February 01, 2024
MOBILE, ALA. — Because the Philadelphia Eagles are projected to have 8 picks in this year's draft, including two second-round picks and four fifth-round picks, this year's Senior Bowl is of particular interest. If you missed our Day 1 practice notes, check those out here.
• Kentucky RB Ray Davis had a great two days in Mobile, especially as a receiver. We mentioned his back shoulder catch in yesterday's practice notes, and he made another nice catch in traffic on Wednesday. Davis isn't just catching checkdowns or screens. He's running routes down the field, getting open, and then finishing the play. He's 5'8, 220, so he's a short, squatty back who runs with power, but he was also probably the best receiving back this week. Whether or not the Eagles re-sign D'Andre Swift they're going to need more help at running back, and Davis makes a lot of sense as a guy who can do a lot of different things.
• Another clear area of need for the Eagles is at slot receiver, and there were no shortage of them in Mobile. We mentioned Malachi Corley (YAC beast), Roman Wilson (speed), and Ladd McConkey (slick route runner) yesterday, but I thought a Texas A&M's Ainias Smith and Rice's Luke McCaffrey had their moments as well.
Corley had a play in which he was lined up in the slot on the right side, and it was a running play to the left. He hustled across the field and popped Utah S Cole Bishop with an aggressive block. Love to see that.
Wilson had an outstanding one-handed catch at the end of practice with the entire team watching.
It's the Roman Wilson show in Mobile this week
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 31, 2024
pic.twitter.com/uPqf0nCI4l
There's little question that McConkey can get open, but sometimes his routes take way too long to develop, and are unrealistic at the pro level. He's going to have to have that coached out of him to some degree. Tighten up the routes, and cut out some of the fluff that just takes extra time. But he's going to be a good player, and he can create separation like none of the other receivers at the Senior Bowl could.
Smith was super active on Wednesday, catching balls on volume over the middle of the field.
Hometown QB prospect Carter Bradley (South Alabama) rips a seam throw to Texas A&M WR Ainias Smith for a score during 7-on-7s. pic.twitter.com/wnWbRdgOfY
— Brent Sobleski (@brentsobleski) January 31, 2024
And finally there's McCaffrey, who is the brother of the 49ers' Christian McCaffrey. He's a converted quarterback who played some running back and receiver. 71 catches for 992 yards and 13 TDs for Rice in 2023.
• Will new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore want a fullback for his offense? He had them in Dallas, but not in L.A. with the Chargers. Maybe a tight end who can do some fullback-like things? One tight end who could double as a fullback is Florida State's Jaheim Bell, who was a Swiss army knife in the Seminoles' offense, lining up at TE, in the slot, out wide, and in the backfield. He's a good blocker in space, and has some run after catch ability.
Another tight end who has had a solid couple of practices was Penn State's Theo Johnson. He has ideal size at 6'6, 257, and he did a nice job creating separation and making a lot of hands catches. 34-341-7 in 2023.
Penn State TE Theo Johnson is so smooth pic.twitter.com/MlGSKI8xzv
— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) January 30, 2024
Johnson is also thought of as a good blocker. Tight end is a sneaky under-the-radar Eagles need in this draft. He might go Day 2.
• At linebacker, North Carolina's Cedric Gray did some good things. He had a really nice pass breakup on a two-way route by SDSU RB Isaiah Davis. Tough route to cover in 1-on-1's, and he did it well. Gray put up monster stats over the last three seasons, racking up 365 tackles (29 for loss), 8.5 sacks, 5 INTs, 13 PBUs, and 5 FFs. His athleticism is obvious, and spoiler, he's going to test well at the Combine:
Cedric Gray has S2S speed. https://t.co/MdLB7IQZLg pic.twitter.com/Q07sW7vOYJ
— Dominic White (@DomWWhite) January 27, 2024
I was encouraged by what I saw from him in coverage, which was an obvious disaster area for the 2023 Eagles.
The best linebacker this week, however was probably NC State's Payton Wilson. He's a complete player. He has size (6'4, 234), he can cover, he played the run really well this week, and his production in 2023 (138 tackles, 17.5 for loss, 6 sacks, 3 INTs, 6 PBUs, 1 FF) was outstanding. But as noted in yesterday's notes, he's going to be a very polarizing player because of his age (24 in April) and injury history.
If Wilson were to fall to the end of the third round, by all means go get that guy. But I think someone will gamble on him earlier than that.
• A number of under-the-radar corners did some nice things:
Missouri's Kris Abrams-Draine was originally a wide receiver, but he flipped to the defensive side of the ball following his freshman season. He became an immediate contributor in the slot, collecting 37 tackles, 3 INTs, and 7 PBUs in 2021. In 2022, he had 48 tackles and 14 PBUs. In 2023, he had 23 tackles, 4 INTs, and 13 PBUs. He gets his hands on a lot of footballs and that carried over to the Senior Bowl.
Kris Abrams-Draine🔒🐯
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 30, 2024
pic.twitter.com/sjErLYs8kr
He is an obvious Eagles target if they move on from Avonte Maddox.
Another slot corner I hadn't heard of who stood out was Kentucky's Andru Phillips, who wasn't allowing separation. He had 0 career INTs and only 10 pass breakups, but you can see why he got an invite to the Senior Bowl with the way he can mirror and match receivers.
Physical DB play from Kentucky's Andru Phillips against Ladd McConkey. Phillips has had some really nice reps in the 1v1s pic.twitter.com/MI4iVR7nbF
— Jack Brentnall (@Jack_Brentnall) February 1, 2024
He was a rare player who could stick with McConkey.
And finally, Rutgers' Max Melton is a good player. He has speed, and he's a physical player. That's a good start for a corner. He had a nice forced fumble on a "Peanut Punch" of USC's Marshawn Lloyd.
• One of the safeties that I really liked while profiling players in our prospects series this season was Georgia's Javon Bullard. He had a rough day on Wednesday, giving up massive separation on three separate occasions. He's a big hitter who player with swagger and confidence, but his coverage was concerning.
One of the safeties who is now on my radar is Utah's Sione Vaki, a two-way player who also played running back. In 2023, Vaki had 42 carries for 317 yards (7.5 YPC) and 2 TDs. He also had 11 catches for 203 yards (18.5 YPC) and 3 TDs. He's probably a developmental guy at safety, but he's obviously a very good athlete and football player.
• Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni skipped the Senior Bowl this year, but Big Dom was in attendance, and he was allowed on the sidelines.
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