After a week of heavily scrutinized NFL style practices and a game pitting some of the nation’s finest seniors, here are the players I believe stepped up and stepped down.
Stock Up:
B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College – There wasn’t a day of practice where Raji didn’t impress. He used leverage and his incredible lower body strength to dominate one-on-one drills with offensive linemen and translated that to the team portion of practice. Using a variety of rips, dips and bull rushes, he managed to push his way into the pocket creating disruption on pass plays and forcing running backs to change direction early in the play. His marvelous week of practice didn’t translate into a disruptive game, but in the heavily emphasized practices, he came away the winner. Raji went from a mid-1st rounder to a possible top 10 selection.
Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest – Unfortunately, Smith measured in on Monday at a hair under 5’9, which may wipe him off the board altogether with several teams. Everything he did from that point on immensely helped his stock for the teams willing to ignore his height. At school he was a pure playmaker, collecting 21 interceptions for his defense throughout his career. In practices, he showed good route anticipation and a very quick break on the ball. He repeatedly deflected passes and picked off balls. In the game, he had pick six that just went through his hands, a rarity for Smith. He’s a borderline 1st round selection after this game.
Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi – Jerry isn’t as flashy or explosive a player as Raji, but he was simply unblockable for the most part. He plays in the 290 pound range, yet has nearly the strength and leverage of a solid nose tackle. I like him at his current weight because he has little bulk just hanging around, which allows him to have the athleticism of an UT. Jerry translated his phenomenal week of practice to the Senior Bowl where he dominated the trenches.
Pat White, QB, West Virginia – White used the week to prove that he belongs at quarterback. His footwork was clean and the ball had a tight spiral out of his hand. He consistently reached his targets and when plays collapsed, he reached the first down markers with his legs. White is the real deal from a physical standpoint, but I’m curious to see how he operates in an NFL offense reading NFL defenses that aren’t forced to sit in a bland Cover 1 or Cover 3 defense. Look for White to go no later than the 3rd round and be used in a variety of formations in the NFL, if he allows for it.
Shawn Nelson, TE, Southern Mississippi – Nelson had no questions coming into the week about his ability as a pass catcher. He moves well up and down the field and catches everything with his hands. Scouts and analysts did question his ability as an in-line blocker. While he didn’t prove to be in the mold of a Brandon Pettigrew, Nelson showed a good initial pop off snap and great technique and footwork as a blocker. Once Nelson grows into his frame, he could become an every down tight end in the NFL.
Andre Brown, RB, North Carolina State – As Brown battled injuries throughout his career, his talent was always overshadowed by his health. Coming into Mobile healthy, Brown proved that his best is still ahead of him. In comparison to the rest of the running back class, he’s as talented as any of them. His thick build and quick burst fits the mold of what teams look for in a running back. After showing hard, downhill running all week, he may have moved into the second round with the second tier of runners.
Patrick Chung, SS, Oregon – Chung earned the reputation as an in-the-box safety at Oregon. He was a physical tackler that would come down in run support. At the Senior Bowl, he showed just the opposite to be true as well. As he matched up with wide receivers on the outside in one-on-one drills, he showed tight coverage and a natural instinct to look for the football in the air. He played well all week and laid the lumber early in the game to mark his territory, letting receivers know he was on the field. Chung will compete with a couple names to be the first safety off the board, possibly in the first round.
Derrick Williams, WR, Penn State – There was no receiver at the Senior Bowl that lit up the defensive backs and generated a strong buzz, but Derrick Williams did everything just short of that. Williams proved to be the quickest receiver in and out of cuts all week. He showed sure hands catching the ball away from his body. He impressed equally in individual drills and the team practices. Williams showed his added value with a long kick return in Saturday’s game, which all but reserves a top 40 selection for him with a good Combine workout.
Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State – Pettigrew was very solid, but not flashy, in every day of practice. He dominated as a blocker, moving linebackers and even defensive ends down the line of the scrimmage opening up holes. He’s the best all-around tight end we’ve seen in the draft for a long time. Pettigrew translated that blocking ability to the game, but he didn’t get many opportunities as a receiver. I’m not sure how he’ll run at the Combine, but if he can run in the 4.7’s, it should be enough to warrant a top 20 selection.
Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee – Coming into the week, I didn’t know too much about Ayers. I knew he was a mid-round prospect with good size and hustle, but that’s about it. What I saw out him this week really caught my eye. It was his ability as a pass rusher that jumped out at me. His first step is very quick and his overall combination of size and athleticism is among the best in the draft. Ayers has worked his way up into the second round range of the draft.
Honorable Mentions: Brian Cushing (OLB, USC); Tyronne Green (OG, Auburn); Macho Harris (CB, Virginia Tech); Ziggy Hood (DT, Missouri); Mitch King (DL, Iowa); Ellis Lankster (CB, West Virginia); Fili Moala (DT, USC); Brian Robiskie (WR, Ohio State)
Stock Down:
Domonique Johnson, CB, Jackson State – After what Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie had done last year, I suppose the bar was set very high for Johnson. Johnson failed to live up to his measureables looking very raw and unpolished on the field. He was consistently targeted and beaten. Late to find the ball in the air, Johnson struggled with ball skills, something Cromartie was excellent with. Johnson isn’t a 2nd rounder that many believed he could be, but he would be a very good selection in the middle rounds because of his elite physical skill set.
Nathan Brown, QB, Central Arkansas – Brown got his week off on the wrong note. In practices, he seemed overwhelmed working from underneath center and struggled to drive the ball to his targets down the sidelines. He overthrew some passes and didn’t show great accuracy. As the week went on, he settled down a little more and looked more comfortable in team drills. He might have had the best game of the three North quarterbacks, but he it wasn’t enough to overcome his disappointing start. Brown could be an okay back-up, but he doesn’t have the arm strength or moxie to make it as a full time starter.
William Moore, S, Missouri – Moore continued his disappointing senior season with a poor outing at the Senior Bowl. He looked stiff in the hips while covering receivers one-on-one, whereas Patrick Chung looked far more comfortable. It wasn’t surprising that some scouts began to evaluate Moore as a linebacker because of his inability to cover. The next order of business for scouts will be to evaluate the reasoning behind his senior season drop off. If it’s something such as injuries, which plagued him for most of the year, we could still see Moore be drafted around the tail end of the 1st round.
DeAngelo Smith, CB, Cincinnati – It seemed as if Smith was targeted all week. Either that or his receivers were just so open that quarterbacks managed to find the wideouts he was assigned to. It’s not that Smith was terrible play after play, but he was one of the most inconsistent players in Mobile. He had some nice tight coverage, but on the whole, he looked slow out of his back pedal, slow to break on the routes and passes, and lost with the ball in the air. Smith should still be drafted later on the second day, but he wasn’t as impressive as I thought he would be coming into the week.
Xavier Fulton, OT, Illinois – It seemed that early in the week, the worst offensive linemen would belong to West Virginia’s Ryan Shuman. He rebounded to have just a below average week, but Illinois’ Xavier Fulton was consistently bad. He was slow-footed and just played uninspired. I didn’t see very much passion coming from him once he was beaten, which is disappointing from any offensive linemen. He was embarrassed outside and inside and he would be higher on the list, but I didn’t have the greatest expectations for Fulton coming into the draft. He’s still very raw and new to the position so his best is still ahead of him, but this week didn’t help his case very much.
Honorable Mentions: Herman Johnson (OG, LSU); Travis McCall (TE, Alabama); Thomas Morstead (P, SMU); Clint Sintim (LB, Virginia); Max Unger (C, Oregon)
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