The good weather continues to hold up in Mobile, Alabama, as the National Team took to the practice field for the second straight day to sunny skies and 60-degree weather. The beautiful weather showed positive outlooks to several players performing who, again, stood out on the second day of National Team 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
WR Roman Wilson, Michigan
Roman Wilson stood out for the second straight day showing incredible twitchiness and fantastic route-running prowess against the group of National defensive backs. Wilson is a 1v1 star – dominant, with swift, smooth body control and finds ways to win reps outright with his incredible change-of-direction ability. Wilson is the guy who probably explodes from this receiving group in the draft.
WR Javon Baker, UCF
Javon Baker, the UCF receiver by way of Alabama, had another solid day of practice, abusing defensive backs with his subtle quickness at the top of his routes. There were a couple of reps where Baker was in a bad position to make a play on the ball and still found a way to body the defender to win positioning and the rep. This is a step forward from 2022, where Baker struggled to keep his positioning in line. Count me as a fan of Baker, he has the raw ability and is having a solid week.
TE Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota
Working in the 1v1’s, I thought Brevyn Spann-Ford had a solid day as a route-runner, as safeties and linebackers struggled to stay with him at the top of his breaks. I understand the speed/athleticism concerns, but Spann-Ford looks the part of an NFL tight end with his pure size and maintain leverage in man-to-man situations.
Note: Michigan OL Trevor Keegan is our first opt-out, as he stayed here for practice but was watching in his jersey and shorts.
Senior Bowl Notes: Defensive Standouts
CB Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo
For the second straight day, Quinyon Mitchell was a lockdown cornerback, and I think that his trip here has solidified Mitchell as a first round prospect. Mitchell’s smooth man-to-man coverage ability is the perfect skillset to blow up this event, and Mitchell’s positioning, reactive athleticism, and length allow him to be a formidable opponent. Even his physicality is impressive, as he toes the balance between aggression and disruption perfectly.
CB Chau Smith-Wade, Washington State
Chau Smith-Wade is not a perfect prospect by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s got loads of potential. Smith-Wade was another one of the cornerbacks who stood out in 1v1’s today because of his aggression and physicality. While he certainly was overly aggressive at times, he was one of the best press corners at this event. Smith-Wade impresses me with his ability to neutralize speed with his jam technique and looks like he could hold up nicely as a nickel cornerback.
S Kitan Oladipo, Oregon State
One of the positives from the safety group, who are usually abused in 1v1 drills, was Kitan Oladipo who made several momentum type plays and disrupted receivers at the catch point in team drills. Oladipo is a strong, hard hitter who may eventually move closer to the box, but his ball skills are better than most and he’s been a standout player in this event.