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I’ve gone to practice at the Senior Bowl for 18 years in a row. It’s my tradition of the "All-Star Road Trip" that I journey on every year, and I love it. This year, I saw some future stars in the NFL – and stars for your fantasy team – on the road. Here are some of my thoughts.
Players on the Rise
QB Michael Pratt, Tulane
I don’t think Pratt is the best quarterback at this game, and he won’t be the highest-drafted player at the position. However, I do think he was the most consistent of every passer in attendance. I like the way he makes full-field reads, and coverage schemes do not rattle him. Pratt doesn’t have the strongest arm, but he’s not afraid to challenge a defense. He pushed the ball down the field in ways the other quarterbacks didn’t.
RB MarShawn Lloyd, USC
Everyone needs to know the name and his game. There’s no live tackling to the ground, but you can see on film that Lloyd has no problem working through after contact. I like how he creates his own space, and he did a great job keeping defenders off balance with his balance and foot frequency. Lloyd looked good as a receiver out of the backfield, and he catches the ball naturally. Most importantly, Lloyd looked great in pass protection in backs-on-backers drills. Lloyd could be a starter with Pro Bowl upside.
WR Ladd McConkey, Georgia
The best skill position player not named Lloyd was the Georgia wideout. McConkey is a slot receiver, but he can do everything. He was not afraid of safety help when running routes over the middle, and I like the way he concentrated intently as the ball was coming in. McConkey can work the sidelines as well, and he showed tremendous body control, making circus catches. I really appreciated the way he would talk a little trash after there was some extra contact after the play or if a defender was relentless in trying to rip the ball away. McConkey has attitude!
TE Jared Wiley, TCU
The league is looking for players like Wiley, and I don’t think they’ll let them keep slipping in the draft the way guys like Trey McBride and Sam LaPorta fell to the second round. Who knows where Wiley will be selected, but I saw him play like a super-sized wide receiver at practice. He moves like a smaller player, but he’s got tremendous size and automatically creates mismatches. Wiley is smooth in and out of his break, and his wingspan helps him catch contested passes with ease.
WR Brenden Rice, USC
Rice put on a show in Mobile. He’s a precise player, which makes a ton of sense because he’s Jerry Rice’s son. The youngster can cut a rug, and he shows no problem fighting off physical coverage at the line of scrimmage. After the catch, Rice has the moves to turn any catch into a house call. It’s a packed class of wide receivers, but Rice could turn out to be one of the best.
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Players Who Are Falling
QB Bo Nix, Oregon
I expected more from Nix. Perhaps I set myself up with preconceived notions based on film study and my excitement for him. The Senior Bowl is only about 5-10 percent of a player’s grade, so I’m not going overboard – he's still a first-round pick – but I don’t think he helped his stock at this event. Nix was flat-out bad on his first day, and he only slightly improved as the week went on.
The National Team practice was bad in terms of format. It was just poorly run by a collection of assistants thrown together. When full teams used to coach the Senior Bowl, there was a cohesive plan for how to run a practice. The American Team had a well-run practice, and those quarterbacks were able to showcase their skills to scouts and media in attendance. That didn’t happen with Nix. I’m not going to ding him severely, and with the right fit, he could still be a great pro. However, instead of working his way into the top 10 of the draft, we’ll likely see Nix go off the board in the mid-to-late first round.
QB Michael Penix, Washington
Evaluators I trust believe Penix will be a mid-second-round pick at best. That’s mostly from his medical concerns (two shoulder problems, two knee problems), and the Scouting Combine will tell more of the tale for Penix than the Senior Bowl did. Add in the rumblings of work ethic concerns, something, honestly, I find hard to believe with the way he fought back from major injuries multiple times. I do think Penix needs to get in the weight room. He’s skinny – too skinny in his lower body – which may be a cause for concern.
Tools-wise, Penix has a first-round grade. Medically, his body history may have some teams take him off their boards. At the Senior Bowl, Penix looked great when the play was clean. Yes, he has an awkward left-handed throwing motion, but I like his arm elasticity and ability to make off-platform throws. However, the slightest bit of pressure threw him off, and he did not perform well when going off script. That’s just something he needs to do better at the pro level as plays aren’t often clean. I think he’s a left-handed Teddy Bridgewater if medicals check out – and that’s not terribly exciting for NFL teams or fantasy GMs out there.
WR Johnny Wilson, Florida State
I saw Wilson pop a few times in practice, just like he did on film for the Seminoles. He was going to be a riser this week, but then he got banged up – just like he did in college. When a player has some injury concerns entering the draft, they certainly don’t want to get the slightest ding before the Combine. Medical checks at the end of February will tell a lot, but Wilson had to leave practice with an injury so he’s a faller for this contest.
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