Senior Bowl Winners and Losers Day one
Today is one of the biggest weeks in Football for draft fans. This week at the Senior Bowl can seperate man from the boys (or some other less cheesy line). Unfortunately I was not able to make it down to Mobile this year and neither was Sayre, but that doesn’t mean we won’t provide you with great coverage via the television. I’m going to scour the web looking for the best and most fascinating Senior Bowl story lines out there.
Today’s biggest even was the weigh-ins.
The weighs are important for a few positions, but the most important is Offensive linemen. Large Hands, big wingspans, and thick, not fat are what teams are looking for.
Weigh in Winners:
Mike Adams OT Ohio State
I’ve been writing this for awhile-Mike Adams will likely end up in the top 20 of the N.F.L. draft after he returned from his suspension from the Ohio State scandal he played well. He’s a massive man and has the athletic ability to play LT in the N.F.L. Now he’ll have to prove throughout this week, but he got off to a good start. Mike Adams measured in at 6’7 323 pounds an arm length of 33 3/4 long, 11 inch hands. He has an 82 1/2 inch wing span. He is a massive man. He reportedly carried his weight very well.
Adams also performed well at practice.
Cordy Glenn, T/G, Georgia
Another player who measured in well. Glenn looked like a physical specimen today at 6’5′ 1/2 and 346 pounds. 35′ 1/8 inch arms, 10 inch hands, and a 84 and 5/8 wingspan. Glenn has to prove that he is athletic enough to play Tackle in the National Football League. I think his ceiling is to the Jets at 16, but he could be a terrific fit for a team looking for a RT/G like the Bengals, or Giants late in the first round among others.Watch out for teams that want to improve their running game (which is why I singled out the Bengals and the Giants).
Matt McAnts U.A.B.
A player I want to watch this week since I didn’t watch any of his games this season. McAnts measured in at 5’6 5/8 309 pounds 35 inch long arms, and an 82 5/8 wingspan. Now he does have smaller hands, but reportedly that is due to a “pinky deformation” and isn’t a concern. Draft Coutndown described him as “Large with a bubble butt and room to grow. Large frame.”
Kelechi Osmele G/T Iowa State
6’5 3/8, 333 pounds, 35 1/4 arms, 10 3/8 hands, 85 1/2 wingspan. Looks really long.
Zebrie Sanders T Florida State University
6’5 1/2, 333 pounds, 35 1/4 arms, 11 inch hands, 83 1/2 inch wingspan
Sanders looked long and has huge hands. Big hands are important for offensive linemen. Sanders had a terrific season after moving over to LT with the season ending injury to Andrew Datko.
S George Iloka Boise State
Iloka mesaured in at 6’3 5/8 inches, 222 pounds, 33 7/8, 9 5/8 inch hands, 81 5/8 inch wingspan.
This is a safety people. What a physical specimen. He can easily be confused for a linebacker. Now the question about him is whether or not he has the speed and fluidity in his hips to cover players down the field. He’ll have the opportunity to show that throughout the week.
He was off to a good start with an impressive first practice. He’ll have to continue to show some range, but if he can he can be a high pick.
Brian Quick WR Appalachian State
6’3 1/2, 222 pounds, 33 1/2, 9 7/8 hands, 81 1/8 wingspan. Quick is huge with a terrific wingspan. Really toned.
Didn’t fare as well in practice however.
Losers:
Just a couple of losers from yesterday
Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska
Dennard had a rough day at practice.
Tony Pauline writes about Dennard:
Struggled through most of the day. Just looked poor moving in reverse displaying a slow pedal and lost in transition. Pulled it together late in the day but overall disappointing.
Wes Bunting Writes about Dennard:
On the other hand, I came away unimpressed with Nebraska CB Alfonzo Dennard. He’s a compact kid who displays some natural click and close ability. However, he allows his cushion to be eaten up far too much in his drop and lacks much of a burst/second gear when asked to turn and run. He’s a guy who opposing receivers were able to routinely outpace today as he didn’t demonstrate the type of speed needed to run out of his transition vertically.
Leonard Johnson, CB Iowa State
Johnson only measured in under 5’10 (5’9 7/8 inches) with 8 inch hands and a 70 3/8 wingspan. Though he looks in great shape. Also reported is that Mike Mayock has Johnson rated above Dre Kirkpatrick. This is mostly stemming from his game against Justin Blackmon. He’s a very physical player, but Tony Pauline says he didn’t have a great day at practice. Johnson is short and won’t time great in the 40 yard dash. He needs a huge week here.
Struggled most of the day and was consistently beat by opponents. Had some moments in scrimmage but overall was dissapointing
We have a lot of thoughts on the Senior Bowl via twitter which you can scroll through here
And then there are a lot of places to check out more information.
Tony Pauline from Draftinsider’s day one notes Pauline also does coverage for Sports Illustrated.
Nepatriotsdraft.com has interviews, and a ton of practice notes as well.
One nugget here:
Boise St. RB Doug Martin actually looked surprisingly explosive and showcased his well-rounded skill set. Martin was by far the best running back on the North squad today and it wasn’t even close
Follow us on twitter @NFLmocks to chat draft all week!