2022 Senior Bowl: Who Stood Out And Struggled At Every Position
2022 Senior Bowl: Defensive Linemen
It was clear where the advantage was in the trenches at the Senior Bowl. The defensive line and edge rushers dominated a lot this week.
Standouts
Jermaine Johnson II was the biggest winner at the Senior Bowl by far. He dominated in every facet during practice week. In run game drills, Johnson’s quick, violent hands were crucial to shed blockers with utter disrespect. He made things difficult with his quickness and power. In rush drills, Johnson won with impressive hand usage, countering on several occasions to trim the edge or win back inside. His speed to power transition is devastating, as Kinnard found out day one.
Travis Jones was the other clear winner from the week at the Senior Bowl. He walked linemen back to the quarterback on nearly every rep he had, displaying great pad level, power, and a crushing initial strike with his hands. Jones was quick off the ball as well, displaying a lightning quick rip move as well to win early and late in reps.
Devonte Wyatt stood out throughout the week. Wyatt is lightning quick with his get off, and his change of direction skills almost measure up to edge rushers. He turned the corner on a couple occasions from the interior, using his acceleration in short areas and a good rip move.
Perrion Winfrey did similar things and got better as the week went on. His bull rush was particularly impressive, but his twitch and ability to cross the face of linemen is what got him a lot of wins this week. His pad level got better later in the week as well.
Neil Farrell Jr. and John Ridgeway were both power pushers all week long, walking linemen back and making things difficult on interior linemen trying to reach block. They stayed in control in run game drills, and flashed the bull rush in spades.
DeAngelo Malone has juice and put the 2022 NFL Draft blogosphere on notice. He rushed standing up most of the time, and his change of direction skills to win on an inside move is impressive. Malone can threaten the outside track and will be a target for 3-4 defenses.
Arnold Ebiketie plays with impressive athleticism and twitch, and is a player who is continuing to peak ahead of his NFL career. Jesse Luketa, Ebiketie’s teammate, is oozing athleticism, burst, and tools to work with either on the edge or in space.
Boye Mafe is similar, who actually flashed some good hand usage to trim the edge and get off blocks at contact, who also threatens the outside track and back inside.
As the week went on, Houston’s Logan Hall woke up. Hall’s twitch and quickness on the interior is impressive, and he can generate loads of power when he gets rolling. The interior linemen were tired of him by Senior Bowl week’s end.
Eric Johnson, the small-schooler from Missouri State, was improving all week long. He was extremely disruptive in team drills, getting into the backfield with his quicks. Those quicks worked their way into 1v1s as well, and that explosion turned to power that was tough to handle.
Sam Williams came in on Wednesday and turned in two good days of practice. His athleticism, pursuit, and strength was impressive. If off-the-field stuff clears, he can go pretty high.
Struggled
Virginia Tech’s Amare Barno struggled mightily all week long. In run game drills, he was consistently blown off the ball and almost off the screen on the film, and just didn’t generate much at all as a rusher. Having him drop into coverage would’ve helped his week more, but the Senior Bowl didn’t treat him well in terms of stock.
Haskell Garrett just didn’t really stand out as much as many thought he would. His counters weren’t great, and he didn’t push the pocket very much and kind of faded into the back with all the talent in Mobile this week.
Myjai Sanders didn’t really win the week much either, and while the flashes were there, practice week didn’t elevate his strengths, as bigger tackles got control of him early in reps.