7 Prospects Flying Up NFL Draft Boards After Senior Bowl Week
For many coaches and talent evaluators, the Senior Bowl starts NFL draft season.
The annual all-star game in Mobile, Alabama, is the first stop as they switch gears from the regular season and playoffs to building their next rosters through the draft.
It's also one of the most useful predraft events. Unlike the combine and pro days, in which players show what they can do in shorts and T-shirts, the Senior Bowl gives evaluators a chance to see the athletes with pads on in a highly competitive environment.
Every year, prospects use the opportunity to catapult themselves into the next tier of draft prospects. With the chance to show they can take NFL coaching and win matchups throughout a week of practice, they can leave lasting impressions.
This year, these are the prospects who took advantage of their reps and entered the conversation to be selected higher than originally anticipated.
DL Adetomiwa Adebawore, Northwestern
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There is going to be debate about where Adetomiwa Adebawore should line up. What should not be up for debate is whether Adebawore should be part of an NFL defense.
The 6'1", 284-pounder has a unique frame. Though he's shorter than the average edge-rusher and lighter than the average tackle, he has long arms (82⅛" wingspan).
According to Pro Football Focus, Adebawore primarily played in the B-gap and outside the tackle. He can be anything from a 3-technique to a 5.
In Mobile, he showed the play strength to have success in a similar role in the NFL. He had moderate production as a pass-rusher in 2022 with six sacks and 22 hurries, per PFF.
The running game is where Adebawore has the potential to be a star, though. His ability to rag-doll his peers at the Senior Bowl projects well.
As the NFL moves toward more versatility in alignments, Adebawore's ability to rush the passer while playing the run from multiple alignments should be an asset.
CB Julius Brents, Kansas State
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Julius Brents has the measurable to be a predraft process darling, but more importantly, he showed in Mobile that he can really play.
The 6'3", 202-pound corner looks like a big receiver but has the coverage skills to make it as a press-man cornerback.
In one-on-ones, Brents displayed a knack for not only getting a good jam on the line of scrimmage but also staying on the hip of the receiver and reacting to their route running. His ability to stick with much smaller, agile receivers in and out of their breaks was impressive.
He also showed the long speed to go stride for stride with speedy receivers on the outside.
His performance proved Brents should be getting more love. There are a lot of big, physical cornerbacks in this draft class, but Brents still stands out with his frame and coverage skills.
He had four interceptions and four passes defended in his final season at Kansas State. That wasn't an aberration—it's a sign of what he could bring to an NFL team.
Edge Will McDonald IV, Iowa State
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Senior Bowl practice is a good time to evaluate edge defenders and offensive linemen because of the opportunity to see them in one-on-one pass-rush situations.
It was what allowed Will McDonald IV to show his ability to be unblockable.
The biggest drawback for the Iowa State product is that he's a tweener. He measured 6'3", 241 pounds, but that didn't stop him from winning several reps.
Specifically, he more than held his own against Tennessee's Darnell Wright. The right tackle is the No. 21 player on Bleacher Report's big board but had no answers for McDonald's explosiveness off the line and quick spin move.
Many pass-rushers come into the NFL without polish, but that isn't the case with McDonald. He has the speed and burst to bend the edge and can counter with that inside spin move when tackles are too eager and overset.
Given his frame, he will likely have to be a stand-up linebacker to get maximum time on the field. Fortunately for him, he also had a few reps wherein he showed he can drop into coverage and play the ball.
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WR Jayden Reed, Michigan State
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Jayden Reed did not appear in the latest Bleacher Report big board, which includes 14 wide receivers.
After the Senior Bowl, that might have to change.
Reed exemplified how the event can help a player who wasn't in a great situation as a collegian. The 5'11", 191-pounder's production dipped in his final year at Michigan State, but his performance in Mobile showed that may have been a product of playing in a bad offense.
Reed had 59 receptions for 1,026 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021 but just 636 yards on 55 catches with five touchdowns in his final season.
Facing the Senior Bowl defensive backs, he looked a lot more like the 2021 version of himself. Reed's route running and ability to consistently get open caught the attention of his teammates, as he was voted the National Team's Wide Receiver Practice Player of the Week by the squad's defensive backs.
Reed showcased a variety of moves within his route tree and was a consistent winner regardless of his opponent.
He isn't going to wow anyone with his size. His straight-line speed is solid, but he won't be the fastest man in Indianapolis. But his ability to separate and strong hands at the catch point are things NFL teams will covet. He likely put himself back on some teams' radars after his questionable campaign.
CB Darius Rush, South Carolina
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Length and speed can be a deadly combination at the cornerback position. Tariq Woolen proved that last year. South Carolina's Darius Rush could be next up.
Rush isn't the 6'4" unicorn Woolen was in the 2022 draft cycle, but he measured in at 6'1", 196 pounds with a nearly 80-inch wingspan. Then he went out and hit 21.7 miles per hour during practice, the fastest recorded speed of anyone.
Rush wasn't just a size and speed star, though. He backed up those traits with a strong week in coverage. According to Dane Brugler of The Athletic, "no player made himself more money" and "no defensive back got his hands on more footballs."
Rush's Gamecocks teammate, Cam Smith, is the third-ranked corner on B/R's big board, so it's easy to see how Rush (No. 11) could get lost in the shuffle.
However, he proved he's a legitimate prospect in his own right. For teams that put a lot of value in big, strong corners who can bully receivers, Rush established himself as a prospect worth monitoring.
C John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota
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The best thing a prospect can do at the Senior Bowl is make evaluators go back to take another look at their film. There are probably a lot of scouts who are rewatching what center John Michael Schmitz did at Minnesota last year.
The Golden Gopher was rock-solid in Mobile. Schmitz showed the ability to anchor against the bull rush and also redirect when defensive tackles attempt their pass-rush moves.
He was asked to go against a strong group of opponents and was rarely beaten.
The 6'3", 306-pounder has already shown he can more than hold his own as a run-blocker. He was named the best zone-blocker among interior linemen by the Bleacher Report Scouting Department.
Schmitz has three years of starting experience. At the Senior Bowl, he proved that will help him to become a starter in the league sooner rather than later.
Any team looking to find a starting center in the draft should have paid close attention to his performance against his peers. Schmitz most likely locked up the distinction of being the first center chosen come April.
RB Tyjae Spears, Tulane
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Tyjae Spears introduced himself to a larger audience in his final collegiate game against USC. He helped carry his Tulane squad to a Cotton Bowl win with 205 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
He continued that positive momentum with a nice week of practice at the Senior Bowl.
NFL scouts and executives voted Spears as the Practice Player of the Week. That should be enough to reconsider his positioning among the running backs in the class. He didn't make the cut in B/R's latest big board, which included 14 rushers.
Spears was the lightest running back in Mobile at only 204 pounds, and he was also nearly the shortest at 5'9". Durability was not an issue for him in college, however, as he played all 26 games over his final two seasons at Tulane and had 399 touches.
That's a good balance of production and volume—enough to show he is durable without having put too much wear on his tires.
Most importantly, Spears showed what he can do as a receiver. He displayed elite route-running for a back and natural hands that confirmed the pass-catching chops you can see on film.
He was one of just two backs who made ESPN's Todd McShay's list of players consistently mentioned by executives, coaches and scouts as the biggest risers. Illinois' Chase Brown was the other.
Spears showed he's a complete back and deserves to be higher on big boards going into the combine.
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