Senior Bowl Practice Report
I won’t lie to my readers. I miss the sun already as I got spoiled with 82+ degree weather in sunny St. Petersburg. Gathering in Mobile are the top potential NFL rookies who want to compete. Unlike last week, I am gleaming my information from the NFL Network’s televised practices which have their benefits and their drawbacks. Seeing any part of the workouts gives you a sense of what is going on yourself, but on the other hand, you only get to see what a producer decides what is important. Here are my observations and I will follow-up later about the game itself.
Mike Glennon, QB NC ST
He has been accurate, at times, but struggles with his footwork. The quarterback needs to develop better habits when the pocket is collapsing. Glennon has the NFL arm and vision, but needs to work on the little things if he wants to be a successful quarterback.
Stepfan Taylor, RB STAN
He has good hands, looks powerful running and lowers his shoulders to get compact. Taylor demonstrates quick lateral movement and decent vision at the line of scrimmage.
Johnathan Franklin, RB UCLA
This running back has quick feet as he changes directions easily. Franklin has soft hands and excels at pass protection. I like the way he keeps his eyes downfield and is always looking for a cutback lane.
Kenjon Barner, RB ORE
My first thought is he looks smaller than his former teammate LaMichael James. He works best in space, tries hard to block (not very successfully), takes good angles and has the hands of a third down NFL back.
Robbie Rouse, RB FRES
Measuring under 5′ 6″ isn’t going to help him make an NFL roster; but thankfully, he is built a lot like Maurice Jones-Drew (squat, muscular). Rouse has quick feet, runs low to the ground, and breaks out a spin move or two. I’m concerned with his struggles in pass blocking, as he will have limited success when the defense can predict what plays he will run.
Mike Gillislee, RB FLA
He is a high effort back, who always keeping his legs churning. The running back gets small in the hole and has a nice burst. I haven’t seen enough to make a good judgment on him yet.
Aaron Dobson, WR MARS
This wide receiver is very smooth getting in and out of his breaks. He catches the ball at its highest point and can match physicality with his coverage. Dobson sells a nice double move to set up the defender which helps him catch the ball in stride that helps him gain extra yards.
Marquise Goodwin, WR TEX
The track star has a lot of wiggle in his routes as he can change directions in a flash. He is very smooth, takes good angles and tries to fight his way out of trouble. I’m concerned that he isn’t physical enough to get away from press coverage. Hopefully, he can concentrate on being a receiver and get better at his craft.
Markus Wheaton, WR OR ST
He is definitely making his mark in Mobile. The wide receiver snags the ball out in front of him while in stride. Wheaton is very sudden with his route running and can track the ball deep down the field. I was very impressed with two receptions he made as one was between two defenders right near the sideline and the other was a bucket catch 30 yards down the field.
Chris Harper, WR KAN ST
Harper is a big, physical receiver who tracks the ball well in the air. He does a good job catching away from his body in stride. For such a thick athlete, the receiver does an amazing job contorting to the ball.
Denard Robinson, WR MICH
He is a raw athlete which is clear when you watch him running patterns and attempting to catch the ball. “Shoelaces” is improving every day, but I am not convinced he will be an effective receiver. Some have hope that he will develop into a Randall Cobb type player, but I am not one of them.
Quinton Patton, WR LA TECH
Wow, he just jumps off the screen. Patton does a great job catching the ball at its highest point, shows amazing balance and has soft hands. He willingly hand fights his coverage while getting separation and out-maneuvering everyone else on the field. I like his “my ball” mentality that he uses to attack the football.
Terrance Williams, WR BAY
He was one of my favorites during the bowl games, but struggled early in the week. He battled a bit too much with his coverage and got side tracked. Now the wide receiver is more comfortable. Williams sold a nice double move on a deep route, tracked the ball well and fought for the football. His physicality is on display with his ability to block down the field.
Tavarres King, WR GA
This wide receiver is good at accelerating and breaking down quickly. He runs tight, crisp routes, busts out a double move and catches the ball at its highest point. King has a good sense of where he is on the field as he excels at using the sidelines to his advantage.
Cobi Hamilton, WR ARK
He has great acceleration and plucks the ball out of the air. I’m concerned that the skinny wide receiver is not very physical as he seems to get dominated by the defensive backs.
Vance McDonald, TE RICE
For whatever reason, he has caught the attention of NFL Network’s Mike Mayock. McDonald is very physical as I saw him truck a few defenders, but his double and triple catching of the ball is quite concerning. His hands got better during each practice though.
Datone Jones, DT/DE UCLA
He has looked explosive and very slippery coming out of his stance. Jones is strong, uses excellent leverage and is good with his hands due to his martial arts background. Unlike most defensive linemen, he has a great motor and keeps on giving high effort snap after snap.
Ezekial Ansah, DE BYU
Against lower level competition, he looks the part with his speed, spin moves, and power. Ansah is very raw as some of the North team’s better offensive tackles (Fisher and Long) are controlling him. He has a big wingspan and did knock down a few plays on well timed jumps.
Alex Okafor, DE/OLB TEX- He has a great first step and uses his hands to get into the backfield. Okafor uses good leverage, stout bull rush power, and has a strong swim move that he uses to disengage his blockers.
We’ll check in again after the game!
