The good weather continues to hold up in Mobile, Alabama, as the American Team took to the practice field for the second straight day to sunny skies and 65-degree weather. The beautiful weather showed positive outlooks to several players performing who, again, stood out on the second day of Team American practice.
Yesterday, I looked mostly at the trenches to give the receivers a chance to settle in with their quarterbacks. Today, I went to take a look at the progress that these players had made.
Senior Bowl Notes: Offensive Standouts
RB Ray Davis, Kentucky
If you play for the University of Kentucky, you might be having an impressive Senior Bowl day as Ray Davis showed some absolute highlight clips with his ability to make catches through contact, a one-handed catch through contact, and the stops and goes to break ankles and send defenders flying trying to adjust. Ray Davis had himself a phenomenal day in 1v1’s and 7v7’s.
RB Cody Schrader, Missouri
The former walk-on to Truman State is gathering a lot of attention as an NFL prospect as well this week, drawing comparisons to Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler. He has excellent contact balance and quickness, along with his sturdy ability to make tough catches through contact. Schrader is certainly making some plays as both a runner and a receiver this week, reinforcing his evaluation.
TE Ben Sinnott, Kansas State
Ben Sinnott was strong in 1v1’s and 7v7’s, showing some real quickness through breaks and some long speed when stretching the field. His skill set projects him to be able to play all over the field, as an inline tight end, an H-Back, and possibly even as a fullback. I like what his game presents, I think there is a lot of potential, and his performance in 1v1’s showed that he can be a nuisance to try and cover.
TE Jared Wiley, TCU
Jared Wiley has been a big, physical bully all week and he’s continued that today, showing some of his ability to stretch the field vertically and dominate his reps to create space. Wiley’s physicality at the tight end position will turn some eyes to him, which certainly has its perks, but overall looks like he will be a higher draft pick than most people projected – especially if he tests well at the Combine.
Senior Bowl Notes: Defensive Standouts
LB Nathaniel Watson, Mississippi State
Nathaniel Watson is an intriguing name coming into the event with size, production, and athletic ability but didn’t have a lot of buzz on the media side. Watson showed smooth hips and was capable in man coverage – a question mark on his evaluation. Watson collected 20 sacks over the last three seasons as a starter at Mississippi State – if he can hang in coverage and test well at the Combine, Watson could be a much earlier draft pick than anyone thought.
CB Andru Phillips, Kentucky
Andru Phillips was a nuisance for several wide receivers today, showing the ability to play with physicality, jam very well in press, play against size, and overall have a very strong skillset for man-to-man coverage. Phillips played well against Ladd McConkey, jamming him in a 1v1 rep so well that McConkey couldn’t get into his route. He went down the field vertically with Johnny Wilson and broke up an attempt. Phillips played as lockdown as he could and certainly earned a review.
S Javon Bullard, Georgia
Javon Bullard is a safety who had some dominant man coverage reps at Senior Bowl practice today and overall looks like a disruptive enforcer on the back end. He breaks on the ball very well and shows solid instincts in 7v7s. Bullard looked good and certainly helped his status in the NFL Draft.