The second day of the 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl practices wrapped up with just one more session to go before the game on Saturday. Otherwise, day 2 of the practices is usually a good indication of who can respond when the pressure is on. How does each player progress as the week goes on? Take a look at who caught my attention for better or worse for the North team.
For a closer look at the first day of practices click here!
Quarterbacks:
Another disappointing day for the North team quarterbacks. Pittsburgh’s Nate Peterman stands out above the rest of the North quarterbacks as that really continued today. Peterman looks like a solid backup in the league while the other two guys might struggle to even get a training camp invite.
Running Backs:
Toledo’s Kareem Hunt has been a stud so far. Hunt looks faster than he did in the games I watched as evidence by dropping 20 pounds from his playing weight. Hunt’s a physical one-cut running back who should carve out a really nice career. I also liked how he caught the ball out of the backfield with ease. On the flip side, there is Wisconsin’s Corey Clement who continued to shine particularly in the passing game. Clement really struggled in the pass protection drills but he is going to be a really nice change of pace back for somebody.
Wide Receivers:
Cooper Kupp continues to put on a show down in Mobile. Kupp is the best pure route runner out of any receiver at the Senior Bowl. The impressive thing with him is there is no wasted movement. Everything is so smooth and gets in and out of cuts like a veteran. At this point, I would not be shocked if someone pulls the trigger late in the first round. The video below gives you a sight what has been on display the past two days.
Beathard to Kupp https://t.co/K5BXxfOc5n
— Trey Daubert (@treydaubert) January 25, 2017
I thought Zay Jones and Amara Darboh both had good days as well. As I discussed yesterday both players are very similar and get open with their length rather than pure speed. Finally, Trent Taylor from Louisiana Tech got me attention today. The 5’8″ receiver resembles the Cole Beasley mold and won virtually every battle during the red-zone drills. An interesting prospect to keep an eye on as a late round pick.
Tight Ends:
Michael Roberts from Toledo had a nice day for himself. Roberts is probably the best blocking tight end here outside of Alabama’s O.J. Howard making him a complete player for the position. For a guy his size 6’4″, 261, I thought he moved very well. Check out this route that Roberts made here.
Toledo's Michael Roberts snags one https://t.co/HNuUeQ2YWz
— Trey Daubert (@treydaubert) January 25, 2017
Offensive Line:
Dan Feeney had an incredible opportunity coming into today. As will be discussed later in the South team notes, Forrest Lamp was injured during the team drills which caused him to miss the rest of the practices. Feeney and Lamp were regarded as the top two guards with possible first round implications by many other draft experts not including myself. Feeney not only struggled yesterday, but I think he actually somehow looked worse today. Take a look at Notre Dame’s Rochell humiliates Feeney in the 1 V 1 drill.
(Sorry for the typo on the video below, I promise Wormley did the same thing a few snaps later; I snipped the wrong one.)
Dan Feeney exposed by Michigan's Chris Wormley https://t.co/uW1mAnDcmh
— Trey Daubert (@treydaubert) January 25, 2017
The best offensive lineman at the Senior Bowl, in my opinion, is USC’s, Zach Banner. A lot of scouts may stay away from this guy considering he is 6’8″, 361 but he did not struggle with speed rushers. He almost reminded me of a slightly bigger version of Kareem McKenzie who used to play for the New York Giants. Banner is going to have a great career. Watch him pancake Illinois edge rusher Dawuane Smoot.
USC tackle Zach Banner pancakes Dawuane Smoot https://t.co/3J2Ed6JaVW
— Trey Daubert (@treydaubert) January 25, 2017
The guy who improved the most from day one was Temple’s Dion Dawkins. He is a guy who is making the transition from tackle to guard and started to look really comfortable on day 2. The guards who usually end up outperforming their draft positioning are the converted tackles who are more athletic than the prototypical guard. I can’t wait to see what day 3 holds for him. Then we have Taylor Moton of Western Michigan. Moton got better as the day went along and sort of resembles Justin Senior from the South team. A right tackle only who can be a tad stiff and struggle with speed but overall can develop into an excellent tackle as he continues work on his hand fighting.
Defensive Line:
Let’s start with Tarrell Basham. I mentioned him briefly yesterday but certainly not enough as he wowed me today. The more I watched him, the more I thought that he probably had the quickest get off of any defensive lineman. To me, Basham needs to be a 3-4 outside linebacker. This guy is too athletic to have him stick his hand in the dirt every play. Move him around and let him go hunt. I’m starting to think you can get some bang for your buck starting in round 2. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there was Duwaune Smoot who you saw get pancaked by Zach Banner earlier. A similar thing happened when he matched up against Taylor Moton. Smoot has some twitchiness to him but he didn’t have nearly the success that he did yesterday where I thought he played well. For a guy who is a complete liability in the run game, Smoot might have been just a flash in the pan after lineman figured out his pass rushing arsenal. I got a 5th round grade on him. Before I forgot I have to mention big Stevie Tu’Ikolovatu from USC. Wow did this guy push the pocket. Heck of a nose tackle for the future.
Linebackers:
Yesterday I wrote how Caroll Phillips and Haason Reddick caught my eye but felt like one would eventually emerge. That’s exactly what happened with Haason Reddick and that’s not to say Phillips didn’t have a good day either because he did. Every time I watched Reddick he dominated in every phase of practice whether it be blitzing or dropping into coverage. He by far the most impressive player during the 2nd day of practices. The biggest question is what position is he? At 6’2″, 237, Reddick actually played defensive end at Temple because he was such a dynamic pass rusher. I would love to see this guy in a 3-4 playing inside linebacker getting paired with a speed linebacker next to him. I think Reddick has a chance to be a Jamie Collins type of player. Take a look at a quick highlight below as it’s almost like Corey Clement didn’t even try to block him.
Haason Reddick beats Corey Clement in pass protection https://t.co/R2MMXBgk3U
— Trey Daubert (@treydaubert) January 25, 2017
Defensive Backs:
Two players really stood out above the rest. Jourdan Lewis out of Michigan had a solid day. He gave up a few catches but this guy’s technique is awesome. He doesn’t have blazing speed or crazy arm length or height but he is just solid. I think teams should feel good about picking this guy in the 2nd or 3rd round range. Then we have Connecticut’s Obi Melifonwu and I’m serious when I say this but this world just doesn’t create many humans like this guy. You know when you watch something and it just doesn’t look normal? Yeah, that’s this guy, he just simply pops on TV. Uconn had a similar athlete in Byron Jones a few years ago and Melifonwu looks to be a similar type of player. I’m not sure if the guy is any good but he sort of resembles Kam Chancellor as a very tall safety (6’4″) and a freak type of athlete.
Side note I thought Aarion Penton had another good day. Scrappy slot corner similar to Kazee on the South team. Desmond King was disappointing again and doesn’t appear to be a pure corner. Then again neither was Malcolm Jenkins and he turned out just fine when he moved to safety.
