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Highlights from Day One at Senior Bowl

| January 30th, 2024

Senior Bowl practices just wrapped up for both the National & American Team only hours ago — I spent the day watching DBs and Wide Receivers, and here’s what I saw:

Bear With Me on these columns — time is short in Mobile, Alabama, so I’m stuffing as much as I can into this article. Organization will ebb and flow.

You need to hear about this Corner from Toledo

Quinyon Mitchell is a corner I haven’t personally had an easy time getting film on, but his play in Mobile stood out to the point that he was probably the best player on the field across both practices. He has beautiful, efficient footwork, physical during his route stem, and natural when tracking his man down the field. Made plays in both man and zone coverage. He’s assuredly out of the Bears’ league, but he’s fun nevertheless.

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It Was Always Going to Be the Chiefs

| January 29th, 2024

Not much from me today, as I’m rushing to finish as much Senior Bowl prep as possible. More on that starting tomorrow.

But my biggest takeaway from yesterday’s games? The NFL is still a Quarterback league, and it’s becoming nearly impossible for anyone to shine brighter than the league’s best Quarterback when playing under the brightest lights.

Kudos to Purdy — I thought he played a very nice game yesterday, especially after a tough first half — but the young man has his work cut out for him in Las Vegas. Can the NFL’s modern ‘SuperTeam’ fell the game’s biggest giant? We’ll find out in two weeks.

But in watching the Chiefs, one other observation jumps out at me — the Chiefs’ Cornerbacks, namely L’Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie, and Jaylen Watson — have played great football over the last few weeks, providing Kansas City’s defense with a punch that many units in the NFL can’t even attempt. After all, could frustrate an offense  more than what we saw in Baltimore today? Todd Monken called pass play after pass play, but Odell Beckham Jr, Rashod Bateman, and Zay Flowers couldn’t separate against Kansas City’s corners, leading to tight throws that got batted away, sacks, and turnovers.

Baltimore’s frustration felt oddly familiar to me — it looked like Detroit’s frustration in their games against the Bears. And after all, how did the Bears fluster a Lions offense that seemingly no one else in the league could stop? The answer, I think, lies in Chicago’s corners. By investing in quality pass defenders, the Bears were able to turn their opponents’ rhythm throws into middle-percentage gambles that couldn’t be counted on when marching down the field.

When combined with Eberflus’ bend-don’t-break attitude, the stout run defense of Andrew Billings, and the pass-rush presence that Montez Sweat provided, I think Chicago’s corners became a force-multiplier that hasn’t been discussed enough — Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, and Kyler Gordon all gave WRs minimal room to breathe, minimizing layups and forcing offenses to play perfectly over long drives if they wanted to score. This clearly affected a pair of playoff offenses, namely Detroit and Cleveland, and throughout the Chiefs’ big win yesterday I found myself wondering if Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles might be onto something here.

I hope they are — frankly, I hope they continue investing in DB this year with a new Safety and maybe more depth at Corner. But, for now, it’s nothing if not a different perspective on the drivers of a modern defense.

Pass rush will always be king, but as Corner turns into a land of “Haves” and “Have-Nots” it seems as if Ryan Poles has found a way to get ahead of the NFL’s curve — with another likely add coming to Chicago’s Defensive Line in the 2024 offseason, I hope his approach bears further fruit next year. Regardless of who’s playing QB, a stingy corps of DBs will go a long way towards frustrating future opponents and finding wins where others can’t.

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Championship Sunday Prediction Haikus

| January 26th, 2024


All times ET. Home team in CAPS.


Sunday 3:00 PM – Chiefs at RAVENS (-3)

Those audible cheers

come from the Inner Harbor.

Roquan rejoices.


Sunday 6:30 PM – Lions at 49ERS (-6.5)

They call him “Deebo.”

But his real name is Tyshun.

The Niners need him.


2-2 last weekend, getting shut out on Sunday. This week I’m on the Ravens -3 and the 49ers -6.5. Why? I just think these were clearly the two best teams in the sport and have been destined to meet in Vegas.

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The Draft Starts In Mobile!… Next Week

| January 22nd, 2024


With the NFL’s divisional round of the playoffs wrapped up, 28 out of 32 fanbases are free to pivot towards previewing the NFL Draft. And if you know anything about the Reese’s Senior Bowl… you know ‘The Draft Starts in Mobile, Alabama’.

I’m credited to cover the Reese’s Senior Bowl again this year, which means I’ll spend next week watching some of the 2024 NFL Draft Class’s best prospects as they showcase their skills in practice sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

The Senior Bowl rarely features players sure of their draft status (like last year’s Myles Murphy or this year’s Marvin Harrison Jr), but all kinds of talent will be present next week — last year we saw Darnell Wright, John Michael Schmitz, Keanu Benton, Jayden Reed, Michael Wilson, Tyrique Stevenson, JuJu Brents, and plenty of other soon-to-be high-rounders compete and win throughout the sessions, and I expect to see the same this year.

But if you read this blog consistently, you know that I couldn’t go to Mobile unprepared — I’ve been drinking down as much college film as I can stand to fit into my life over the last two weeks and, throughout this week, will do my best to get you caught up on names I’ve found to watch throughout draft season.

You probably know the big names — players like LSU WR Malik Nabers or Washington WR Rome Odunze need no introduction, but it’s players like:

  • Georgia Z/Slot WR Ladd McConkey
    • One of the nastiest route runners in an already loaded class
  • Texas A&M Z/Slot WR Ainias Smith
    • Heady route runner that blocks like he hates his opponent
  • South Carolina’s massive Z WR Xavier Legette
    • Massive, dynamic athlete with great hands
  • Auburn Free Safety Jaylin Simpson
    • Whose tape I’ve loved
  • Penn State CB Kalen King
    • His tape can be messy, but he’s got all the natural physicality of a Tyrique Stevenson-type plus more agility than most CBs his size
  • Rutgers CB Max Melton
    • Brother of Bo Melton, Max is long, physical, and fast. High-motor player

That may be under your radar right now. They’re the names to know, because they could very well be targets in the key Day 2 rounds (2nd & 3rd) that fuel a draft class’s success.

I’ll be focusing on skill position players this year — practices in Mobile are split, with DBs & WRs in one endzone and OL/DL in the other, so I won’t try to be everywhere at once. As I prep for my trip, I’ll post as many draft cut-ups as I can — if draft prep is starting for me, it might as well start for you too!

Here’s to a great 2024 draft season! Now back to the film room — I’ll see you soon.

Your Turn: What position are you most looking forward to drafting after Round 1?

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