The tagline of the Reese’s Senior Bowl is ‘The Draft Starts In Mobile’, and it couldn’t be more accurate. Each year, NFL teams and media personnel head down to Mobile, Alabama for the premier event on the All-Star Circuit. Following three days of practices, the players vote on their toughest opponent in each position group. Mississippi State linebacker Nathaniel Watson was honored with the award as the top LB on the American Team.
Mississippi State’s Nathaniel Watson was named top LB on the American team in a vote from OL and RB teammates at practice player-of-the-week awards ceremony today at 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl. #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/sIVXgXq5aO
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 2, 2024
Before the season began, I did some brief scouting on the Mississippi State linebacker. While he possesses a high football IQ, that’s not his only plus trait. Watson reads and attacks very well in the running game, especially in traffic, as evidenced by his 300+ total tackles over the last three seasons at Mississippi State.
At the Senior Bowl, I had conversations with scouts and analysts about how impressive Nathaniel Watson looked on game film. While this award didn’t come as a surprise, it should elevate his draft stock coming out of the All-Star Circuit.
Notre Dame LB JD Bertrand receives the honor for the National Team, while Missouri DL Darius Robinson was voted as the Overall Practice Player of the Week. The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine is less than a month away. With this being the last opportunity for players to impress teams before the Combine, expect a high level of effort from players on both teams.
The 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl will take place on Saturday February 3rd, 2024 in Mobile, Alabama. The game airs on the NFL Network at 1:00 PM EST.