Senior Bowl 2017: A Full Scouting Guide for This Year's Game

After a week of practices, most coaches and scouts have gotten a feel for who players at the Senior Bowl are. Some—like Gregg Williams, the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns—went as far as to say that they won't watch a second of film if they have coached these players firsthand.

For fans, though, it's hard to get a grasp on who these players are. The practices in Mobile, Alabama, can only catch one angle of one drill, as opposed to those watching the prospects live, who have the freedom to walk around freely and focus on specific players.

The game is as important as the practices in terms of film value, but the physical Senior Bowl game is the only part of the process that fans get to experience similar to how NFL scouts and coaches will.

After a week of firsthand practices in Mobile, we'll cover who is rising, who is sliding and what to keep an eye on for Saturday's game. Don't let anyone lie to you—there's plenty of evaluation left this weekend.

Ezekiel Ansah notably had horrible practices at the Senior Bowl a few years ago, but the former BYU Cougar turned it on when given the reps, and that was enough to convince the Detroit Lions to spend the fifth overall pick on him in 2013.

Players can still move up and down based on the live game, especially considering how slow and soft practices were this week. We'll attempt to catch you up on all of the action you missed on the Gulf Coast.

Week's Top Performers

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

The most impressive player this week was Haason Reddick of Temple. He's listed as a 6'2", 237-pound inside linebacker on the Senior Bowl roster, and many may think of Reddick as a weak-side linebacker in a 4-3 scheme given his size, but there are several layers to his background.

When he joined the Temple football program out of high school, he was a walk-on cornerback. Like Robby Anderson, though, who made the New York Jets last season as an undrafted wide receiver, Reddick also transitioned from playing cornerback for the Owls. Reddick moved from an off-the-ball linebacker role to a defensive line role later in his career.

Reddick has the potential to play on the edge in the NFL, but his size is going to be the first line in his scouting report for any team that evaluates him as a front-seven defender. During Wednesday practices, Reddick was finally allowed to participate in one-on-ones against offensive linemen, where he thrived.

The top tackle prospect at the Senior Bowl practices was Antonio Garcia of Troy. He weighed in at 293 pounds Tuesday morning, and he holds that weight well. From an aesthetic perspective, he's similar to the Dallas Cowboys' Tyron Smith and the New Orleans Saints' Terron Armstead.

According to Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst, Garcia has been locked into a Day 2 projection by NFL teams. No offensive lineman is perfect in one-on-ones, as practice drills are built to have defensive linemen win by design, but Garcia looked the part.

Garcia has movement skills that are rarely seen by college tackles, let alone one from a mid-major project. There were times when his finishing ability was taken as extra effort by defenders, and things got chippy. That's about as big of a compliment as you can give a bookend.

There were a pair of receivers who did well this week—North Carolina's Ryan Switzer and Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp.

Switzer proved that he wasn't just a slot threat at the next level by torching some of the best cornerbacks in college football during red-zone drills. Switzer's slant and fade releases look the same, which is why he might have a chance to put up red-zone production that doesn't typically correlate with players of his size (5'9", 179 lbs).

That's one reason why Washington's John Ross, a 5'11" receiver who had 17 touchdowns in 2016, is regarded as a top wideout prospect, and Switzer slowly inched his way up this week.

Last year's East-West Shrine Game MVP was Vernon Adams of Oregon, a graduate transfer from Eastern Washington. He might not have even been the best player in his passing offense with the Eagles.

Kupp, who posted 37 receiving touchdowns with Adams and 36 without him, may be the highest-drafted prospect in the history of the program in April. Kupp doesn't have outstanding speed or size, but he checks all the boxes for a receiver's baseline talent. In today's NFL, when you need four receivers to trust in any given game, he's going to be viewed as a Day 2 selection by just about everyone.

Other Names to Know

Sam Craft/Associated Press

If Antonio Garcia wasn't the most impressive offensive lineman in practice, it was Taylor Moton of Western Michigan. He's an incredible athlete and may have had the fewest "losses" of any tackle prospect in Mobile this week.

Moton has flipped from offensive tackle to guard and back to tackle in recent seasons for the Broncos. In 2016, he played exclusively at right tackle, which is the same position he was used at for the majority of his Senior Bowl reps.

He was originally listed as a guard prospect, but he only saw a few reps after some players went down with injuries, and he cemented himself as a tackle this week.

The top pure pass-rusher was Texas A&M's Daeshon Hall. At his size (6'5", 265 lbs), he looks like he's a multiple-sack player walking off the bus, but he was largely overshadowed by Myles Garrett, the potential first overall pick, during his Aggies career.

Hall had a big first day, but linemen started to sit on his inside move Wednesday, and during the final non-walkthrough practice, he didn't participate. If he has an Ezekiel Ansah-like Senior Bowl performance on game day, expect a rise.

If any of the quarterbacks did well this week, it was Nathan Peterman of Pittsburgh. Peterman had to transfer from Tennessee after another Senior Bowl passer, Joshua Dobbs, won the starting job there, but he has legitimate potential to come off the board in the first two rounds, according to NFL.com's Lance Zierlein.

Matchups to Watch

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Taylor Moton vs. Daeshon Hall

For most of the season, Daeshon Hall lined up as a left defensive end so Myles Garrett could play on the closed blind side. If he plays that same role in the game Saturday, that means he and Moton will likely go toe-to-toe for a good portion of their reps.

This would be a clear barometer for both of them, as each stood out on his individual team in practice.

De'Veon Smith vs. Tyus Bowser

De'Veon Smith is a running back from Michigan who went from an East-West Shrine Game standout last week to a Senior Bowl invite. In St. Petersburg, Florida, Smith was noted for his pass-catching ability, which apparently was an underutilized part of his game with the Wolverines.

On the other side, Tyus Bowser is a potential pass-rushing prospect from Houston who Zierlein called a top-100 lock earlier this week. Bowser dropped into coverage a lot with the Cougars, and he should be able to beat Smith in protection if he is a top-100 3-4 outside linebacker.

Dan Feeney vs. Tanzel Smart

Indiana's Dan Feeney is one of the better guard prospects at the Senior Bowl. If not for Forrest Lamp, a converted tackle from Western Kentucky, he could be the first interior offensive lineman drafted from this game. If you can get past Feeney's concussion history, he's a top-60 prospect.

Tanzel Smart of Tulane was one of the risers this week—possibly the top riser out of all of the defensive tackles. In one-on-one drills, blockers struggled to lock him up for more than a half-second, and in all of the drills to test balance and athleticism, he looked like a tackle with the hips of an outside linebacker.

Position Group to Watch

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

If you can keep an eye on the tight ends without paying attention to the horrible quarterbacking in this game, they will be the most fun position to watch. The 2017 draft class overall is deep at tight end, one of the best mismatch positions in the league.

O.J. Howard of Alabama posted a 200-yard performance in last year's national championship game, returned to Alabama for another shot at a title and a draft rise, and floored defenders once or twice a game consistently in his final year. He also made one-handed catches look routine in practice.

Evan Engram of Mississippi is a move tight end who will be called a Jordan Reed type of player from an on-field perspective. He returned to school last year after receiving a sixth-round grade from the NFL draft advisory board, according to NBC Sports' Josh Norris. Against Florida State and defensive end DeMarcus Walker, who turned down a Senior Bowl offer, Engram was driving the potential Day 2 pick five yards off the ball despite his 236-pound size.

Gerald Everett of South Alabama is the hometown kid, as he played college football in Ladd-Peebles Stadium, but he didn't receive an invite to this week's practices because of his location. He's been one of the more productive tight ends in the last two seasons, and if he's healthy after missing Thursday's practice, he has a chance to blow up.

That's not even including Toledo's Michael Roberts, who at 6'4" and 261 pounds has near-12-inch hands, which earned him a call-up from the East-West Shrine Game to the Senior Bowl. That's not even including Arkansas' Jeremy Sprinkle, who wasn't able to play in the Razorbacks' Belk-sponsored bowl game because he stole from a Belk store. That's not even including Florida International's Jonnu Smith, whose season was cut short because his girlfriend poured boiling water on his face.

There will be a lot going on around this position Saturday, and there are valid reasons to keep an eye on tight ends all week. Again, just avoid staring at the quarterbacks.

Stock Down

Brian Blanco/Getty Images

If we're talking about disappointments, there are three front-seven defenders who come to mind this week.

First is Dawuane Smoot of Illinois, who had a case to be the top pass-rushing prospect in the game this year. Unfortunately, the 85 percent version of Shaq Lawson, a 2016 first-round pick, didn't ever truly flash, which is concerning given that these drills are designed to have defenders win.

Second is Ryan Anderson of Alabama, who had a lot of hype this week but never stood out in a good way. Unlike Smoot, though, he wasn't a non-factor; he was a negative factor.

Anderson did play with tape wrapped around his hand for most of the week, which could excuse his run-stopping ability, but when he dropped into coverage as a linebacker, he was torched on almost every down. The in-state player was marked early on in the week.

Tanoh Kpassagnon had a great weigh-in, coming in at 6'7" and 280 pounds with a near-85-inch wingspan, and he held that weight well. Unfortunately, the Villanova defensive lineman didn't do well in drills. He was yelled at by a line coach because of his high pad level in a hoop drill that revolved around getting low and bending. He also was yelled at during one-on-ones, with a coach telling him that, if he kept playing in autopilot, then "he will autopilot" himself out of the drill.

What They're Saying

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Rasul Douglas, West Virginia

According to Pauline, cornerback Rasul Douglas of West Virginia has the league interested in his size and speed combination. Douglas was a junior college transfer who spent the last two seasons with the Mountaineers and only played heavy defensive reps for one season in Morgantown.

"He showed great closing speed to break up several passes and played the deep ball well, reacting quickly with his back to the ball when opposing receivers went up for the catch," Pauline wrote. "Douglas was a bit handsy at times during the week, but his combination of ball skills and size (6'2", 204) will make him very appealing to NFL teams."

Desmond King, Iowa

Luke Easterling of Draft Wire reported Iowa cornerback Desmond King, who is on the short and slow end for the position, said he is willing to move to safety in the near future. King also said he was a great fit with the Baltimore Ravens. Get on the phone, Ozzie Newsome.

Will Holden, Vanderbilt

Ethan Young of Bleacher Report reported that Vanderbilt offensive lineman Will Holden didn't lose a single rep of one-on-ones in his only full practice in Mobile after being a late addition. Mike Mayock of NFL Network highlighted him last week at the East-West Shrine Game, and several people caught Holden's finish, when he drove Keionta Davis of Chattanooga into a Cleveland Browns coach, on video.

Joe Mixon, Oklahoma

Matt Miller of Bleacher Report reported that Joe Mixon of Oklahoma, the running back in the headlines for his incident that involved his punching a woman, is going to be a second-round pick, per an anonymous scout. He also noted that LSU's Leonard Fournette, Florida State's Dalvin Cook, Stanford's Christian McCaffrey, Tennessee's Alvin Kamara and Texas' D'Onta Foreman could all be drafted in the first round.