthy on the right side last year.
A few days of practice don't definitively show that Cappa can steamroll defenders the way he did in college. But many in the draft community believe he can start in the NFL, and he comes with a Day 2 price tag.
DaeSean Hamilton, WR, Penn State
9 of 10
Last year's Senior Bowl was a showcase for wide receivers. Both Zay Jones of East Carolina and Cooper Kupp of Eastern Washington used their time in Mobile as a springboard to a draft season that saw the pair rise into Day 2 of the 2017 NFL draft.
DaeSean Hamilton is going through a similar process this year, but it isn't entirely accurate to call the Senior Bowl the beginning of his ascension. After all, it was Hamilton's performance at the East-West Shrine Game that got the 6'0", 202-pounder a late invitation to Mobile.
Hamilton's made the most of the invite.
Among the wide receivers, none drew more consistent praise on the practice field than Hamilton. Bucky Brooks of NFL.com reported, "he's probably the best route-runner of the receivers in Mobile. His timing, patience and ability to change gears has been outstanding."
Eric Galko of Optimum Scouting added, "Hamilton runs maybe the best routes here. Few, if any, wasted steps as he eats cushion, and his body is always in sync."
A lot of NFL scouts will leave Alabama with "watch more film of DaeSean Hamilton" high on their to-do lists.
Best Fit: Green Bay Packers
Hamilton isn't especially big or fast. He won't be a first-round pick and may not even be selected on Day 2.
But young wide receivers with excellent route-running skills and great hands are always in demand.
With both Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson entering the final year of their deals with the Green Bay Packers (each with a fat cap hit), the Pack appears headed toward a difficult decision. One of those wideouts will probably be shown the door this spring.
The Packers could fill that hole with Hamilton without spending substantial draft capital.
And there are worse ways to begin an NFL career than catching passes from Aaron Rodgers.
I hear he's good or something.
Tyquan Lewis, DE, Ohio State
10 of 10
The Ohio State Buckeyes were the 2017 Big Ten champs in no small part because their defensive line was positively stacked. But while players such as Nick Bosa and Sam Hubbard got most of the run, Tyquan Lewis toiled in relative obscurity despite amassing 9.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks as a situational player.
Senior Bowl practices afforded Lewis an opportunity to stand out.
He made the most of it.
Per Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, Lewis displayed excellent speed and bend getting around the edge in workouts. "The 6-foot-2 ¾, 276-pounder had an active day," Fishbain wrote.
He wasn't the only pundit who took notice of Lewis. Chase Goodbread of NFL.com tweeted Lewis was "ripped" and looked more like a 250-pounder than his listed weight. John Owning of FanRag Sports pointed out that Lewis showed good hand strength at the point of attack. And Lewis blew up a play and forced a fumble in team drills.
Draftnik Tommy Lawlor noted Lewis' performance got the attention of scouts from the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Because the Eagles don't already have enough D-linemen.
Best Fit: Arizona Cardinals
The City of Brotherly Love and Jim Schwartz's "Wide Nine" front would no doubt be a great fit for Lewis (or just about any defensive lineman).
But there's at least one other NFC team that would be just as good a fit—and has an even bigger need at the position.
With a new head coach in Steve Wilks and a new defensive coordinator in Al Holcomb, the Arizona Cardinals will be transitioning to a four-man defensive front in 2018. That'll necessitate a personnel shake-up, and while Chandler Jones has experience playing with his hand in the dirt, the Redbirds need someone to complement him.
Lewis could be just such a complement—able to play end in Arizona's base defense while kicking inside in the nickel.
And he might be available on Day 3.
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