2022 Senior Bowl: Who Stood Out And Struggled At Every Position

2022 Senior Bowl: Wide Receivers

Standouts

The biggest standout for the week had to be North Dakota State’s Christian Watson. The small-school stud weighed in at 6’4″ and 211 pounds, and got to work against the defensive backs. Watson was dynamic and quick off the line of scrimmage with impressive burst into his stem. He stayed efficient on square-ins and made a couple great plays on a back shoulder throw and tiptoeing the sideline, plucking the ball out of the air. His lower body flexibility is impressive, and he was able to create windows through contact to create separation, which he also did with speed and route running. Day two feels like a given for him.

Rutgers’ Bo Melton was another big winner from the week of Senior Bowl practice. Melton had the best release game of anyone in Mobile, and stayed creative with a variety of them to keep defenders guessing. He showcased the straight line speed and acceleration to win deep, and attacked and secured the football, working back to the ball to make plays. He also was textbook in the release drills.

Khalil Shakir of Boise State was also excellent. He rarely ever tipped his hand off the line versus corners, and was great at creating separation with his flexibility, cuts, and strong short area acceleration. He was another with phenomenal releases all week to gain ground, and was very deceptive with his head and shoulders. He might not have the elite speed to be a deep threat, but he’s a reliable separator in the 2022 NFL Draft who can win in all three phases.

Calvin Austin III is all speed, all the time. His “easy speed” made life difficult for corners, as he blew by them in off coverage and competed well through contact late into his stem. He grew throughout the week in terms of route break efficiency, and he’s going to be a fun piece in an NFL offense.

Dontario Drummond was very fluid throughout the week in terms of separating, especially on out routes and comeback routes. He secured the football very well and should see a bit of a bump with his draft stock.

Jalen Tolbert did what he needed to do in terms of winning with his frame and using his hands, while also being dynamite at the catch point. His jab and speed releases were good and he has the acceleration to stack and win vertically.

Struggled

Velus Jones Jr. struggled early on with using his speed to create more route deception, leading to a lack of separation on underneath routes. It’s getting better for him, and using that speed to create more opportunities elsewhere will be important for him.

Braylon Sanders struggled mightily this week, ultimately due to a lot of hip stiffness. He struggled to create separation, and his route breaks were often inefficient.

Danny Gray entered with high hopes from many draft analysts, and while he showed off the start/stop quickness and ability to win deep, drops plagued him early in the week, and he missed practice later in the week as well.

Romeo Doubs didn’t struggle per se, but many were expecting more juice in terms of explosion and speed. He won some reps fighting through contact, but he wasn’t as twitchy to win in the 1v1s.